So, accountability is really healthy, right? I mean, doesn't it feel awesome when you have a friend that challenges you when you need it, and you can dish it right back to them and its all in the name of growth and self-improvement? Bess and I have had some good accountability pacts so far this year, they usually end up pretty entertaining, and sometimes involve punching each other. :) Anyway, seeing as Korea has helped me be accountable to some things I deal with (staying positive and open-minded, to name a few), I'm gonna be a real friend and give it right back to the Land of the Morning Calm:
THIS IS A REALITY CHECK, FRIEND.
YOUR EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS ARE RIDICULOUS, OVERBEARING, AND DAMAGING TO YOUR FUTURE GENERATIONS. (Not to mention us, your foreign teachers who are getting a really unfortunate impression of your whole country. Also, I would love to see these kids I love grow up to be balanced and emotionally rounded-out adults, not work-obsessed success addicts. There is also no reason why a 13 year old kid should be in school from 8am till 10:30pm or later).
AESTHETICS ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS YOU THINK. (Whether it be your use of whitening cream on your faces which are already gorgeous, or your compulsion to cover any available surface in sparkly cartoonish signage... or your idea that I should use valuable class time to mark up every single question on every single page of every single obnoxious textbook you make me force on your children. no, not TEACH it, but just MARK IT).
COMMUNICATION IS KEY. SOMETIMES IT'S EVEN GREAT WHEN YOU TELL ME THINGS AHEAD OF TIME. (I'm getting quite sick of being told things at the last minute when my coworkers have known them for weeks)
GREAT JOB WITH YOUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. (Oh, that's not anything to do with accountability, I just felt the need to interject with something positive. see, growth!)
LAUGHING OUT LOUD AND WITHOUT RESTRAINT IS A GOOD THING. (Uncover your mouths when you laugh, please. And don't stare at my friends and I when we are cracking up).
JUST BECAUSE I AM NOT 95 LBS, DRESSED TO THE NINES, AND/OR IN HEELS DOES NOT MEAN YOU NEED TO GIVE ME THE JUDGMENTAL STARE OF DEATH EVERY TIME I LEAVE MY HOUSE. (I'm a cool person, I promise. And by the way, judging a book by its cover isn't nice).
I am sure in no time at all Korea will throw something back at me to keep me on my toes with this whole growth thing, but until then, I really hope it'll mull over what I've said.
