A Week in a Love Motel and a Match

(Suwon fans going nuts after a goal, or just in general. At right, the circular love motel bed)

Hi all,

Jen and I moved into a love motel for this past week, c/o of our employers. This was due to a bit of a scheduling issue, where we were supposed to move into fellow teachers Dave and Steph's apartment, and new teacher Sumi was to move into our old apartment, but... well, it got complicated. It highlighted, for me, something about the Korean mindset that, while not making me angry, certainly contrasts with the Canadian mindset.

Hence the trouble we had with our move. Steph and Dave both became deeply frustrated, as did Sumi and her friend Sarah (with whom she was staying until we moved out), because it seemed like everybody was sitting on their hands until someone forces the issue. Again, this is just me, a complete outsider, looking in on the situation. For all that I know, it may simply have been a busy week. But we ended up having to figure out the move largely as it happened, with Jen and I finally suggesting that we be put up in a hotel so we could give everyone the space they needed to move about, pack, and so forth.

A similar issue happened with vacation for Christmas. We were informed a few weeks ago that we'd not have December 23rd and 24th off. The problem with this is partly the date--it takes a full day of travel to get home to Canada or the US or wherever home is for people. Unfortunately, people were angry, and it took a lot of back and forth to sort it out. 

Perhaps this is part of the culture. Indeed, I can entirely understand the request from management to respect the culture we are living in. We have nothing but the highest regard for Korean culture, both for its unique heights and the few queer foibles and flaws we come across. They're certainly tolerant of our occasional miscomprehension. A certain degree of accomodation both ways would go quite a long way, however. I agree entirely with the reasoning behind the move to limit vacation. I had hoped the whole issue would be resolved earlier. There is also the Western tendency towards negotiation between management and labour which is non-existent in Korea. However, that is a discussion for another time.

I have deep respect for my colleagues, and the Korean staff with whom I work. I enjoy getting together with them to talk and have fun, and I enjoy working with them, overall. One or two little issues are not going to ruin our time here in Korea. Still, it is odd to note the differences, especially since it sparks major conflict at times.

Indeed, our colleagues are easily able to put together parties, handle sudden changes in schedule, and can handle a lot of troubles that would leave a Westerner floundering. We don't handle sudden changes as well, and I guarantee that we couldn't put together a trip or a schedule as fast as our Korean coworkers could.

So there's benefits and drawbacks.

I also try to avoid chatting about work conflicts on this blog, but sometimes, the issues are large enough to frustrate me, and to make me want to record them for posterity and later consideration.

Anyway, we went from the motel to our new pad, which is well-appointed and spacious. On Saturday, we took in a Suwon Bluewings football match (sorry, SOCCER, for those who think of the NFL when I talk about footie). The 'Wings annihilated Chunnam 3-0. I also picked up a nice, new, Suwon scarf to wear about and to make my allegiance clear.

(The Bluewings line up for a last-minute pep talk before Kick-Off, the new scarf)

On Sunday, we said goodbye to Dave and Steph, who are off to Thailand and all points West. Lucky ducks. We're down to about 5 degress Celcius, here, while they're going to be sipping daiquiris in paradise for a few weeks.

They've earned it.

Best regards,

Chris

PS: Two days left in the American Election. Suffice it to say, I'll be hunched over a computer monitor watching the BBC's coverage of the vote in depth on Tuesday evening.