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ENJOY NEW CULTURE
Enjoy the culture, some unique aspects of Asia, such as South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia and more. Language, food, music, dance, arts and festivals, rituals, how things are done in society, education and more all help to make up culture. I once heard a music student teacher say, “I don’t believe in culture.” Well, as far as we can tell at Dom’s ESL, there is much culture in the world. Much of it different, and overlapping. Without going to deep about what is culture, we would just like to say, that you will find your share of culture on your road teaching abroad. Below is a few pics and information to give you some idea of what can be encounter.
For many of us, it can be a shock. Culture shock can be real and dealing with it can be important. You may find your new surroundings wonderful exciting, or even frightening. The new language and teaching job can be a challenge at first. Simply put, the different ways many things are done from one nation to the next can take some time to get used to. Many us abroad simply go with the flow, get into a routine and keep a life within close circles. Each of us in his/her own universe, in which we could live anywhere, including another planet, and we would not be bothered by a new and strange culture.
One could write books on culture, differences and how it affects us and on dealing with culture shock. Relax, take it easy, go with the flow and enjoy your new surroundings as an adventure, are just a few words we can say here. Travel and living abroad can be one the greatest experiences in our lives. Remember, people are people, wherever you go. Enjoy!
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| Trying new food can be fun. You may not agree with some of it, but it can be interesting to try it. The expressions such as, “ew and ah,” may come to mind with some foods from different cultures, or “mmm, that is great stuff”, for other food. The world’s different food, much of it with its own history,
adds to the flavour of culture. |
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| Try the experience of a bath house. Men’s and women’s bath houses can be very relaxing and tranquil. Many of us at first can be somewhat shy entering a nude bath with others, Once you do, it will most likely not phase you at all. It will most likely become a common practice as one of the best and habitual experiences. Bath houses are very common in South Korea,
Japan and some other nations. |
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| Part of the bath house experience if to wash (literally scrub) with wash clothes before entering the baths. You will find hot, cold, outdoor baths, sauna and steam rooms. You may even pay an extra fee and have staff scrub you down. Some of the bath houses offer
sports massages as well. |
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| Buddhist Temples can be quite tranquil and interesting places to visit.
You will often hike a small or even large mountain to find many temples throughout Asia.
Buddhism has been much apart of Asian culture for many centuries.
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| You will usually see monks within the temples,
who seem to represent to many, the basic and simplest human life, one of devotion to prayer and meditation and of course the seeking of enlightenment.
For many of us this life within a temple on a mountain top, within a communal type of home, will seem one of great distance compared with present life.
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| You could perhaps compare it to being similar to the ideals and life styles of the 60’s movement for mostly Western culture,
in a communal sense and in getting back to the land and to nature.
A pure life so to speak. |
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| You will find several small and large outdoor street markets while teaching abroad, something I had not experienced until first arriving
in South Korea. In many of these markets it is quite common to ask for a discount. It does help to know some of the basic local
language for this. English is not common in open street markets. |
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| You will sometimes find shoes and other merchandise displayed outside. |
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| Throughout Asia and Europe, if you teach there as well, you will find a large array of art, museums and galleries, cultural festivals and more. Korean traditional dance performances, as seen here, can be quite fantastic to watch and come in many varieties of styles. |
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| Dating within a different culture can be quite fascinating and interesting. It can bring a flow of curiosity. There can also be language and cultural barriers, such as the actual dating rituals people go through, which can differ in culture.
Relax, be yourself, don’t expect too much and have fun! |
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| For some who live and teach abroad, marriage into a new culture will be apart of life. In many Asian cultures,
such as South Korea, Japan and China, permission from parents is very important. Even when a local man is getting married to a Westerner,
his parents will usually have to give consent.
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| In a culture where authority from parents and others such as teachers is very prevalent,
and rebellion with youth virtually non-existence, in the former three countries, it can be easy to see why parent’s permission on marriage is important and
usually necessary. It can be hard to imagine as a Westerner giving up the love of your life because your parents disapprove. |
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| The actual teaching work is different than teaching back home, and will take some time to get used to. Again, cultural practises are brought into a work place and learning such practises will help. For the most part, as a foreigner English teacher, you will be immune and stand apart from much of the work place system, such as hierarchy in public schools for example. You will simply be a guest teacher for the most part. It is a good idea to go out once in a while for a school dinner when all staff is invited. Learn to teach ESL as best possible, which will not take to long.
Tesol and Celta courses certainly help, and of course experience. Enjoy! |
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