회식 and field trips

[taeyang]

i'm curious about other people's experiences with teacher meetings and field trips. it seems like, at my school, that there's a field trip every two months or so... but I rarely go because I get really travel sick :(. it's a lame excuse, I know, but some of the older teachers even commented on how ill I looked the first (and only) time I went. I'm not complaining - there are other teachers who don't go too.

the younger teachers, under 30, all get together too every few months. it can be fun but I always end up sitting in silence, being force-fed food. again, no complaints but I always feel really awkward!

what are you experiences? how often do you have meetings? are you expected to go or is there some leeway?

[sweet_potato]

I never get invited, lol. But I guess it's a good thing because frankly, it would be awkward to tell them that I don't want to go.

I heard that this one girl went on a field trip with her female coteachers, and when they were changing for bed, they busted out their phones to take pictures of her as she was undressing.

[SpaceRook]

what are you experiences? how often do you have meetings? are you expected to go or is there some leeway?

We usually have them after big events (field day, exams, end of the semester, etc...).  I try to go if I'm given adequate notice (24 hours) and no pre-existing plans.  While I don't enjoy sitting on the floor and being nervously ignored by 95% of the attendees, it does help the relationship with my co-teachers a little bit.  And the janitors are actually quite friendly to me now since they saw me at one of the 회식's :)

[Koreak]

I personally love them!  Are my Korean Language skills the best?  No, but usually improve during the trip.  Plus the food is usually amazing.  Sure I have had some interesting meals... From getting  lessons on the proper way to eviscerate a live sea urchin to only flipping samgyeopsal one time to preserve the flavour.

I think they are what you make of them.  My first few meals I would sit there quietly and it seemed like time dragged on.  So, it got me thinking that if you sit there like a log and feel uncomfortable, then of course you are going to have an uncomfortable time.  So I started to walk around practicing my very basic Korean, say hello just to announce my presence.  Ask if the food was delicious.  Sure enough, the teachers I thought knew no English were happy I tried to speak Korean and were much more receptive.  To a new teacher they can be very intimidating, especially with no understanding of Korean.  But they can also be a fun-filled way to get to know your co-workers or even improve relations with them.

[charlsie]

I love going on field trips with my school.  It gives me an opportunity to have fun with the students and travel/experience a different part of Korea.  I also get to catch up with my co-teacher on the bus ride.  Plus I get "business trip pay" which I was told is a little more than regular pay to "chaperone."

I'm present at teachers meetings although I have no idea what's going on.  I just sit at my laptop and when everyone stands up and bows to the principal...I do the same. 

Staff dinners are a little awkward since majority of the time I have no idea what's being said.  I instead use the time to listen to the conversation and see how much Korean I know.  There's free food and drinking involved so it ends all in good fun  :)

[greenchalk]

i've been on a couple field trips, generally a great time, but i just thought i'd share this quick anecdote from one of them...

i'm in daegu and one day after school all the teachers, including me, packed into a bus and headed to ulsan for some sightseeing and fish. having combined raw fish and soju before, in what i'll call sloppy proportions, i had the premeditated gameplan of taking it easy on the beverages and enjoying the good company of my fellow teachers. BUT, as i'm sure you all know, sometimes the principal/vp just won't take no for answer. i swear i didn't have THAT much to drink, but apparently it was enough. no, i didn't get sloppy drunk and try to make out with a co-teacher. what i did was worse. i had to pee. i had to pee real bad. so i made them stop at a rest stop along the way. not the bad part. cue some hour later (its about a 2 hour bus ride) and durnit if i don't have to pee again. real bad! so, terribly bad...and we were so terribly close to our destination that they just urged me to push on through. be a good sport! but i couldn't!
i don't know what happened...but the next thing i know i was in the back row, next to a passed out colleague, peeing into a large plastic water bottle. yes! of course everyone knew what i was doing. i told them i was doing it. i didn't care! i was overcome with bladder pains. and as i'm doing it, the passed out teacher wakes up from his stupor, looks over at me and mumbles, "i understand." and passes out again. if it wasn't actually happening it would have been awesome.
surprisingly enough, there haven't really been any negative repercussions from all this. i'm still welcome to the teacher outings and my standing at school, whatever it was, seems about the same. just take it as a warning to go easy on the alchy if you have a small bladder. or at least make sure the bus has a toilet.
the end.

[kiwikimchi]

Haha 
Very funny story
I have the same problem as you with having a small bladder so
I will remember this for any trips I have.

I also find it very strange that on these trips or meals with teachers, it
is perfectly acceptable to get rotten drunk and make a mess
of your self. I am talking about the Korean teachers.
Teachers vomiting, passing out and often making a fool of
them selves. The first time I experienced it I didn't know
what was going on.
On one hand its nice to see them let their hair down
and have a bit of fun. On the other hand if I
compare the same thing happening back in my
home country it would be super uncomfortable.
But come Monday morning in at school
its back to normal and almost if it didn't happen.

