Pet Ownership in Korea

I had been putting off getting a pet for years because I knew I was planning to travel and that it might be difficult to take a pet with me but when I got to Korea and decided I would be staying a while I gave in and bought the most adorable little Yorkie Puppy - pretty sure he is actually a teacup Yorkie because the Vet said he would only get to 3kgs. I named him Socrates because he was such a smart little thing, smart interspersed with crazy, but a delight to be around.

Once my Mum made the decision to come and work here as well getting a puppy was on the top of her list of priorities...I think seeing the video's and pictures of my lovely Socrates probably helped encourage her! Mum also got a Yorkie, a little girl, who she named Nini (pronounced like knee-knee).

Where we got the puppies from:

Socrates (Sokkies for short) came from a Vet in Osan (the town my school is in) and Nini ended up coming from the same place. I thought getting a puppy from a vet was a good idea, again I have heard some horror stories about puppy mills and that the ones you can buy at the train stations have a tendency to die, at least you know if you get them from a Vet they have had relatively good conditions. I also liked the people that worked at the Vet, they seemed super friendly, and they really loved the animals.

Hatchiko came from a pet store, also in Osan, but again the place was clean and the puppies were obviously well looked after... turns out he was also a fair bit cheaper than Sokkies and Nini...because everybody seems to want Yorkies!

Cost:

Remember the dogs are pure-breeds...so quite cheap compared to western countries.
Sokkies - 450,000 won
Nini - 630,000 won (she's a girl and can be bred from hence the cost jump.)
Hatchiko: 380,000 won

This doesn't, however take into account the cost of the vaccinations and de-sexing etc... that is a process that Nini and Hatchiko are still going through. To have Sokkies de-sexed cost me 170,000 won and then by the time they have had a gazillion vaccinations which includes conditions such as canine influenza, rabies, and "the brain disease" which I am still not 100% clear on! All of these shots are a good idea, first to protect the doggie, second because if you want to take them out of the country at any point then the vaccinations and paperwork are already done. All up I probably spent 400,000 won again on Vet bills.

Vets:

Sokkies and Nini went / go to the same Vet in Osan, Hatchiko goes to a vet in Byeongjeom which is closer to our house an the one thing I have to say about Vet's in Korea is... They are lovely! They make such an effort so speak English, translate things for you, and generally make sure you understand what is happening. The one in Byeongjeom actually has excellent English so it is a little easier for him! They also send you a text message the day before you have a scheduled visit to make sure that you don't forget and my Osan vet even sends me a message a day before I have to put the heart-worm stuff on Sokkies' neck. The Vet in Osan would also always remember both my name, the name of the dog...and then mum's name and the name of her dog too.

Clothing and accessories:

If you are anything like me this will probably be your biggest cost in the end! Clothing...e.g. jackets are a bit of a must for a tiny dog given how cold it gets here... it's an excuse but I am running with it! The vet's all sell clothing and all other possible bits and pieces that you could need, as do big department stores like Lotte Mart and E-Mart, there are pet stores spotted EVERYWHERE, but the best place to by the clothes is from the street vendors around the streets in Seoul or near the subway....sooooo much cheaper. Socks and boots are also easy to get...though I haven't tried those yet! People here are potty about their pets so you can really find anything you could ever imagine that you might need.

Because most people here also live in apartments things like "puppy pads" are easy to get. Basically they are a plastic tray, with a plastic lid full of tiny holes and on the inside you put an absorbent pad so that when the puppy does his or her business the liquid is absorbed and everything else is easy to pick up. We, unfortunately, are still at the toilet training stage so dealing with the occasional accident!

Below are the links to the video's I have been putting together of the adventures of our little puppies... starting with The adventures of Socrates, and then more recently, The adventures of Socrates Part 2!

The Adventures Of Socrates:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIM-LDFx7oM

The Adventures Of Socrates Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTW8lY-Kk7k

I had so much fun putting those video's together and I am so glad I bought a video camera to do so!

Number 130. Go ice-skating outside at night

I can't remember if I got the invitation to go ice-skating on my mobile phone or through facebook but it was arranged for one night after school, a Tuesday, because it was so cold that Osan city council had finally decided to set up the ice skating out the front of city hall. I raced home after school to get changed and have something to eat and then met the lovely Rosie and Alex on the way to city hall. It was amazingly cheap... about $1 US to skate and that included the cost of hiring the ice-skates! I havent skated outside since I was a kid and we were living in Canada so this was an awesome experience for me. There is something special about zooming around on the ice in the fresh air rather than enclosed with that icy smell that you always find that's almost overpowering. Night-time is even better because of all the lights! We stayed for an hour or so, using the time as an excuse for a catch up with other foreign teachers as much as we were using it to skate around, and then with frozen fingers and red noses we headed to the coffee shop for some maple latte's and Rotti buns!

