Long Time, No Posts

So it's been five or six days since I last posted.

It's been hectic once again; as we had three days of welcoming parents into our classrooms.  The school holds annual open events over three consecutive days, and we had to prepare for them.  The event was extremely high pressure, the pressure was entirely placed upon us by those who had previously participated, and our bosses. I went into the event expecting to be eaten alive; I come out of the event realising that the people I work with might be borderline autistic, such is their inability to communicate with other adults.  Maybe, after several months of working in this field, I too will become afraid.

The way my colleagues talked about the parents was reminiscent of a first watching of 'alien,' or 'the hills have eyes.'  The fear was palpable, and the smell was only superseded by the noxious insect repellent they happened to spray through our windows in the buildup to these events.

As events unfolded, my suspicions grew.  Could the parents here be particularly awful?  Maybe the ridiculous amounts of money they earn give them the pompous self-entitlement some of the children possess?  Maybe they have acid for blood?

The school holds an annual contest between the different classes within a grade, so during the open days we were to hold in-class contests to find the most suitable combatants.  The parents were tasked with the impossibly challenging: stand at the back of the class and do nothing.

So were they demons?

No.  They were all just normal people.  Some were extremely kind, some even smiled, believe it or not.  Most just talked through the other childrens' presentations, talked on their mobile phones or talked to their own children.  Some applauded after every presentation, some after their own child, some didn't applaud at all.  Some left after their own child had finished, some stayed the course.  All things considered, they are normal people.  I don't know why everyone else is so afraid.  I'm nervous that I missed something, or that my cruise-control attitude means that on Monday, I will wake up to having no job, on account of being uncouth.

Unless I am very much mistaken, they are normal people.  Terrible parents, but normal people nonetheless.  (Not all Koreans are terrible parents, some subdue their crying babies, some even talk to their children!)

On a side-note, I recently found out the scale of the ship building activities here.  One company is currently building eleven oil drilling ships, each with a value of five hundred and fifty million dollars.  These are being built concurrently, alongside container ships and oil platforms.  I don't know how many other ships are being built right now, or their value.  This half of the island houses the second and third largest shipyards in the world, and the largest is just up the road.  I can't remember whether I mentioned this or not, but they rebuild the pavement every few months here, adding different patterns and colours.  I mentioned that it is a chronic waste, but the fact is, they have too much money here.

If you've seen in the news that there's a massive oil spill down Mexico way, that drilling ship was built here too.  It's an extremely interesting case of, 'I wonder why we didn't see that coming...' and the story is readily available on the internet should you want to find out exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure if I say it here, people will disappear, only to reappear three weeks later on the beach, wearing concrete shoes.

On a lighter note, I participated in an eating contest of sorts on Wednesday.  I still feel rough, and I would not recommend anyone eat too much pizza; having tried it myself I can say it was an awful, if not somewhat entertaining experience.

I vowed never to eat pizza again, only to eat it the next day for dinner.

I'll put some pictures up with the full scoop at a later date.

Note to Internet:

So having had time to re-evaluate the workplace gathering in the cold, harsh light of day; I've decided that it didn't really surprise me.  To enlighten readers, here's how the evening went:

It was a birthday gathering, to which all were invited, but by no means was a commitment required.  Out of simple curtesy, it was asked that people merely confirm their presence (or otherwise).  So we all arrived, except one, who was out playing basketball (having confirmed that he would be present.) So we ordered food.

At which point one person threw the food back at the chef (not literally) claiming there was beef in the chicken pasta.  This was a complete crock, and embarassed the host (the birthday person) no end. 

Being quite conservative the birthday-ee (the person whose birthday it was) was resigned to eating it, not wishing to offend anyone.  Whatever your views on culture over here, the birthday-ee reacted this way, and the shame was evident for all to see.  Whether you agree or disagree with the shame and blame culture here, you directly influence other people, so the least that's expected is to behave reasonably by their standards.

The same person went on to order a glass of water, at which point the cups were taken away, refilled and redistributed.  The person then refused to drink out of the glass, because they feared it might have been used by someone else at the table.  Me and the birthday-ee are now squirming at the pathetic attitude on display, and the humiliation of being sat next to such a person.  I don't necessarily disagree with their eating habits, (everyone has their quirks, afterall) but their demeanour was - frankly - disgusting.  And no one else batted an eyelid.

Feeling desperately embarassed and sorry for the birthday-ee, I endeavoured to keep them entertained.  Whether this worked or not shall never be known, conservatism is expected in the workplace, so a curt 'thank you,' could be for saving the life of your child, or for handing over a piece of paper.

I'm struggling to find a lesson in this.  I guess firstly; the people you work with will never be any more than colleagues, so expecting anything of them in the way of friendship or personal interaction is asking for trouble.  Affectation, rather than affection.

Then again... That's bleak.  Maybe it should be a slightly more complicated:  Colleagues are, at best, unreliable friends.

Yeah, that works.

I just hope the birthday-ee hasn't lost all faith in humanity.  Hopefully only in americans.