Recruiter Blog

by Misty Crooks

To explain what I learned teaching overseas, I always tell two experiences.  When I arrived at Narita Airport, just outside of Tokyo, I hadn’t slept for about 25 hours.  It’s a loooooong flight.  I was disoriented and jet lagged and so exhausted I wasn’t even nervous.  The person from my school who met me at the airport gave me a bus ticket and told me to find the bus stop.  There I was, alone at the airport.  I tried to ask a woman at a help desk, but I had almost no Japanese, and she had almost no English.  I ventured outside to try and find the bus stop.  I found something I thought was it, but I was so tired I didn’t really care. I never knew you could be that exhausted.  An old man shuffled up and kind of stared at me.  A bus pulled up and the driver got off.  The old man gently tugged my ticket out of my hand and started talking to the bus driver.  Again, I was too tired to protest or be alarmed.  The man turned back to me, handed me back the ticket, made the okay sign with his thumb and finger, and said, “Okay”.

That’s how I started in Japan.  But it wasn’t just the unexpected kindnesses I encountered so many times that makes that time special.  Japan strengthened me.  It forced me to do things I wasn’t sure I could do.  It made me stronger, more confident, more at ease with myself. 

Every little thing was work.  Before I went to buy a tv, I sat down and looked up words in my dictionary, wrote down phrases I might need, practiced them, tried to commit them to memory.  It was an all day affair.  When the store called me a few days later to schedule a delivery time, I successfully arranged it.  I was so excited.  The first time I ordered pizza over the phone, I was so proud.  One day, after I had been there a while, I did my monthly trip to the post office to wire money back to the US.  My number was called, and I went up to the counter and explained what I needed in Japanese.  The woman was surprised and we did the whole process in Japanese.  She understood me and I understood her.  She kept watching me with an impressed smile on her face. 

My students taught me more than I taught them.  At least, they taught me more important things.  I discovered that people who look so ordinary have done and seen amazing things.  I met so many interesting worlds in all those students.  A 50 year old housewife went hiking with wine and chocolate every weekend.  A genteel mother of two young children opened up to me about her fiercely held political views.  An arrogant surgeon almost broke down when telling about a patient he lost.  A guy who seemed standoffish turned out to have intense chronic back pain from a car accident.  The 12 year old who always looked miserable lit up when talking about swimming and his dream of being a coach.  I learned that everyone is worth getting to know.    

When I was finally leaving Japan, I went to the airport by myself.  I wanted to be alone with Japan.  That’s the only way I know how to describe it.  I got a van service to the airport.  I was the first one in and the driver was an English student.  We chatted a bit.  His English really wasn’t very good, and I was a bit too emotional to feel like talking, but I kept up what conversation I could.  One more English lesson, I figured.  Other people got in and it got pretty crowded.  We stopped at a rest area on the way to the airport to stretch our legs.  This was also where we were supposed to pay the driver.  I went up to him with my yen in hand, and he acted very odd and positioned himself so the other passengers couldn’t see.  He then said, “You no pay.  Because you are teacher, and people like you help me.  So ride is free.  No pay.  You teacher.”  Yep, one more lesson, but not about English.    

by Michael Gargano

In a recent www.experience.com survey, a whopping 85 percent of Gen Y indicated they were interested in relocating inside the country (USA), and 70 percent even said they’d consider moving abroad if presented with the right opportunity. 

Seventy percent would consider moving abroad! 

I found that right opportunity just over 12 years ago when I accepted a teaching position in Japan.  I won’t bore you with all the details and the “great things I did” living in Tokyo, you can read about that in another blog or two found here on this very website.  But, I would like to share my thoughts, and hopefully some of yours with your kind responses, on the value of living overseas and being a foreigner. 

I miss being a foreigner. 

Huh? 

Yeah, I said it and I admit it.  I miss learning something new everyday.  I am on automatic pilot here in Chicago.  Everything is in English.  The announcements on the trains and buses are all in English.  I miss that feeling of “Hey, I’m not in Kansas anymore.”  I miss realizing that I’ve seen the same kanji (Chinese characters) for years and now I realize what it means through its use in an ad on the train.  Sure, I still study Japanese but it’s just not the same - one hour every Tuesday night in a coffee shop vs. 24/7 and living in Tokyo.

Then there are the career opportunities that open up once you are teaching overseas.  I never saw myself as a teacher.  Never in a million years did I think I had the patience.  I taught for close to 7 years and loved it! 

