Freak City Soundtrack

During my study at KDI School, I worked as a part-time job for Centre for Conflict Resolution and Negotiation (CCRN), an agency which is established by the KDI School. CCRN become one of an important agency in my campus. I just heard and knew that many of Business School in Europe and States (Harvard, etc) develop the same agency as ours. Especially for a public policy program, this agency can play an important role for the students to learn for instance their study case. Since then, CCRN have many programs that have to be conducted during a year such as organizing seminar, a mediation process between two or three party, and a lecture too.

My position is as an Administrative Assistant (AA). What is AA? Well, for you who think that AA is prestigious job, well you wrong then. AA deals with anything that related to our centre. It is difficult to explain by words, but I have to finish all the things that our centre did. Supposed if our centre held a seminar or a conference, we have to prepare from the beginning until the end. Ah…wait!, I found the exact word, AA was related to administration things though. Even it is only administration things, but we have to meet many people to work together. And since only few Koreans who can speak English well, language barrier has become a primary obstacle. I started worked at CCRN from April until December 2006. It is not easy too get an AA job especially when every student also applies those positions. In my case, I failed to get AA in the spring, but luckily I got on summer. Satisfaction is one big reason for them to hire me again in the fall, even though at that time I didn’t expect too much though. My salary? Well is not too much if you compare with living cost in Korea, but for me to get an experience is my number one goal when I apply the AA.

My supervisor has just got married last December, she’s a one hell tough woman that have a high motivation, disciplined and a hard working one too. Like as other Korean does, if you started to work then hard working is a must. She was well known as a lady killer. I heard from other faculty staff and last year student. Actually, until I finished my job in the middle of December, I never had any conflict with her. It is awkward because before I joined with CCRN, 2 (two) students resigned. Most of the reasons are they dislike her. They said she was too tough and workaholic, so sometimes she wanted them to worked over time even in the weekend. For me, even though I didn’t hear any of those gossips and also I didn’t care with any, giving my best help to the Centre is my objectives. Despite of the gossips above, my supervisor keen to ask me for a lunch or dinner together whenever we had to work overtime. She’s very-very nice person and pretty too (haha.. it’s getting too personal I believe..), I can understand if she become a lady killer in a working hours, because we have to work professional, am I right?

Moreover, she has a responsibility of her work to our Director. He finished his Phd in states (like other Professors did) and have a very good reputation in this country (hehe like others of our Professors too). Speaking of hard working, he’s one of a type as my supervisors too. Hmm, ok should I put it clear here that, all Koreans were so damned hard working persons. No question and no doubt about that. In fall, I took one class which my Director conducted. It was a very good class and I learned a lot from him.

As I mentioned before in my previous posts, I spent a hell great time in Korea. And one of those is when I worked in CCRN. I miss my time when I worked there. Working is like learning by doing. Working can be fun if we can enjoy our job. Well talk is cheap but hard to be done, but my experience will be very useful for myself and my ministry in the future. And I believe that for sure!