Fired

You read it correctly: I was fired last Friday. What did I do to provoke this action? Was it something terrible? Maybe I hit a kid or some other unspeakable crime? No. I called in sick on Thursday, and for that, I was fired.

Pull up a chair. I'll fill you in on the whole ridiculous saga. As you can tell from my previous post, I was sick last week. I probably had bronchitis or pneumonia, since I've had both and this felt pretty similar. Regardless of what it was, I was getting progressively worse and, by Wednesday, I was feeling awful. After work, I called my manager to tell her that I wouldn't be going into work on Thursday. Now, we don't exactly get sick days here. If we absolutely must miss a day, we are not paid that day and we have to pay for a substitute to teach our classes. It's not a tremendous amount of money, but it does give you a little insight into what it's like to work here. In other words, it's unpleasant.

Anyway, my manager told me to call her early in the morning to tell her again that I wouldn't be coming to work. Why she needed this extra confirmation is beyond me, but I agreed and fell asleep...for 13 hours.

I awoke to the sound of my phone ringing and my manager asking where I was. I explained that I had said I would miss work, and had spent the last 13 hours in a fever-induced sleep. I apologized for not calling, but she was already aware that I'd be missing work.

Instead of going to work, I met my manager at the doctor's office an hour later. She saw how sick I was, which was confirmed by the doctor, who prescribed me tons of medicine. After leaving the doctor's office, I went home and slept the rest of the day. Finally feeling better that night, I called my manager to say that I would return the following day.

After work on Friday, I was fired. The reasons given were that I had failed to notify the office that I would be absent from work on Thursday. They gave me a few weeks to continue working here, but I must leave by May 5th. So, in short, I was fired because I was sick. If this were the U.S., these people would be staring at a judge, jury, and a huge lawsuit for wrongful termination. But this isn't the States and any legal battles are long and generally favor the employer. Basically, if you're an American working in Korea and you have a problem, you're screwed.

Many people have asked me what I'm going to do now. I could grovel and beg for my job back and probably get it, but I don't think I want to work for a company that treats its employees with such little respect. Another option is to stay at the school for a few more weeks like they want and then go home. Finally, I could just pack up and leave immediately.

Since I'm writing this while it's still going on, I'll tell you what happened after it's all over. Be sure to see how it all ends!

Korean Sicknesses

I knew that, despite my best efforts to avoid illness, I would eventually get sick in Korea. It happened this week. It started with a cough that just wouldn't go away and progressed to an all-out attack on my immune system.

Let's take a look at some of the differences between being sick in the U.S. and being sick in Korea.

- In Korea, you will see a doctor and receive a questionable injection for any ailment.

- You will receive conventional medicine, such as antibiotics, as well as useless traditional Korean remedies.

- In Korea, your boss will do anything to make you come into work when you are sick. This includes, but is not limited to: begging, threatening, and fining. After all, it's your fault that you're sick, right?

- If you somehow manage to miss work for a day, you will be told that you must return the next day, regardless of your condition.

- This whole process is much cheaper than in the U.S., but it's much more annoying.

As you can probably guess, I'm more than a little unhappy about being treated like crap because I was sick. However, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come the day after I missed work. Stay tuned...

Korean Dentistry

I had an appointment the other day with a Korean dentist. Surprisingly, going to the dentist in Korea is nothing to worry about! I just had my teeth cleaned, so I can't vouch for any of their other services. They do also offer Botox injections. If you're wondering, the whole teeth-cleaning process is about the same as in the U.S. They did put some kind of mask over my face to keep me clean, which I thought was funny. However, no one in the office spoke English, so I had to go with one of my coworkers. So why did I have to go to the dentist?

A few days ago, I noticed a spot on one of my back teeth. Thinking it was nothing more than a leftover piece of food, I viciously attacked it with a toothbrush. Imagine my surprise when, despite several minutes of brushing, the small black spot remained! It was no bigger than a grain of sand, but it was so irritating to look at! I studied it for several minutes in the mirror and decided, with my infinite dentistry wisdom, that this must be a cavity. Wanting to be sure of my decision, I tried to poke various items into the tiny hole. Luckily, nothing worked.

So to sum it up: don't be afraid to go to the dentist. Oh, and despite the fact that I have no health insurance, it only cost me about $40. Not bad!

Korean Wal Mart

I've already posted a few things about shopping in Korea, but I felt it necessary to show you some more of the craziness that is Homeplus. It's essentially Korea's version of Wal Mart, but there are some noticeable differences. Can you spot them?