On May 12, 2003 I found out that I passed the in-house interview for a recruiting position overseas and on June 30 I left Japan and moved to Chicago.  Wow, after countless Sayonara parties I found myself living in Chicago and working with one other colleague - the same gent who interviewed me in Boston back in 1996.  I left Tokyo and working with dozens of other co-workers who were always ready, willing and able to go out at the drop of a hat after work and found myself in a city I knew very little about and working with one other person.  But Hey, I’m a recruiter now.  This is a new side of the company and I’m ready for it!

Where did I ever summon such confidence? Hmmm…

Five and half years later, I find myself settled in Chicago (300 miles from where I grew up - which is nice).  As a teacher I was rewarded daily with compliments and happy faces from students.  “Wow,” I’d say to myself.  “I really feel like I’m making a difference in this world.”  As a recruiter, I still say that.  But instead of happy students I have the opportunity to assist others, like me back in ‘96, in teaching overseas.  I know I don’t have all the answers, but I know that sometimes you may just want to talk to a “real” person as opposed to pressing buttons for 5 minutes with these damn automated voice messages or whatever you call them. You know what I mean.

All this leads me to the job fair I attended on October 9 in Washington, D.C.  Sure, I’ve attended dozens and dozens of fairs over the past 5+ years as a recruiter, but this particular fair was at Peace Corps headquarters and all the participants were returnees, if you will, from a 2-year stint in the Peace Corps. 

I was like a kid in a candy store.

Sure, other fairs I attended were great.  I’ve recruited some great people from fairs from Minnesota to Texas, Ohio to Iowa, and they all found themselves in Asia.  But this being my first Peace Corps job fair - I must say it was a very nice feeling knowing that every person I spoke to had a degree (a minimum Bachelor’s degree is required to obtain a work visa for most jobs overseas teaching English) and had spent at least 2 years overseas. 

Time flew by at the fair and before I knew it was time to pack up.  It certainly did not feel like work.  These candidates spent years in Fiji, Guatemala, Columbia, Russia - you name the place and they were there.  Most of them stayed the 2 years and never even came home to visit at all!  There was little or no running water in some cases, and no other English speakers in the town/village in most cases. 

“Wow,” I thought to myself.  “If these people can spend two years in the Peace Corps, they can do anything!”

I was very surprised to hear from several candidates that now that they were back in corporate America, they were asked, “Why would you want to put your life on hold for two years?”

This had never entered my mind.

Let’s see…is it the new language that I can speak?

No.

Is it the fact that I have returned after two years a much better person?

No.

Is it the confidence I have that I thought I already had?

No.

Is it the bullet on my resume that shows I am adaptable, resourceful and willing to commit to something for 2 years?

No.

It must be the international experience, right?

It’s all of those things wrapped up in one!

There are only positive things that can come out of living overseas for a long period of time.  If I put my life on hold for 7 years, then I’d be looking for a job myself right now.  Yet, I am doing something very different than I was when I worked in Japan from 1996 - 2003.

I am still learning something new everyday and on October 9, 2008, I learned that those candidates I met at the Peace Corps job fair in D.C. are dedicated, hard-working, committed, adaptable, resourceful and all-out great people - just like all the other wonderful teachers now in China, Japan and South Korea that Aclipse has sent overseas.

So there you have it.

Put your life on hold? 

To me, putting your life on hold is when nothing gets done.  You know what I mean. 

Peace out.

by Dan Jacobson with help from Nicole Ostrowski and Misty Crooks

It’s been a busy couple of weeks.  I had the chance to attend two international opportunities events (similar to career fairs but focused, obviously, on international opportunities) one at Michigan State University and the other at University of Michigan.  I learned that Michigan State is the number one public school for study abroad programs.  I sat down with some students at Michigan State to talk about Aclipse and their experiences overseas.  I was amazed - half the room had been overseas to study and were looking forward to having an opportunity to work abroad after graduation.  I got to hear about China, Japan and Brazil.  We talked about home stay families and the challenges learning a new language.  It was great meeting people who had travelled abroad, and it started me thinking about several reasons why now is one of the best times to go.

You can’t turn on the TV, read a magazine or check out the news online without hearing about the economy.  Unemployment is on the rise and everyone seems to be waiting to see what effect the government bailout(s) will have.  As a result, I’ve noticed we are seeing a shift in where our applicants are coming from.  Once dominated by liberal arts majors, I’m seeing people with finance and accounting backgrounds starting to apply in greater numbers.  It’s great to have such a diverse group of candidates and every background can bring something new and fresh into the classroom.  You can escape the madness of a bad economy and come back when things improve.  Plus you’ll have an experience on your resume that will definitely set you apart.

