Questions, privacy, and stuff

Okay... ever since I came to this country random people have been stopping me on the street and asking me question. Where are you from? Are you American? Where do you live? What are you doing in Korea? It’s like everyone wants to know my business. I know, I know they are curious and interested in me since I stick out like a white guy competing in the 100m dash. But seriously the game of 20 questions is starting to get to me, especially when I just want to roam the streets in peace.

I teach at two different schools, one Elementary and one Middle school. The elementary school is my main school. The people have been very welcoming and very supportive of me. They have made me feel as though I am truly a member of staff. But with that comes a whole bunch of things I can't seem to comprehend. Here are a two:

Monthly meetings - These meetings are held once a month with the entire staff present. The principal makes a long winded speech about something maybe it’s about education maybe it’s about what happened on Glee last night. Either way I don’t know since it’s all in Korean. My co-teacher assumed that I don’t have to be there but the head teacher insisted I be there. For what reason? I have no clue. Honestly speaking these meeting are a complete waste of my time. I can’t understand what’s going on, I can’t contribute, and, I’m not really a member of staff. I have been to the staff dinners which aren’t so bad since it’s mostly about enjoying the company of the other staff members rather than official school business.

My business is public domain – I’m pretty sure all the teachers in my school know where I live, my phone number, and my email. They know about the times that I have been sick and that I had to go to the hospital for a special exam. I took a sick day for that exam. Upon my return to school I was told by my co-teacher that I had to report back to both the vice principal and principal how the exam went. I was confused by this since I didn’t really think my medical information was any of their business. If it was the case that I had to take off more time or something then I would have felt compelled to say something to them. I suppose if I was in Canada and this happened I would have just gone into work as usual and not say anything unless I asked. Later in the day I found out that the rest of the female staff knew about my hospital visit. It’s hard trying to get used to this because I like my privacy.

Well that is all for now… Next entry: Hi-Mart Boi