Troubles with Technology and Aging

Greeting, friends!

Now that the first week of teaching is over (just in time for me to start the next one!), it's time to take a short breather and relax to a nice, refreshing blog post. Since my last communication, I have come up against two very pressing issues. Those problems involve technology and age. Those two problems are not related, by the way.

Korea being the most wired, technology-obsessed country in the world, one would think that Koreans would have learned by the now what constitutes a good program or operating system and what constitutes a terrible crime against humanity. Can you guess where this is going? I didn't think it was possible...but everyone here uses Internet Explorer. Exclusively. Do you use Safari, Firefox, or Chrome? Good luck using your internet for anything other than updating your Facebook status. Do you use Mac? Good luck doing ANYTHING AT ALL. Linux? They will laugh in your face and tell you to go back to the insane asylum you clearly escaped from. (Probably. I don't speak Korean.) Chungdahm is a great place, but their biggest flaw, one that perhaps I will forgive them for only through the grace of God, is that their online system only works on Internet Explorer. Every time I need to sign in, access class materials, or even take attendance, I must first touch Internet Explorer. I feel so dirty.

Well this is awkward.

But there's more than just that. One of the many perks of working at an awesome, well-funded, constantly improving institution of learning is that they're always trying out new ways to educate students. Chungdahm's newest innovation involves tablets. Though we haven't yet started using them in the classroom, my branch decided that the teachers might as well start familiarizing themselves with the technology. And so on Thursday, we received our brand freaking new Samsung Galaxy tablets! Our only order was to have fun. And so we did. I've already started using it during listening classes because it plays audio clips so much better than the PC in my classroom, which has a nasty habit of turning off when I need it most. Perhaps you are wondering what the problem is.

Korea is the land of Samsung. Do you see where this is going? My Mac and my tablet refuse to speak to each other. It's as though the products themselves know their creators' minds. My excitement at having a new personal entertainment system quickly faded into frustration when I realized that neither of my awesome, shiny technological miracles would acknowledge the existence of the other. Is this what it's like to use Linux?

So that's technology. The other problem concerns age. You see, according to Korean measurements of age, I am actually 24. In fact, even though I turned 23 yesterday, I am still 24. But I will be 25 once the new year rolls around. Confused? Yeah, me too. You see, Korean culture is uncomfortable with the idea of someone being less than a year old. So when one is born, one is actually one year old. But it's not just that! You see, age is very important in a Confucian society. And therefore, one's age in relation to others must always be the same. If I were two months younger than another person, it would not be proper for me to level up and be on the same level as that person until they had another birthday. To fix this problem, everyone levels up at the same time. So it doesn't matter when one's birthday is. One will only gain an extra year at the new year. Were you born on December 31st? Congratulations. By day two of your life, you will be two years old. And that is how I became 24 years old.

Here's an obligatory photo of me with the largest pot of bibimbop ever.

Until next time, Tarico out.