Especially in Korea, there is a real opportunity to save money.  The Korean government has gotten behind English education, and they’re putting their money where their mouth is.  Not only is the income tax in Korea around 5%, but public schools also allow to you claim US residency, which means you are exempt from paying Korean income taxes.  If you take a look at the contracts schools in Korea are offering, the benefits end up being impressive compared to your typical US job offer.  Basically, they either cover many of your relocation or daily living costs, or they pay you enough so that you can cover them comfortably.  Imagine in a bad economy making enough to live very well and still save money.  Imagine coming home with student loans paid off or enough to put a down payment on a new car.  Imagine coming home with thousands of dollars as well as a new language, leadership skills, and contacts from around the world.      

And not all the benefits can be quantified numerically.  I got to learn a lot about myself going overseas.  I learned that I need to practice a presentation several times to get it right.  I learned that in the classroom I could read people and know when they didn’t understand even if they didn’t speak up.  I learned (the hard way) to balance authority and friendliness.  There is a real opportunity in the classroom to learn about your strengths and address your weaknesses, which will only help in your next job/job search.  

There is a real opportunity to make a difference in the world.  How many jobs have you had where you can make that claim?  It didn’t happen everyday, but there was no better feeling then when a student came to me to say they scored high enough on the TOEFL  to attend university overseas.  Or someone who got a lot more out of their vacation to Australia because of my lesson.  A kid fails a test and knows his parents will be disappointed.  There’s your chance to help him regain some confidence in other areas.  I remember one student telling me she had realized she wasn’t happy with her life, and she decided to veer off her chosen path.  We were the way she started to do that.  To support people in changing their lives, to see people opening up and learning, to read the notes when I left that told me what a difference I made.  These are the things I feel most proud of.

Finally, the best reason to go right now is the same reason that I went 6 years ago - it’s a chance to see a new part of the world.  I was sitting in a cubicle in a job that I was completely indifferent to and probably stayed too long at for fear of making a dramatic change in my life.  Once I started looking at jobs and opportunities overseas, I was obsessed.  Once I got to Japan I travelled every chance I got.  I took the shinkansen to Kyoto, flew to Hokkaido in the winter, went to Hawaii and Guam and got to see and experience so many things that not many us get a chance to.  

For me, it’s the absolute best reason to go.  If not now, when?

by Nicole Ostrowski

It’s true.  Really.

Now you might be saying “well, I’m already a good cook” and, if so, honestly that’s even more of a reason to go overseas.  To share your culinary knowledge with another part of the world!  Most of us, however, struggle with recipes and cooking in general.

Well, here’s my story and why, now, I’m a good cook.

I left for Japan with no real interest in cooking.  I was lucky enough, in one of my past careers, to have managed a restaurant where the chefs would make my dinner, but I couldn’t have told you how they did it.  It’s funny, really, as my mom is a fantastic cook, but growing up I couldn’t have cared less.  I hated cooking and baking.  In fact, one time as a teen I was forced to make peanut butter cookies - a double batch, mind you - and instead of 1/4 teaspoon of salt I mistakenly put in 1/4 cup.  I wasn’t asked to bake again.  It was comical to see my older brother inhale a huge mouthful dough and to be the one to discover my mistake.

Cooking.  I just couldn’t get into it.  As an adult, I’d rather grab a taco or a fajita or a burrito from Taco Del Mar.  Sometimes I’d attempt to cook something for one.

This changed when I got to Japan.

First off, I realized very quickly that if I wanted to save some money while in Japan, I would actually need to start shopping and making some dinners at home.  So that, of course, kick-started my cooking craze.  I saw all around me the types of ingredients that Japanese put on their pizzas (corn! mayo!) and pastas (egg! nori!) I realized it was time to branch out and leave my limited culinary cuisine behind.

Secondly, I noticed in Japan that most locals buy groceries - practically every day - from small markets where the produce and ingredients were fresh fresh fresh!  Grocery shopping everyday is probably due to space.  I started to do that and still do to this day. 

Next, when I did go out to eat, I was exposed to so many different types of dishes that these dinners truly became gastronomical events for me.

Finally, as I started to acquire some Japanese friends, they invited me to dinner parties, and thus the signature moment when my evolution of cooking began.

