Can everyone please stop coughing on me?

[glitterstarbeau]

I told my Korean friend to stop coughing on me.  And then showed her how to cough in her elbow, not her hand (more hygienic).  But my students, I just say, stop that!

[woman-king]

This was my favourite scenario a couple days ago:

Co-Teacher: *coughs in her hand* (she has had a bad cold for 2 weeks now) *rips half a donut with her bare hands and hands it to me*
Me: Ummmm no thanks, I'm okay :)
Co-Teacher: Oh, come on. Have half.
Me: okay :*(

And guess what, the other half she was holding was still in its wrapper!

Gahhhh!   
Good time to invent a white lie about the 10 donuts you already had for breakfast, or something.

But, yeah.  Just one of those things about living here.  I have a cold like every 2 weeks.

[natale_laplante]

It's disgusting, no doubt. Especially to someone like me who is obsessed with cleanliness and was raised by a mother who was obsessed with cleanliness. Coughing into your hand or not covering your mouth just wouldn't fly at home.

But, what can you do? I guess the only way to protect yourself is to carry around hand sanitizer and take vitamin supplements every day to keep your immune system healthy.

[OneVurfedGwrx]

Over-cleanliness is often cited as a major cause of compromised immune systems, so although being coughed on is unpleasant walking around with hand sanitiser and vitamin supplements is not the ideal way to keep a strong immune system. 

I have been here two months and whilst all the kids have had colds I have caught nothing during my stay, but as a child I was allowed to roam free and play in fields etc without being "excessively" cleaned afterwards (cleaned obviously, but not in a overly-compulsive manner).  Germs can help build up immune systems as well as cause issues.

But, I do agree coughing on people is not a pleasant experience.

[gwenteacher]

Yep, this is definitely one of the things I won't miss about Korea, the coughing/sneezing without any attempt to cover their mouths!

[Horus]

Yeah, the thing is, if Korea insists that everyone - students and teachers alike - must go to school when sick, it should at least develop a hygiene culture. If little Su bin has a brutal cold, make sure she doesn't go around 'sharing' it with the whole school. That goes double for her teacher.

As for advice, I highly recommend waygook teachers take a multivitamin every morning. I was sick constantly here (like no stop) but the daily vitamin has helped greatly in resisting colds. That and knowing how to anticipate and 'dodge' an upcoming cough or sneeze. I'm like Spiderman at times now, leaping to the left to avoid a jab from the virus monster of doom.

[Mezoti97]

This was my favourite scenario a couple days ago:

Co-Teacher: *coughs in her hand* (she has had a bad cold for 2 weeks now) *rips half a donut with her bare hands and hands it to me*
Me: Ummmm no thanks, I'm okay :)
Co-Teacher: Oh, come on. Have half.
Me: okay :*(

And guess what, the other half she was holding was still in its wrapper!

Aww! I've had similar experiences as well, so I hear you.

[wafflebunny]

Oh my goodness, this is something  i feel so strongly about!

i noticed that kids cough all over each other and asked one of the other teachers why they don't put their hand in front of their mouth. she told me it's just not something they're taught in Korea; it's not seen as important in preventing germs from spreading. I am trying hard to get them to start the habit though. I made a poster for the class with a picture of someone sneezing and a big X, then someone covering their mouth and it has a tick. it says 'keep our class healthy'. so i can point to it when the kids do that. it hasn't helped much though. I do point to it when kids cough and they will do it the rest of class, but the next day it's the same. I give up! I can't keep telling them. I don't think they even realise why I'm telling them to do that, even though i did at the start of term. 

So that's why everybody's sick, and nobody gets better. It's also because even the kids don't take any sick days but that's another story....

Well, I'm not catching pneumonia because a bunch of nasty freaks wanna cough and hack all over each other. It's disgusting. No matter what country. It's funky. Fill yourselves up with vitamin C! Eat healthy and keep you bodies healthy. If you feel a tad bit sick, wear a mask. This is ridiculous and research should be done about germs spreading because there are too many non-immune people, old people and babies at risk.

[wafflebunny]

Makes no sense how they are some of the smartest people, but yet they see nothing wrong with coughing on everyone. GETS TO MY GUT EVERYTIME!!!!!!!!

Book smarts and common sense smarts are two different things. Which explain why the dumb bimbos in college could get straight As.

[sweet_potato]

my kids laughed hysterically at me once when i had to sneeze a couple of times in a row, and i did it in my upper-arm, facing away from them. how's that funny? should i have sprayed the first row?

[NZ4Life]

Some of my kids smelled my coffee, I heard, "mmm copee" so I moved my cup a little closer so they could smell it more (to tease them a little).

lol hilarity ensues....

[NZ4Life]

my kids laughed hysterically at me once when i had to sneeze a couple of times in a row, and i did it in my upper-arm, facing away from them. how's that funny? should i have sprayed the first row?

haha if that's they were expecting as an alternative i would laughing non-stop

[Horus]

The lamentable thing is, the parents do it too. They have no example to show them that it's not acceptable.

[duchessrachel]

My boyfriend teaches at a high school that was featured on SBS news last week because 14 students have contracted tuberculosis and 80 more are infected with the virus. You'd think this would be an opportune time to teach about public health, seeing as one of the worst viruses known to man is circulating, but everyone is still coughing everywhere without covering their mouths. Like someone posted earlier, we're not going to change Korea's social norms, so it might be best to swallow your pride and wear a mask if there's a serious virus going around your school.

[constantinople]

And think of all the food you eat that's being coughed on. Sure, the lunch ladies wear masks, but a couple days ago I was considering buying street food when a drunk man started coughing (with his mouth full) all over the food, while the cook continued to stir it, with the coughed up food landing everywhere, uninterrupted. Needless to say, I decided to eat in a restaurant.

[justanotherwaygook]

I decided to eat in a restaurant.

Out of sight, out of mind.  :)

[Horus]

Yeah, there's nothing like standing in line in the school cafeteria, watching half the teachers ahead of you coughing over the food. By the time I get to the top of the line my enthusiasm for lunch has somewhat wained. Then you have to strategitcally choose your seat, because half the kids walking by with their trays will cough as they pass your table. Charming.

[Briguyman]

Sadly, some generalizations exist because there is a large amount of truth in them.

Koreans don't understand that germs don't go away forever if you run your hands under water.

[veiledfolly]

Anyone else kind of disturbed by the idea of using bar soap everywhere? Having hundreds of people using the same soap is only going to make your hands dirtier... at least that is my opinion.

[cmster]

Anyone else kind of disturbed by the idea of using bar soap everywhere? Having hundreds of people using the same soap is only going to make your hands dirtier... at least that is my opinion.

I'd rather soap than no soap. :( My school's second floor bathroom hasn't had a bar of soap in at least a month. How much does it cost to put one it??? geez..