[Terry's Tale] Learning To Reach Beyond

This Korean venture began when I came to realize that, both physically and mentally, I could no longer continue doing what I was doing in the US.  My thinking was that the journey would primarily be a spiritual one (ala the Sanskrit phrase “om mani padme hum”) supported utilizing my English skills to earn my way.  My friend, Han, Wan-hui, changed my thinking on this as the dynamics of a fluid economic situation imposed themselves upon things (something I have explained in an earlier post) and the fact that he did not consider my age to be ‘old’ as yet.  So off I went on an unexpected journey of “gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, Bodhi svaha” (reach, reach, reach beyond, reach to the river, then reach beyond).

The way my intentions changed were several.  First, knowing that I would have to support myself by teaching English, yet knowing too that people who work on their own and not for others can make a great deal of money, he decided to set me up to teach a small number of people, mostly children, and the requirement was that I would have to design the program – from scratch.  He also provided me all of the tools I would need – computers, boards, books, screens, printers, whatever, and set me to it.  While initially a difficult undertaking for one so out of practice in English, and teaching people who speak little or no English turned out to be quite a challenge, the advantage of the approach was that I developed my own way – one that works well for me by utilizing my unusual skill sets.  Soon, I will see how others approach the task and if there are ideas offered that I am comfortable in using, they will get used.  But by not copying others at the beginning, I am less likely to fall into a routine designed by others that does not work as well as one I created.  The key to the situation is be creative!

In addition to having me dive into the teaching of English, he has shown me how he has kept a flexible mind in approaching potential money making opportunities, and the importance of networking towards achieving success – a skill I had never fully utilized before.  One of the first people he introduced me to is Choo, Jin-ho who heads the English Department at Seohyun High School.  This then lead to me speaking to a couple of classes and gave me a feel for the English of higher level students (sophomores, as I remember, in this case).  I quickly recognized that some of the students were almost to the language levels of US students of comparable age (how many US students whose families are not of mixed cultural heritage can truly speak at least two languages at this age?).  Interestingly enough, the results of the talk demonstrated to me that I could not only communicate with young people who were one-fourth my age, but who came from a very different culture in which I had lived for so long.  In addition, I received a special certificate of appreciation from the high school for this effort.

ABOVE: The prespeech dinner!  Han, Wan-hui took the pictures with his special camera throughout so he is never pictured - but He Was There!  Anyway, pictured are Choo, Jin-ho, and Kim, Tae-wan.

For the most part, my physical stature is about average for US citizens, and, though Kim, Tae-wan is only slightly shorter than the average of the population, I believe from my observations (though they are not studies, by any means), that he would be of average size, or close to it, for people of his age.

 BELOW: In the Classroom.  Does this seem familiar from your own school experiences??

      BELOW: Kim, Tae-wan, and Han, Hye-rhim (daughter of Han, Wan-hui) watch on.

                                     BELOW: View of the Playground Area.

                                        BELOW: Back to the Classroom.

                                    BELOW: Autograph time (I was amazed)!

Just a few days ago, Han, Wan-hui introduced me to a successful motivational speaker, Jo, Jung-ho.  Ten years ago he had been a newspaper reporter, but visions for the future for him and many others in his line of work his seemed grim.  The networking he had established in his reporting days lead to his successful future.  He now earns, at a minimum, $12,000 a month.

                         Han, Wan-hui, Jo, Jung Ho, and myself enjoying calories at a local
                               coffee shop (these shops are VERY popular here in Korea).

The point of this session is that opportunities do often exist (and where they do not as was my case, your opportunity is to move on), but the skills that lead to success are the willingness to work combined with necessity of flexible thinking that allows you to see things others do not, and the very human skills that we utilize, often without thinking, every day.  And this is just as true in Korea or anywhere else you may live in this wide world! Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, Bodhi svaha!