I learned how to make shabu shabu and yakiniku and okonomiyaki and so many other dishes.  How many of your friends have ever had shabu shabu or okonomiyaki at a dinner party (or at all!)?  When I landed in San Francisco, after my time in Japan, I was a hit with my culinary recipes.

People SCRAMBLED to be at my dinner parties.

I also branched out.  Being from the West coast originally, I grew up eating seafood, so I started to throw lobster/clambake gatherings (helpful hint: use a turkey pan and add seawater and ocean rocks for the base, then pile corn, onions and potatoes in cheesecloth on top of that - follow by the LIVE lobsters, clams, crabs and prawns).  Add a Sauvingnon Blanc or your favorite Chardonnay and you are good to go.  I started to really get into the fusion of a variety of flavors in one dish, and now I make amazing dishes I serve in the spirit of California cuisine.  While also pairing it with the perfect California wine, of course!

Some things I’m into that can help: Alice Waters, Julia Childs, the Food Network, Jacques Pepin and America’s Test Kitchen.

I have evolved.  Is it just maturity?  I’m not so sure.  I think my previous cooking style (or lack thereof) may have gone on for a long time if I hadn’t made that trip overseas.  There are many reasons to live and work overseas, to become a great cook is just one of them.

What do you think?

Does anyone have a great recipe to share?  I’m all ears.  Now I’m hungry.  Go figure.

by Nicole Ostrowski

I wish I was at the Cube! Or the Bird’s Nest!

I admit it, I am enthralled by the 2008 Beijing Olympics and how China has pulled it all together to make this a spectacular Olympics.  My true curiosity started when the Olympic torch started travelling to so many cities and countries and when it came to my town, San Francisco - the only US stop on the 23 city tour, it was interesting to see how my city and the Chinese officials handled the protests.  It was also interesting to read about the problems China stated they were having as the Olympics loomed larger: smog, finishing construction on building, etc.  When 8/8/08 approached I hemmed and hawed as to whether I’d watch the opening ceremonies.

I’m glad I did.

What an awesome display of technology, color, structure and history!  The drumming (c’mon - how cool was that?) the LED scroll, the globe, the fireworks and the lighting of the torch: I was hooked.  I gushed on and on to a friend over the weekend.  He said, “It’s good, but not as good as the 1984 opening ceremonies in Los Angeles.”  Huh?  I had to beg to differ on that one (not because I can’t remember the opening ceremonies in LA -which is true) because, for me, there has been no better use of technology in the opening ceremonies as there was in Beijing.  Am I wrong?

I’d like to say I watched the opening ceremonies, then a little bit of the Olympics here and there over the past couple of weeks, but truth be told, I was glued to my TV.  I became a hermit in the evenings, and my friends wondered what happened to me.  I told them to back off or I’d go “Michael Phelps on them”.

Of course, now, I get the naysayers grumbling that too much attention was given to Michael Phelps (and Debbie too), but I argue that 8 gold medals in swimming will never happen again by one individual.  Sure Spitz won 7 gold medals in ‘72, but did you see the flashback?  No one was wearing swim caps or fancy swim gear.  He was just a man among boys in Munich.  In this day and age, with all the technology supplemented in sports in general, it will be harder than ever to have a new Poseidon come up and usurp Phelp’s new record, or a record like that in general.  Won’t be done.

On a final note, though I freely admit I enjoyed watching swimming and gymnastics, beach volleyball, track and field, and the personal stories of the athletes and all the hullabaloo that are part of the games, what I really loved were the vignettes about China itself.  Of course I could rant about political injustice, Tibet, or the lack of freedom but in reality, I just love the country.  I love the beauty, the sheer mass of it all.

At the end of the day, if I wasn’t sold before on China being a place to visit (or live for a year), I am now.

Anyone have any thought on this? Any controversial moments of the Olympics they want to share or discuss?  I’m interested and I’m all ears!

by Dan Jacobson

A couple of people have approached me at job fairs and asked how I got my job, so it occurred to me that I might have an interesting occupation.  I thought I’d write about a typical day at Aclipse and maybe dispel some of the myths about what we do.

