ULI

ULI: Universal Language Institute

This was my first teaching job. ULI was a private academy for mostly adult students, although we did have a few younglings there. In a preview of how I would feel later teaching children, I found myself loosing my rage upon a couple of kids who spent the class throwing paper at each other and being generally obnoxious. Then there was the 7-year-old girl who got placed into my adult conversation class.

Yeah, I knew early on that teaching English couldn't be considered a real teaching job, but then I didn't figure this would be anything more than a one-year gig.

I got the job at ULI as a last-minute change of mind. Originally, I planned to go to Gwangju, even going so far as to call the notorious Mike Oh, recruiter extraordinaire (who asked for $200 to place me at what undoubtedly would have been a shithole school). However, unbeknownst to me, my girlfriend Miriam had two friends working in Seoul. Upon learning this information, I called them to get the straight goods. Since they weren't demanding $200 for the favour of recommending me, I accepted the offer from ULI.

It was July 1995 when I came to Korea, right smack in the middle of monsoon season. Korea was in a bit of a transition period at this time, where it was just beginning to look like an advanced nation, but still had many of the trappings of a poor country. Roads washed away in the rain and ensuing flooding. The Sampoong Department Store had collapsed only 2 weeks before I came. The Bongo truck and Tico car were the automobiles of choice for many Koreans. And parents happily slugged their children in broad daylight.

My accommodations were quaint. I shared a two-bedroom villa with the aforementioned friends of my girlfriend (something they never forgave me for since it meant their friend Brian had to leave to make room for me). I got to see my first Korean shower stall/bathroom, where one takes a shower while standing in front of the toilet. The kitchen was pretty small, and there was no living room. My bedroom had no closet, but it did have a dirty mattress. The stifling heat and humidity was a nightmare for sleeping purposes, as I had no fan for a few days.

I had come to Korea with some brand new dress shirts and ties, thinking this would be required for a teaching position. I wore these on my first day and felt like a total dweeb. And I sucked as a teacher, too. So, on the second day, I scrapped the dress clothes and wore something that I felt comfortable in.

A really fun aspect of teaching at an adult hagwon (academy) was having to wake up at 5 a.m. In the summer it wasn't so bad. In the winter, this would be a horrible way to start the day, especially because I would finish work at night when it was dark, go home, and come back the next day before any hint of sunshine. I taught six hours a day, and this would be a split shift -- sometimes 4 in the morning, 2 at night, and sometimes 2 in the morning, 4 at night. In between, I'd go home and sleep.

It wasn't all bad, of course... it is just fun and therapeutic to talk about the stupid stuff right off the bat. Next time, I might talk about the good aspects of my ULI job. Or maybe I'll talk about some of the freaky expats I met there. Whatever, it will surely be of interest to me but be boring as hell for you (if there's anyone out there reading this!).

Where (and when) it all began

"When did you come to Korea? Why did you come to Korea?"

Yeah, I've gotten those questions often over the years, mostly from students who claimed to care about the answers.

I arrived in Korea for the first time on July 12th, 1995, barely one month after my graduation from the University of Guelph. I stayed in Korea for what was expected to be a one-year stay. Then, after taking a 5-month break in Canada, I came back to Korea in December 1996 and stayed until May 1998. The economic meltdown that engulfed much of East Asia convinced me to return to Canada to seek greener pastures. But the pastures weren't so green there (as in the colour of money) but more like red (as in the colour of debt).

By May 2000, my wife and I came back to Korea where I have been ever since. The lure of easy money with little responsibility was too much to ignore.

As for why, well, my original intent was to get out of North America... and perhaps to avoid looking for real work in Canada. Ideally, I wanted to travel and spend some time overseas, so when I heard from some university buddies who had come to Korea before me that they were having a reasonably good time here, it seemed like a match. Not to mention that I had trained in taekwondo at university.

So, it has been nearly 11 years (at time of writing) since I first came to Korea, and I have spent 8 1/2 of those years actually in Korea (three different stints). By the time I expect to finish in April 2007, I will have spent close to 10 full years here.

I never imagined that in 1995!

Prologue

I must really like blogging: this is my fourth blog.

Actually, I've been thinking a lot over the past few years about creating a document of my experience as an ESL/EFL instructor. This career has taken up most of my adult life and led me to unforeseen places. Sometimes it's been good, and sometimes bad (really bad!). On the whole, however, it has been a pretty good experience.

As I contemplate what I wish to say in this little corner of cyberspace, I think I ought to categorize my memoirs. In particular, I could focus on some of the native teachers I have met (herein after known as "expats"); I should talk about the fun experiences I've had; and I simply must vent my frustrations over some of the bullshit I've faced in a career allegedly related to education.

But perhaps this little blog will be a chance for me to reflect on some of the important decisions that I've made that have led me to where I am, and where I will be going. Afterall, my ESL career is but a stepping stone to the next great experience... whatever that may be.

On the off-chance that anybody who I've worked with ever reads this, you will probably understand me to a tee. If you happen to recognize yourself in any of the stories I tell, try not to take it too seriously... unless I've written something horendous about you... in which case you probably deserve it!