positively 4th street

Here we are again. For the 4th time now, I have left my home to teach English to Koreans. This year is a little different from past experiences.. I guess that's what this post will be about.


First of all, I arrived back in Korea a week ago today. For the past week I've had to attend, or rather, endure, the training provided by my school. Now, I'm sure right now you're thinking, "Sim, this is your 4th go round at this, I'm sure this is all old-hat for you by now." My response is, "I know, right?"

The thing though is that every academy over here thinks they've developed the end-all be-all of teaching philosophies or techniques or whatever, and they feel they must properly indoctrinate their teachers. I must say that I did pick up a few helpful hints, and feel at times it was worth my time. Also, the guy doing the training was really great. And, of course not every teacher has the same experience I do, so for new teachers I'm sure it's a big help. God knows I was bemoaning my lack of training during my first year here.

And a lot of my fellow trainees were first-timers. In fact, a lot of them were in their early 20s. Now, I don't know many people in their early 20s anymore, and I learned something about them. Let me tell you what I learned. They are annoying as all hell. They are incessant, repetitive, tiresome, and man I don't even know what else. Grab a thesaurus and look up synonyms for "annoying" and all those words properly describe them. I think that being raised on status updates and mass communication has instilled in them the sense that they get to add their little quip or thought or opinion on everything that happens. Everyone, at all times, has to know what they are thinking. I hope I never meet another person in their early 20s for as long as I live.

Now let's move to my new employers. First, let's examine what's the same. It's an academy, meaning it's where kids go after their normal school, solely to study English. Second, it's a chain school, meaning that there are many branches in different countries throughout Korea. Third, I'm working in Daejeon, where I've spent 2 and a half years before.

So, what's different? Well, for one, in addition to teaching youngsters, I will also be teaching a few adult classes. Also, and here's the big one, this school is owned and operated by 7th Day Adventists. Now, if you're anything like me, the moment you read "7th Day Adventists" you immediately thought "cult". But! It turns out they aren't crazy. It's actually just a Protestant denomination, albeit with a very culty sounding name, I think at least. Their beliefs are all pretty standard. They focus strictly on the Bible, and believe one can be saved not through works, but through Jesus Christ alone. For a guy raised Presbyterian, let me tell you, there's nothing strange about that. What makes them unique is that they believe the Sabbath is Saturday, and they strictly adhere to it. Meaning, from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, they don't work, they don't drive a car, they don't fuckin ride in a car, they don't handle money, they don't turn on the oven, and they sure as shit DON'T FUCKING ROLL.

Their faith also has some lifestyle implications. Almost all of them are vegetarians. At the very least, they don't eat pork or shellfish. They also abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine. If you think it'd be hard for you to give up those bad boys, imagine how hard it must be for a Korean. If there are two things Korea does right, it's barbecuing pork and getting bombed on soju. Well, Korea does more than just that right, but they really get those right.

This school used to only hire fellow Adventists to do their English teaching, however recently they began employing non-Adventist English teachers. I'm not sure why. It could have something to do with a recent decline in nation-wide enrollment. So, they deemed it best to bring in the big guns, i.e. me.

I was a little worried with what they'd expect of me, being a bit of an outsider. But throughout training they were very respectful and made it clear that they don't expect us non-Adventists to change our lifestyles or anything. In turn, we just have to respect them as well.

That's just about all the background knowledge you need for The Journey to the East 4, Shomer Shabbos Edition. I arrived in Daejeon earlier today and will begin teaching on Monday. I'll let you know how it goes.