[hankmcmasters]

i'm not a huge fan of 회식, but usually they are free and quite a spectacle.  it irks me that my teachers act like theyre in middle school and sit in cliques and don't talk to other groups.  and usually i sit quietly until the end when people argue over who will drive me home. 

going around and talking to people is a great idea because probably nobody else is doing that, even though i think most people would enjoy it.  they'll be impressed, and you'll be entertained.

i also enjoy my 회식 because i usually am asked to give a speech or sing a song, and everyone sits there and listens to my voice crack to britney spears.

[ramkyles]

Staff dinners are a little awkward since majority of the time I have no idea what's being said.  I instead use the time to listen to the conversation and see how much Korean I know.

That's what I do too! The other teachers wonder if I understand what they are saying and I just tell them it's my "Korean listening excercise".

[dropdeadbarbi]

My VP poured a shot of soju for me, he pointed to the bottle and said, "English Teacher". I pointed at the soju bottle and replied, "한글말 선생님/Hangulmal seonsamnim".

Teacher outings are great icebreakers between everyone, not to mention it's a free Korean/English lesson. Before the shot cups get passed around, I'm usually sitting there in silence. After a few drinks, I'm pretty much speaking and understanding most of the conversations.

[engbrand]

You are all lucky, I have been at my schook for 18 months

Never been:

Invited on a school trip, been to lunch or had a drink with any teachers, invited to end of semester teacher lunch. Each time I invite my co-teacher for food...She is too busy.

As negative as this sounds, My school treat me well and are never unreasonalbe with any work realted aspects. I just wish a social hand could be extended in a simple way, in spite of the langauge barrier.

[merle]

회식's are fun and I almost always go, unless they are sprung up on me in the last 20 minutes of the day and I had already made other plans (promises).  One semester it seemed we had a staff dinner every other week, and in the first month it was every week!

Only thing I wish is that occasionally we'd go to the less expensive places.  Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for raw seafood. 

Dinners in the past have included:
  Raw seafood (raw sea urchin tastes like you are drinking salty mineral water)
  Galbi
  Samgyeopsal
  Eel
  Duck shabu shabu (yum!)

[suzettec]

I'm in a very small school and get invited to all the dinners.  I have also had the opportunity to go on all but one trip.  Some of these are for two nights and it's a lot of fun.  Once the kids go to sleep the teachers will drink and play games... usually Go/Stop.  If a trip is coming up I will let my co-teacher know that I'm interested in going and will ask them to say something to the VP or Principle.  I even got to go skiing for two days. 

Sometimes all you have to do is ask.  What's the worst they can say... no... so you don't lose anything.

[AshleyTeacher]

The field trips are nice, I wish we had more of them. I have only been on 2 field trips in the year I've been here. I've been on 1 teacher's trip and we went to visit the Principal's old school, drink, and crash in a hotel.

I have been pressured to drink, but after watching me accept the cup and then simply putting the cup on the table without drinking, they have left me alone. I've been surprised that some of the really smashed teachers who couldn't put on their shoes alone were allowed to drive home.

Otherwise, it's not so bad.

[BBetz1985]

Engbrand...Totally understand. Everyone has been cordial and welcoming enough at school, but I have had zero interaction in the last two years. Look at the demographics of the school. Most of my teachers are middle aged family people with school aged children, and it is the reason for almost every denied invitation/request. I have had my best luck interacting with my English speaking students parents. You might want to volunteer to organize a teachers class or parents class for English speakers.

[sbbaas]

the younger teachers, under 30, all get together too every few months. it can be fun but I always end up sitting in silence, being force-fed food. again, no complaints but I always feel really awkward!

what are you experiences? how often do you have meetings? are you expected to go or is there some leeway?

My school had meetings once a month the first semester. Apparently our principal isn't the most laid back guy, so these meetings have decreased. When I first started at my school, I was told the meetings are optional but I should go. Ultimately they gossip about the teachers that don't go and/or take it as they think they are too good. I found that the teachers that don't go have stopped participating because teachers have said or done things while drunk that made them upset or uncomfortable.

The meetings typically suck until a buzz kicks in and I no longer care. Like another person posted, they do act like middle school students and sit in cliques. Also, no one ever cues me in to what's going on or what the topic of conversation is. They constantly interrupt each other and take calls on their phone during important speeches so it does frustrate me when no one takes a few seconds to tell me what's going on.   It gets better as the night goes on and the group gets smaller. In the end I am usually happy I went, but sitting in silence starring at the floor during a 20 minute rant of Korean does make you feel uncomfortable.

[foreverJ]

wahaha funny story, Greenchalk ^_^
On one teacher's fieldtrip, the journey took hours, so they had some entertainment on the bus including a noraebang, an MC, and games. they drew names out of a hat, and I was chosen to judge the 'Who has the stinkiest shoe' competition. >awkward!< one shoe came from my managaress, and the other from a very pretty, and ladylike teacher. I totally judged the ladylike teacher's shoe as the stinkiest!