7:45

I usually come in around this time, fire up the laptop and check a few sites.  First, A Fistful of Talent for recruiting ideas (there’s some good advice in there, like how to be prepared for a career fair and how Wii Fit can help you be a better manager) and then Gizmodo.  I’m not sure how I can relate that to work (so don’t tell anyone), but I’m addicted.  I get a cup of coffee, then…

8:00

I check e-mail.  It’s nice to have a job where you get e-mail from all over the world.  I get a lot of e-mail.  Inquiries from people interested, candidates with questions on the visa process, news from instructors overseas, updates from employers we hire for.  Recruiting is difficult, at times you have to be all things to all people.  I have to find you the best possible job and I have to make sure schools are happy with the people we send over.  I’ve read online somewhere someone said recruiting agencies such as ours take a percentage of your salary.  As much as I wish that were true (I’d be rich), it’s just not.  Our employers pay our (one) fee only when you land in the country where you’ll be teaching.  And that’s it.  Employers choose us to find instructors because it’s less expensive for them and that means more money for the school, the students and for teachers’ salaries.  I also see this as another job benefit - your employer is helping you by providing any and all support we can give while you are teaching overseas.  We do stay in touch with people we send over and make sure things are going well.

9:30

Usually, I have two interviews in the morning.  Interviewing is fun.  In two years of recruiting I’ve conducted at least 50 face to face interviews and over 300 telephone interviews.  There’s probably a book, or a website, on the bad interviews but those are rare.  One person asked me, in the first ten seconds, “Is this legit?”  I’m not sure how he expected me to answer (an enthusiastic “NO!” would have been funny), and I didn’t want to remind him that he applied and set up the interview.  So I brushed it off with a yes and went on with the interview.  I only assumed at that point he would be serious about it.  Michael laughed, correctly pointing out that if you asked that at, let’s say, a Proctor and Gamble interview, you probably wouldn’t get the job.  So if you interview with us, do some research.  We’ll appreciate it.

11:00

For every e-mail I get, I probably get two phone calls.  So I set aside this time to check messages and make as many calls as I can before lunch.

12:00

90 times out of 100 I bring bento from home or sometimes Michael and I go out.  It was beautiful last Monday so we ate at the Emerald Loop - get the burger with the pretzel bun and mashed potatoes and you’ll never want to eat again.

1:00

I review resumes and send invitations to interview, or I follow up on applications (looking for more information).  I love to see Peace Corps on a resume.  I look for education majors, English majors.  If someone doesn’t have that background, I look for a great cover letter, experience with children or volunteer work.  Any international experience is a big plus.

2:00

More interviews.  Or meetings.

3:00

Phone calls.  I follow up with current instructors, I write people in Korea.  Sometimes I talk to parents who want more information.  As I wrote previously in another blog, having variety in my work day is really important to me.  I’m excited to get to write these blog entries, work on the Facebook page or go to a career fair.  Some of these calls are over the confusion out there about what we do - people mention “the Aclipse program” and that’s not entirely accurate.  We find employers looking for instructors and instructors looking for employers and try to match the two.  Some employers have huge numbers they are looking to hire, somtimes an employer just wants one person.  I often tell people, semi-jokingly, if they had 500 friends I could have jobs for them all.  It’s no secret there is a huge demand right now in Asia.

4:00

We wrap things up, I IM other offices with questions.  I go over visa documents or applications and get them ready for mailing.  There is never a want for things to do.

5:00

Most of the applications we use at Aclipse are web-based, I can work anywhere, so I go home at 5:00, eat dinner and watch TV.  Around 7:00 or 8:00 I’ll usually check my e-mail (it’s the start of the work day in Asia), write a few responses or a blog entry.  When my wife says there is always tomorrow, I know it’s time to wrap-up, and she just said it.

by Brian Park
I knew the tax rate was low when I first got a job teaching English in Korea, but I didn’t really pay much heed to it.  Yes, lower taxes are always a good thing, but I wasn’t sure what it really meant for me in a foreign country.

I went into the job not knowing if I would need to pay taxes back in the United States, or if I was only liable to pay taxes in Korea.  Much to my surprise, the low tax rate impacted my take home pay dramatically, and I was making much more money than I would have if I had the same gross salary in the US.

I taught for a private school that paid me 2.5 KRW per month, taxed at 3.3% (120 hours of teaching hours per month).  So every month, 2,417,500 KRW would be deposited into my bank account.  With the current rate of exchange (1000 KRW = $1 USD), it was equivalent to exactly $2,417.50.  Now, to take this amount home every month in the U.S., I would need to make an annual salary of $38,680.  (I calculated this by assuming I would be taxed a total of 25% in the United States.)

