Approaching 7 months...

Let's do a little pro/con on Korean life:

HOUSING

PRO: Most schools provide housing for you which means you can save a bundle every month by not paying rent. Electricity is unbelievably cheap! I've never spent more than $8 a month. Heated floors; oh my God, it's amazing!!

CON: Buildings might as well be made of legos and insulated with cheese; they are all crumbling and infested with mold. Also, Koreans think that shoebox sized studios make a perfectly adequate living quarters and windows aren't really a necessity. (Yes, my friend had a studio with no windows...) Showers are usually constructed from a sink and a hose. Nothing else is needed. Koreans would rather use wallpaper than paint which means that after one hot and humid summer, your walls sluff more skin than your back does after five days in the sun. If you do decide to take the provided housing your school offers, you'll probably be living above a brothel or down the hall from an independently-run kimchi factory.

WORK

PRO: There is virtually nothing one could do to get fired in Korea. Embezzle. Sleep on your desk. Show up late. Purchase a fake degree (if the gov doesn't know, your employer won't care). Try to bribe important people with cheap gifts like hand towels and bars of soap. If you're hired to teach something like English, you don't even need to speak the language, just ''look'' western and you'll get the job (and keep it). You get paid and ridiculous amount of money to do nearly nothing. Seriously. Currently, at my boys school, I get paid $27 an hour to push play on a cassette player.

CON: If you want to leave your job and find another one in Korea, you must obtain a "letter of release" from your current employer. So, if your school really likes you but you want to quit and aren't ready to move back to the motherland, you're screwed. Because, as mentioned above, "there is virtually nothing one could do to get fired in Korea." You better believe they'll hold that letter hostage!! If you can't procure that coveted letter, you only have three options left: 1. leave in the middle of the night and go home; 2. Move to a new town and take up the lucrative career of an illegal private lessons teacher (dangle a free lesson/carrot and no one will ever say a word about your fugitive state); 3. Suck it up and try to finis your contract.

VACATIONS

PRO: Korea has a convenient location and flights to other Asian countries are generally cheap. There are several three day holidays in Korea which generally touch a weekend and often give you a nice little 'mini-break'--the perfect amount of time for a quick jaunt to Japan or a weekend to climb The Great Wall.

CON: Koreans don't understand the concept of vacations. Schools only give two weeks off to students between semesters and school years. Most hogwan teachers get something like 7 vacation days a year (EPIK gives you a woppin' 14). Most Koreans work Saturdays and your employer might expect you to do so too. And finally, there is a reason why the Lonely Planet: Korea book has 440 pages while Thailand has 820, China has 1,028, Japan 868... People generally don't come here for the "great sites..."

MAKING FRIENDS

PRO: Koreans are always friendly...

CON: ...but they're never your 'friend.' While they will always laugh at your jokes, lovingly refer to you as family, and frequently demonstrate genuine concern about your well-being, you will never obtain the title of 'friend' unless you have one of two things: 1. A Korean heritage (blood is thicker than water); 2. A permanent residence in Korea (meaning, you have lived here long enough and have known each other long enough that your 'connection' is validated--think of it as a validated parking ticket: if you want to park, you've got to stay and shop). Most Korean friendships are based on familial connection or length of acquaintance... In fact, if you share the same family name as someone, chances are that you're related (in a 500 years removed sort of way) and that's enough foundation to build a friendship on.

LIFE AS A FOREIGNER

PRO: Koreans love foreigners and will treat you very well if you come stay in their country. If you look lost, someone will always approach you and offer you directions. Need a ride? No problem! They just happened to be going in the same direction and would love to give you a lift! Always wanted to be on tv? Now's your chance! Your school will probably have a tv crew once or twice during your stay and would love to make you the star! Don't have any money? That's okay! You're a guest and guests don't pay for dinner! Don't speak Korean? No worries! Most people speak a little English and everyone knows Konglish! You don't need to learn Korean!

CON: You will be hunted down like a pack of wolves on a three legged cat. Everyone wants a private English tutor and they will do anything to secure your services. (Did I tell you the time I was almost ran over by a woman who wanted English lessons? Read it here.) Being a foreigner means every inch of you will be analyzed to the extreme by culturally insensitive Koreans. They will say you look pregnant, have a big head, are too short, must lose weight, need to dress warmer, and shouldn't wear big earrings because it's bad for your health (my vp told me this one last week). But perhaps the most intimidating criticism you will ever be privy too will come from the spa where bathers are required to bare it all under curious eyes (read about my first trip to the spa here.)

More pro/cons to come next week on my 7 month anniversary...