The Disappearance of Common Sense... Wednesday, June 23

Frustrations on my plate lately stem from a particular someone.

You’d think that Korea, a country so English crazy, would at least make it a required skill to speak English if you’re going work in an English demanding job. Sounds only like common sense to me.

Apparently common sense isn’t so common.

I recently picked up another tutoring student, a particularly high-up, very successful business man to which I will refer to as “Green” from here on out. Making the connection between he and I was a middle man (well a women actually). She’s been calling me non-stop and doesn’t speak a word of English. I met up with her for the initial interview and after she tested my Korean language skills to its’ full extent with her non-stop, no breathing in between sentences, high vocab, one sided conversation, she threw me out there to see if I had managed to grab any understanding of what she said. Oh, and I should note here that most of this went down on the phone after she buzzed me through security check and walked away.

She left me standing there.

I had to fill out and sign security papers for a major company, go through quite an intense security check that included not only them going through an airport-like check with going through my bags, putting me through a metal-detector and putting stickers on my cell phone, but they also made me apply for a security card by filling out a legal document in Korean.

Today marked day one of this new tutoring job and I already want to quit because of this middle woman.

I’m hired to teach English because I speak English not because I can speak Korean. I’m by no means fluent in Korean but beyond the language skills I’ve learned and have picked up, I’m pretty good at connecting the dots and making sense of the missing pieces.

She’s missing one major piece though. The fact that she works in a field that is so English demanding and yet she doesn’t speak English is beyond me. Snickers' English is higher than hers and that doesn’t say much considering he's apparently made up his own Konglish vocab and insists on using his new favorite word [damn] for everything from a noun to an adjective.

“Let’s open up a Chinese restaurant if this is the case!” I blurted out to Snickers, cause God knows I can’t cook and, beyond jjajang-myun, the only thing I know about Chinese food is it’s always served with a fortune cookie… of which I found out they don’t even have fortune cookies in China!!!

This is my beef these days.

It wouldn’t be a big deal if it weren’t for the fact that she’s now resorted to calling my husband in stalker-like style, calling him up daily for random questions related to me and my teaching.

You do realize that the average foreigner in Korea doesn’t speak Korean very well, right?! The fact that I’ve studied Korean and speak it on a daily bases because of my boxing and my husband is a pure bonus, so since when did it become a requirement? It’s not, that’s my point. And had I been another average foreigner, this whole situation would have been next to impossible to play out.

I don’t get paid to speak Korean and Snickers doesn’t get paid to be my secretary, so if that makes me a B-I-T-you-know-the-rest for not being so willing to put up with someone’s nonsense then so be it.

Know your role!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Does anyone know where common sense has gone?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Common sense isn't so common.
-- Me