A Study in Contrasts

Does anyone else remember AB? It's odd that after so many years I still remember his name. AB was the first (of many) detractors who spoke out against me regarding my tale of my first Korean experience. Perhaps I remember him because he was the first. Perhaps I remember him because he was so prolific, repeatedly posting over and over in my guestbook. Perhaps I remember him because he was just so incredibly wrong in what he wrote. He was the first of many, yet his is the only name I remember. Back in the day, when his inflammatory posts appeared in my guestbook, I deleted them. At the time, I found the posts ludicrous and offensive, and I felt that as it was my guestbook, I had the right to delete things that offended me. I now wish that I had left his posts in place, simply so I could quote him now. Instead I'm going to have to paraphrase him.

As From Russia With Blog is a weblog about my experiences as an ESL teacher in Russia, let me give a little bit of background for those who are unaware of my first Korean experience, or what people have said about it over the years. In 2001, my friend M and I graduated from college. We hadn't yet decided what we wanted to do with our futures, and were interested in doing something adventurous. We were offered jobs teaching English as a Second Language at a school called Seodaegu Wonderland, located in Daegu, South Korea. I must admit that we accepted the position without doing much research, and as a result, the experience was quite horrific. Our employer repeatedly violated the terms of our contract, treated us as sub-human, didn't pay us for all of the hours we worked, and often expressed blatantly anti-American views. Additionally, the owners of Wonderland blatantly ripped off both teachers and students in order to make a profit. The place was so bereft of education that calling it a school is simply a disgrace to all legitimate institutions of learning. The experience was terrible... and it was made worse by the fact that many native English speakers move to South Korea every year to teach English and have wonderful and fulfilling experiences. I met many other ESL teachers when I was in Korea, and learned that while my experience was not unique, having a good teaching experience in Korea wasn't rare either.

After returning to the United States, I decided to write a detailed account of my experience at Wonderland, which I entitled Prisoner of Wonderland. I posted my tale online in the hopes that other individuals thinking about going to Korea to teach English would not only avoid Seodaegu Wonderland, but would be able to ask legitimate and informed questions of other schools in order to assist them in landing a good job. However, AB didn’t see it that way. For some reason, he seemed personally offended that I had had a bad experience in South Korea, and he seemed even more offended that I had shared my tale with the world. What sorts of accusations did he level against me? (Again, I'm paraphrasing here):

1. That I was greedy and lazy. I had accepted the position in Korea because I thought I could get a lot of money without having to work for it, and that when my boss tried to get me to work, I got upset.

2. That I was anti-Korea and anti-Korean, and that the purpose of my site was to keep Westerners from going to South Korea

3. That I was unworldly, and had obviously never been outside of the US before. I obviously expected Korea, Koreans and Korean culture to be just like the US, Americans and American culture. The reason why I had so many problems with my job in Korea was not because of the job, but because I could not handle the cultural differences.

4. That Prisoner of Wonderland was a lie, and that none of the things that I wrote about actually happened.

5. That I was a bad teacher. Disagreements with my boss were merely a result of the fact that I could not teach.

I'm sure there were other accusations in there (I seem to remember being told that I was a bad person because I didn't like to eat kimchi... but I guess that's beside the point), but those were the main accusations. Accusations such as those have resurfaced again and again over the past four years, although in contrast, I have also received numerous emails from people whose experiences at other Wonderland franchises were nearly identical to my own.

In the Spring of 2004, my employer at the time sent me on a two-month long business trip to South Korea, and I had an incredible time. Absolutely fantastic. During my return to Korea, I remember thinking about AB, and all those other people who for some reason were convinced that I was some sort of deranged Korea-hater. I would have loved for them to have seen me clambering around the waterfalls at Neayunsan, climbing the mountains at Gatbawi, exploring the temples at Donghwasa, exploring the various Korean marketplaces (and no, I don't mean the ones designed to rip off tourists), navigating my way around the country, working with Koreans, making friends, and even eating a little kimchi here and there. And oh yeah: I was working a minimum of 50 hours a week to top it all off. I must admit, I wanted to track down AB and his compadres and say Hah! So there!

It is now November of 2005, and it has been a little over four years since M and I fled South Korea, leaving Wonderland behind forever. In the past four years, I have done a lot of things, including designing websites for hotels in Costa Rica, working with a wildlife biologist in North Florida, and working for the US government in San Diego, CA. I had some great experiences during those four years, and some unpleasant ones as well, but such is life. During those four years I never ceased to wonder what would have happened in my life if my first trip to Korea had not been such a disaster. 

After paying off all of my debts (student loans, credit cards, a new car...), I decided to leave my cushy government job and return to the world of ESL. This time, I selected Russia as my destination of choice. (Ideally, I would like to work for a non profit organization that facilitates international relations and development in Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union. I studied Russian in college, but since my graduation, I had little time to practice it, especially considering the time I spent in Korea and Costa Rica! Choosing Russia as my destination seemed like a good idea, as I could rebuild my Russian language skills while living and working abroad.) 

This time, I did a lot of research before selecting my school of choice: the American Home in Vladimir, Russia (http://www.serendipity-russia.com/), where I have been working now for the past three months. Aside from the fact that no one could ever accuse me of taking this position out of greed (I receive roughly $200/mo), or laziness (I am working at least 40 hours a week), I am having a fantastic time living in Russia, working side by side with Russians and teaching EFL. No, it is not easy; I never expected that it would be. Not all days are fun and games; some days are incredibly frustrating, as in any job. But I am happy, having a good time, working with wonderful people (Russian and American), and I am helping my students to learn something. Seeing my students actually use the English that I have taught them is incredibly rewarding. I hope that my writings thus far in my blog express these sentiments.

I would like to track down AB. I would like to ask him to read not only Prisoner of Wonderland, but the other content on this website. I would like him to read about my experiences in Russia, my travels in Costa Rica, my return trip to South Korea in 2004... Why should I care what AB or any other individual thinks? I know that I should not, but it is simply human nature. No one wants to be perceived as a greedy, lazy, xenophobic liar, and a bad teacher to boot. Additionally, traveling is an integral part of who I am. When people ask me what my hobbies are, traveling is always at the top of my list. Seeing the world from the view of others who live so differently from the life that I am used to is very important to me. From my first trip overseas when I was 13, my travels have changed me for the better and have helped to shape my views on life. I think that bringing different cultures together is one of the most rewarding things anyone can do. It bothers me that there are people out there who assume that I am the opposite of who I am.