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Post by johnhenry on Jan 12, 2014 18:17:12 GMT 9
If you haven't done so yet, go to the front door of your apartment building and look for the nifty two-color plaque with the big numbers in one color and some hangeul writing in the other. Take a picture of that sucker or, if you're competent in 한글, write down both the number and the words. That sucker is your building's address just like in most places in the world: building number and street name. Never leave home without the picture on your cellphone (set it as your wallpaper) or with the piece of paper on which you wrote the address in your wallet.
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Post by johnhenry on Jan 12, 2014 18:19:08 GMT 9
Want to save money? Stay out of bars. Want to drink? Buy the booze at a grocery store and drink at home. You'll likely save more if you don't drink but avoid bars due to the prices.
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Post by Baek on Jan 12, 2014 18:36:13 GMT 9
If you haven't done so yet, go to the front door of your apartment building and look for the nifty two-color plaque with the big numbers in one color and some hangeul writing in the other. Take a picture of that sucker or, if you're competent in 한글, write down both the number and the words. That sucker is your building's address just like in most places in the world: building number and street name. Never leave home without the picture on your cellphone (set it as your wallpaper) or with the piece of paper on which you wrote the address in your wallet. This is good advice. I got lost years ago walking around at night in China and had no address or business card on me. Luckily i got a friendly taxi driver, but it took him almost an hour of phoning around to find someone he knew who spoke English.
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Post by DancingLlama on Jan 12, 2014 18:46:32 GMT 9
You do not have to drink, nor even pretend to drink, to "fit in" at company dinners. Hey, you don't even have to go to the company dinners. Skipping the thing will not tank your job. A good excuse which always works is " I have stomach trouble and I am taking Chinese medicine." Not only will this stop any insistence that you drink alcohol, but it will immediately raise your "cred" in the eyes of your Korean coworkers who consider Eastern medicine to be the answer to every health ailment since Hwanung had sex with a bear and gave birth to Dangun, the father of all Koreans. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangun
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Post by DancingLlama on Jan 12, 2014 18:51:43 GMT 9
Dreaming of poop, or swimming in poop is a sign of good fortune. Yuna Kim's father had a poop dream just before she won the Olympic gold medal. Mr. Kim was quoted to say, “When Yuna left for Vancouver, that night I had a ‘poop’ dream. The poop was overflowing in my room, so much that I could not keep pace with cleaning it up.” source: www.laviajeramorena.com/dreaming-of-ddong-poop/
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Post by johnhenry on Jan 12, 2014 19:46:10 GMT 9
You do not have to drink, nor even pretend to drink, to "fit in" at company dinners. Hey, you don't even have to go to the company dinners. Skipping the thing will not tank your job. A good excuse which always works is " I have stomach trouble and I am taking Chinese medicine." Not only will this stop any insistence that you drink alcohol, but it will immediately raise your "cred" in the eyes of your Korean coworkers who consider Eastern medicine to be the answer to every health ailment since Hwanung had sex with a bear and gave birth to Dangun, the father of all Koreans. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DangunHere's my excuse: "I don't go to that type of activity. Period." I'm vegetarian and I don't smoke or drink. It's a colossal waste of my time, energy, and effort to go to those so-called dinners.
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Post by moose on Jan 12, 2014 19:52:33 GMT 9
Disturbing fact: There is an exhibit in the National War Museum.
Genuine advice: Do as the Romans do and everything will be fine.
But don't forget to do your homework. Learn to read, learn the English hotline numbers for various institutions, and trust no one.
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Post by Old Painless on Jan 13, 2014 3:28:58 GMT 9
“We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”
-- Ironhead, On the Art of War and Knowing your Enemy
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Post by Mitch Egan on Jan 13, 2014 9:27:40 GMT 9
Do something productive during your free time. Trust me, you will have a LOT of free time. My “desk-warming” activities at work normally consist of surfing the internet, reading, auditing online classes, and corresponding with with friends and family back home (and okay, a fair amount of discussion site browsing as well).
Buy a bicycle. Ignore handjivewilly's advice to get a motorbike... lol @ wearing tupperwear as a helmet.
A teaching job can be rough sometimes. You’ll notice endless cultural differences and some might drive you a bit crazy. During these times, it’s perfectly fine to shut yourself inside your studio apartment and indulge in everything non-Korean like American movies, TV shows and an endless array of junk food.Still, don't do this every night. You should do your best to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience of living in a foreign country.
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Post by Baek on Jan 13, 2014 10:35:47 GMT 9
Disturbing fact: There is an exhibit in the National War Museum. An exhibit? At a museum? Balderdash!
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Post by naru on Jan 13, 2014 10:54:14 GMT 9
Sometimes I put headphones on (without music playing) in public places or on the subway to avoid having to communicate with other humans. Does that make me a bad person? Or anti-social? Or just awkward? Possibly all of the above?
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Post by moose on Jan 16, 2014 22:35:54 GMT 9
Disturbing fact: There is an exhibit in the National War Museum. An exhibit? At a museum? Balderdash! That'll redden the old cheeks, there. I meant to write: 'Disturbing fact: There is a Dokdo exhibit in the national war museum.' Carry on.
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Post by lloyd on Jan 17, 2014 8:25:35 GMT 9
That brown stuff in bibimpap and kimbap is fern bracken, and is illegal even in animal feed in the UK. It has been shown to cause gastro-intestinal cancer. Japan and Korea have the highest rate of that cancer in the world, and eat that stuff regularly.
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Post by DancingLlama on Jan 19, 2014 9:36:08 GMT 9
Best advice: spend an afternoon learning to read Hangul. It is amazing how many English words are used in business signs, newspapers, billboards and so on. I mean English words written using hangul. As you ride around on the bus you can practice your reading.
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Post by lloyd on Jan 21, 2014 14:16:44 GMT 9
Learn to read your first week.
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