The reality of co-teaching

I have heard good and bad things from my fellow native teachers and in fact I have had both good and bad experiences myself with co-teaching. I work at a very large school (1500 students) and so I have 5 co-teachers that I work with in different classes throughout the week. A few of my colleagues only have 1 or 2 co-teachers that they work with and from what I can gather the experience differs vastly depending on who your co-teacher is and what their attitude is toward your being there to teach. There seems to be a lot of bad reviews on the internet so let me start with the good stuff. The co-teacher I had when I first arrived as my "main co-teacher", in other words the teacher directly responsible for me, was fantastic to work with. She was organised and made sure that I got to attend all sorts of interestign programs...and wait for it... actually gave me warning about upcoming events and things I needed to do (this is surprisingly rare in Korea). She was considered to be a very strict teacher but all of the students loved her because she was fun and she really cared about them and what they were doing / achieving in class. We developed a great routine, I would do the lesson planning but she took a very active part in the lesson, questioning the students in Korean about what I had said in English and asking the kids to answer her in English. My lessons with her always felt much more in depth and like the students learned a lot more. We worked well together and we also worked well outside of class and developed a friendship. A great experience co-teaching. While this is not always the case there are wonderful co-teachers out there so do not be put off by all the bad reviews on the internet! Because I have 5 co-teachers each class is dramatically different, a few co-teachers are easy to work with, one co-teacher barely speak however the students are very advanced (compared to the rest of the school) and I feel like they probably learn more from me than many of the other classes anyway. I should also mention I am a qualified teacher and I am confident standing up in front of a class so having to manage the class and discipline does not worry me as it might worry some people...I also generally find that bribing the students with video's helps as they then start yelling at each other to be quiet! Putting it delicately I have a few classes where I have a little difficulty.... where it is clear the teacher does not like the students, does not want to be there, and so consequently the students are a nightmare. With this teacher I am constantly cut off mid sentence and frequently find myself wondering why I am even there when the attitude is that I am more trouble than I am worth. But again, this is not the case with all co-teachers! I have also had, and heard about, issues with discipline and native teachers feeling like they do not receive any support when disciplining students. In some cases the students are aware that you have very little authority and so do not offer the respect that they give to their other teachers. I have also heard a few horror stories...but I am not going to include those as you don't have to search to hard to find them on the net! Now to the "reality" side... The contract really should be re-written so we know what we are in for... it says "assistant teacher" which is why we are paid less than Korean teachers, though we do the majority if not all of the lesson planning, the majority of the classroom management and discipline and in most cases the majority of the speaking and actual teaching. It really works the other way around. Co-teaching can be fun when you work together as a team, sometimes you must expect to act as though you are teaching alone, and sometimes you may actually teach very little...it depends on the person you are teaching with, the day, their mood, the mood of the students etc etc. To be a good co-teacher you must be flexible! If it is really going to work the way it is supposed to then you must also be really comfortable with your co-teacher and both approach it as though you are working together as a team. Building some (any) kid of relationship with your Korean teacher will help somewhat! To anybody reading this...if you have had good or bad experiences co-teaching please feel free to post a comment below because I would be really interested to hear some other stories! (and suggestions perhaps on how to manage difficult co-teachers!)

Couple Holidays

The 14th of every month in Korea seems to be a special occasion for couples; or for single people so that they don't get forgotten just because they are not part of a couple as in the case of April 14th. Below is a short list of these couple holidays.





January 14th is Diary Day / Candle Day- Couples exchange journals or diaries to share wishes that the other will have a lovely year. Couples also exchange candles - something to do with staying warm in the cold weather...






February 14th is Valentines Day - with a twist as this is the day where women buy chocolates for the men. Apparently they often deploy army trucks to deliver chocolates from girlfriends to the men who are in compulsory military service.



March 14th is White Day - where the men return the favour and buy chocolates for the women.








April 14th is Black Day - where those who haven't found love console their lonely hearts by eating black noodles - apparently many university students eat loads of these noodles hoping to meet a partner through this declaration of loneliness.






May 14th is Yellow Day / Rose Day - Those who are in love by this day exchange roses. There is also suggestion that singles should wear yellow to declare their single status...and therefore hopefully find a companion...or other single people to drown their sorrows with!









June 14th is Kiss Day - obviously celebrated by kissing! I have found a few resources that suggest that everyone kisses everyone on this day (e.g. kiss everyone you meet) and others that suggest that this is a couples day... I prefer to believe that this is a couple day and intend to slap any random person that attempts to kiss me! This one is also quite interesting since kissing in public is taboo in this country...








July 14th is Silver Day - where couples exchange silver gifts... I am more of a gold girl so this one is a bit of a let down in my mind!






August 14th is Green Day - couples are supposed to dress in Green, walk in the woods and drink cheap liquor that comes in green bottles (this means soju...) though I have found a few links that suggest the couples are the ones enjoying the day and nature while it is only the single people that drink soju in order to drown their sorrows.







September 14th is photo day - where couples should take a picture of themselves together somewhere romantic and put it in a special place so it can be looked at all the time. There are also a few links that suggest that it is actually photo and music day...so the photo part is the same but the day must also end with couples in a No Rae Bang singing to each other to make their relationship public.






October 14th is wine day - where couples should enjoy a glass / bottle of wine together.

November 14th is movie day - celebrated by couples going to the movies together (just in case the name of the day left you in any doubt!).







December 14th is hug day - where couples hug each other "to chase away the winter cold"... There are a few extra's:









October 24th – Apple Day The Korean word for apple is called ‘Sa-gwa’ (사과), also means to apologize. On this day, friends, family and couples give an apple to each other to apologize for past mistakes.








First snow day - couples are supposed to celebrate the coming of snow with a romantic date.









Christmas eve is apparently a couples night in Korea - but this makes sense given that the country is not built on Christianity like a lot of Western countries. So.... the reason this is in the "could go either way list" is that if you are a part of a couple these continuous couple events may make you feel warm and fuzzy inside or give you cause for concern about the amount of money you are going to be spending on your significant other. If you are single your face will be constantly rubbed in that fact and you will be frequently reminded that you are, in fact, a little sad and pathetic for not being physically attached to someone at all times. But single people should not dispair! Their Korean co-workers will constantly try to set them up with completely innappropriate people and it is completely acceptable to drown your sorrows by drinking to the point where you are violently ill on the side of the street...so not all is lost!