the Psychological Effects of "the End"
My roommate and fellow coworker here at Seoul often makes this statement, "I don't know when is the next time I will be in Korea, so might as well try that too," to literally anything that we have been going through for the past couple of weeks. Whether it be trying unusual food at hole-in-the-wall restaurants with no English spoken, or wondering through sketchy neighborhoods at night drinking excessively and looking for I-don't-know-what, such an attitude gave him the courage to basically venture into sometimes quite uncomfortable unknowns that most sane foreigners in the country may never venture.
As for myself, I had exactly the same attitude back in summer of 2008 when I first came to Korea to teach English. A young college student with little worries of financial management (I had almost full financial aid at Yale, while I will be paying 100% over in London starting September), I generously spent in Korea the cash Korea has given me, traveling widely to take in every sight of even the most remote interest. Back then, as now, I had no idea if I was ever going to come back to Korea, so experiencing anything that is Korean was definitely higher on the list of priorities than saving cash.
Although both myself and my roommate are financially conscious and have large amounts of tuition bills to pay off (his debt is something I would have nightmares about, heh), we still take up any chance we have in our short stay here in Korea to suck in anything we can find in Korea, barring pretty much nothing. Such a lifestyle is definitely not something to be had back home in the States, where trips are planned months in advance, and we, like most other people, rarely venture outside of our own social comfort zone of familiar faces...
I mean, really, if back home we use the excuse of "I might not do this again" as an excuse to do a bunch of ridiculous trips and meet a bunch of ridiculous people, people will think we are simply crazy and perhaps do not have complete grips of reality. It is as if here in Korea, we have not only the obligation of doing our best as English teachers, but also some sort of obligation to experience ("have fun in") Korea with the maximum possible open-mindedness and energy. Even if we are not explicitly told to do so, we seem to have already taken it up as a mission.
But why? What really distinguish us from the Korean workers, or even semi-permanent foreign workers here besides our inability to speak Korean? After all, I grew up in cultures similar to Korea (I am always reminded of how Japanese customs can be translated into the Korean context without any change in nuance) so Korea really does not feel THAT different for me underneath all the linguistic incomprehension. And my roommate is Korean-American, all used to hearing Korean conversation from parents and friends, and himself quite a good chef of Korean dishes.
The reason, I believe, of our hardly appropriate high level of excitement is the fact that yes, indeed, our time here is destined to come to an end. The date for our departure from the country is already set and planned, so there is an abnormal sense of urgency to do everything a person can possibly do in the matter, well, less than 60 days. In fact, come to think about it, my time in Japan felt much more interesting AFTER it was decided that I depart the country at the beginning of June.
One of the important element for making "the-end-is-in-sight" stays so much more interesting is the change in social dynamics that come with no need for considering prolonged relationships. Because people do not need to consider how to live with us for the foreseeable future (which, for a regular worker in Korea or Japan, 15 hours a day for rest of their working lives), the relationship tend to be much more spontaneous and carefree about all the social mishaps so characteristic of a society in which no balance of work and private life exists.
As temporary travelers, I have much less to complain about hanging out with coworkers, bosses, or even students outside of the work environment. I have no problem knowing all their faults and displaying all of mine to them. After all, I am not asking them for promotion or raise or another job after I depart the country in August. And the Korean coworkers, seemingly fully understanding of such an attitude from us, seem to have absolutely no problem with us playing up whatever "foreigner card" we have. There is no worries about schism with local employees, and there are no worries that we do not fit into the local work culture.
Yeah, "not fitting in is normal" maybe a good summary for why the temporary workers are having so much fun in a foreign society. The burden of having to keep up a good face over the course of many years can kill off any entertaining portion of any relationship, with a person or with a society in general. What is entertaining, I suppose, is not always appropriate and can come back and haunt the careless person years later. But with us, seeing "the End" in sight, just letting it all out with considering the consequences may incur very little cost. Time is on our side, and we will do whatever we please until that day...
As for myself, I had exactly the same attitude back in summer of 2008 when I first came to Korea to teach English. A young college student with little worries of financial management (I had almost full financial aid at Yale, while I will be paying 100% over in London starting September), I generously spent in Korea the cash Korea has given me, traveling widely to take in every sight of even the most remote interest. Back then, as now, I had no idea if I was ever going to come back to Korea, so experiencing anything that is Korean was definitely higher on the list of priorities than saving cash.
Although both myself and my roommate are financially conscious and have large amounts of tuition bills to pay off (his debt is something I would have nightmares about, heh), we still take up any chance we have in our short stay here in Korea to suck in anything we can find in Korea, barring pretty much nothing. Such a lifestyle is definitely not something to be had back home in the States, where trips are planned months in advance, and we, like most other people, rarely venture outside of our own social comfort zone of familiar faces...
I mean, really, if back home we use the excuse of "I might not do this again" as an excuse to do a bunch of ridiculous trips and meet a bunch of ridiculous people, people will think we are simply crazy and perhaps do not have complete grips of reality. It is as if here in Korea, we have not only the obligation of doing our best as English teachers, but also some sort of obligation to experience ("have fun in") Korea with the maximum possible open-mindedness and energy. Even if we are not explicitly told to do so, we seem to have already taken it up as a mission.
But why? What really distinguish us from the Korean workers, or even semi-permanent foreign workers here besides our inability to speak Korean? After all, I grew up in cultures similar to Korea (I am always reminded of how Japanese customs can be translated into the Korean context without any change in nuance) so Korea really does not feel THAT different for me underneath all the linguistic incomprehension. And my roommate is Korean-American, all used to hearing Korean conversation from parents and friends, and himself quite a good chef of Korean dishes.
The reason, I believe, of our hardly appropriate high level of excitement is the fact that yes, indeed, our time here is destined to come to an end. The date for our departure from the country is already set and planned, so there is an abnormal sense of urgency to do everything a person can possibly do in the matter, well, less than 60 days. In fact, come to think about it, my time in Japan felt much more interesting AFTER it was decided that I depart the country at the beginning of June.
One of the important element for making "the-end-is-in-sight" stays so much more interesting is the change in social dynamics that come with no need for considering prolonged relationships. Because people do not need to consider how to live with us for the foreseeable future (which, for a regular worker in Korea or Japan, 15 hours a day for rest of their working lives), the relationship tend to be much more spontaneous and carefree about all the social mishaps so characteristic of a society in which no balance of work and private life exists.
As temporary travelers, I have much less to complain about hanging out with coworkers, bosses, or even students outside of the work environment. I have no problem knowing all their faults and displaying all of mine to them. After all, I am not asking them for promotion or raise or another job after I depart the country in August. And the Korean coworkers, seemingly fully understanding of such an attitude from us, seem to have absolutely no problem with us playing up whatever "foreigner card" we have. There is no worries about schism with local employees, and there are no worries that we do not fit into the local work culture.
Yeah, "not fitting in is normal" maybe a good summary for why the temporary workers are having so much fun in a foreign society. The burden of having to keep up a good face over the course of many years can kill off any entertaining portion of any relationship, with a person or with a society in general. What is entertaining, I suppose, is not always appropriate and can come back and haunt the careless person years later. But with us, seeing "the End" in sight, just letting it all out with considering the consequences may incur very little cost. Time is on our side, and we will do whatever we please until that day...
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