Confession: I Stopped Eating the School Lunch

Okay, that is old news.  I stopped eating the school lunch about the second week of April. 

Why is this important?  Of course I spent time reading about what I was getting myself into before I left for Korea.  There were two things in particular that caught my attention.  First, of the stories I heard where a school did not particularly like their EPIK teacher, it seemed that "they didn’t even eat the school lunch” was tacked on at the end.  Eating the school lunch is a big deal.  At least that’s what I thought.  Secondly, we shouldn’t expect to actually use our sick days.   I kept hearing it’s not common for Koreans to stay home and rest but tend to work even if they are not feeling well, so that is what they expect from us.

Before coming to Korea, I really didn’t think eating the school lunch would be a problem for me.  Man was I wrong!  I also didn’t think I would have to worry too much about “not being allowed” to use my sick days.  You already know I broke “rule” or should I say “advice” number one, but I broke number two as well.

Let’s start with the school lunch.  Most of my school lunches were okay.  But only okay.    That white rice every day was a life saver.  Then there were a few that I was worried about keeping down.  Note that they don’t drink with their meals here, so I also didn’t even have water to help me out.  I’m really not a picky eater, but I decided that I needed to start packing my lunch.  I never looked forward to lunch beforehand.  And what teacher says that?!  I was also paying for food that I didn’t particularly like and I often left still hungry.  I gave it a good try, though.  I ate the school lunch for just over a month.  And that I think was important.  You need to be open to do new things and try new things when you’re living in another country.  I was worried about what my co-teacher would say when I told her I wanted to start bringing my own lunch, but she took it better than I thought she would.  However, the next day she did ask me some questions about my reasons why.  She knows I tried, though, and I think that’s what makes a difference.

Moving on to sick days.  I don’t get sick very often, but I’ve already been sick twice since I’ve been in Korea.   I woke up with an awful headache two days last week and then was sick all weekend.  I canceled plans Friday night and skipped out on the baseball game Sunday afternoon when I still wasn’t feeling well after church.  Then I took Monday off of work.  I used one of my sick days and it wasn’t a big deal whatsoever.  I texted my co-teacher Sunday night to let her know I was thinking about staying home the next day and then called her in the morning to let her know I was taking off for sure.  She said it was just fine and to be careful.  I think she meant feel better!

I went to the doctor on Monday and got some medicine.  There’s a doctor’s office just down the street from me and the doctor can speak a good amount of English, so that is perfect! Side note--I was in and out of there in about 10 minutes and it only cost me $7.00 for the visit and my medicine.  Amazing!  I figured if I was sick enough to stay home from work that I better go to the doctor’s because if I ever mention that I have a headache or whatnot, my co-teacher always says, “Oh Kelsy, shall we go to the hospital together?”

As soon as I got to work on Tuesday, the vice-principal came over and asked how I was feeling and made sure I went to see the doctor.  One of my co-teachers even mentioned that they were offering for me to stay home instead of going on the field trip on Wednesday.  Even though that was tempting, of course I went on the field trip.

If there are any future EPIK teachers reading this blog, I say all of this to say that no matter what you read before coming here, it is most important that you take care of yourself.  Living in another country completely different from home can be hard and tiring.  Do your best to try new things and experience the culture but also pay attention to how you are feeling.  Make sure to take time for yourself without worrying about how the people here will react because most likely it is going to be okay.  Whether it's packing your own lunch or taking a day off when you're sick because that is what you are used to doing at home, just do it.