Additionally, if you are a US citizen and make income overseas, you are exempt from paying US taxes on this income as long as it is under $80,000 (you just need to file a single form stating this to the IRS during tax season).  And since I was also getting a free apartment along with the job, I was saving on this as well.  Let’s say I would normally pay $500 for rent in the USA- that’s $6,000/year after tax income that I would need - $8,000 pre-tax $$ from my salary (assuming a 25% tax rate).  To pay rent and still have $2,400 a month after taxes in disposable income, I would really need to make around a $50,000 salary.  Needless to say, this allowed me to pay down almost all of the credit card debt I had accumulated in college, and put me in a much better financial position.

Between paying down my credit card debt and going out and eating out most nights, I didn’t have much leftover, but I did have friends who managed to save a lot of money.  One friend in particular taught in Koreas for two years, and saved up enough money to buy a mini cooper when she got back to Los Angeles.  Not bad!

by Devani Adams

I was raised a vegetarian from birth.  My mother’s credo was if you can kill it yourself then you can eat it. I was comfortable plucking a carrot out of the backyard garden or ripping a berry off a bush, so that was fine with me. I never could get comfortable with the idea of eating meat. As flexible and easy-going as I made myself out to be in my teach abroad interview about adjusting to the culture, it was a part of me that I really felt couldn’t change. No meat, no chicken, no fish, no seafood, no thank you.

Oh, you’re going to be so healthy living in Japan!

These were the words I constantly heard before heading out for a year abroad in Japan.  People were talking about the whole Zen Buddhism thing and telling me I was going to be eating tofu all day long, which I really like, so I thought that was OK and a nice change from my college diet.

But, really, I didn’t know much about Japanese cuisine besides sushi. Coming from a small rural town I didn’t have much experience with it. We had one Japanese restaurant in the area about twenty minutes away from where I lived (and I went there once before I departed to acclimate myself to the cooking).

So I needed to do more research. To prepare for this year abroad, my boyfriend and I (both traveling to work and teach in Japan together) made special trips to Borders to order “Japanese Vegetarian Cooking” and “The Book of Tofu.” I looked at the pictures and the recipes and felt assured I’d be moving to a vegetarian paradise. A new career, a new year, a new fit healthy body with the Japanese Diet! Sign me up! I was happy with my decision to teach abroad.

I signed up for something completely unexpected.

It’s really, really challenging to be a veggie in Japan.

That looks like a jelly donut? Think again! It’s a curry meat filled donut.
Agedashi tofu, though looks like a nice fried tofu dish, is covered in fish broth.
Even potato chips can have essence of animal in them for flavoring (like shrimp or chicken).
Order a bowl of noodles and ask for no shrimp and they’ll put beef in instead.

It’s really uncommon to not eat meat. You might be better off developing an “allergy” to meat than trying to explain why you just choose not to.

So in my first few weeks in Japan I ate a lot of:
Egg Salad Sandwiches (at a lot of convenience stores and bakeries)
Onigiri (red beans and rice)
Potato Croquette (fried potato cakes)
Edamame
Inari sushi
Big Macs without the meat (they’ll happily accommodate you – my favorite part about Mc Donald’s in Japan)
Potato salad
Indian food (I ate A LOT of Indian food)
Pizza

Not your typical healthy Japanese cuisine.

Having spent five years abroad, I know now that being a vegetarian in Japan is about being proactive at every food encounter you have. The best approach is that if you are unsure if it has meat or not, you can safely assume it does.  But really, the biggest lesson learned is that you just can’t assume.

In the course of five years I ate more French fries and more fried cheese than I had ever eaten in my life! I learned to develop a great taste for beer (ice cold, light Japanese beer in thin glasses for 300 yen a glass) and I learned that just because you don’t eat “meat,” doesn’t mean you don’t eat fish, or chicken, or red bell peppers for that matter.

by Michael Gargano

When was the last time you had to diagram a sentence?  I’ll bet many of you have never diagrammed a sentence or for that matter, know what it means.  Better yet, if you are like me, it’s 35 years since you diagrammed a sentence and you still do not know why you did such a thing.  For me, I recall good old Mrs. Martin in 7th Grade.  There were subjects, verbs, oh yeah, and the need for a ruler.  I’d do anything just to keep the teacher happy.  “Sure, you want me to go up to the blackboard and break up the sentence so it looks like some sort rough, rough draft of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity,” I thought to myself.  With diagramming sentences, nothing is or was relative.  I felt that way then and I feel that way now.

I won’t bore you with the intricacies of such a diagram.  But, hit fast forward from 1977 to 1996.  I was 31 and about to move to Japan to become an English Teacher.  Yes, me, a teacher.

I had many friends who majored in Education and who have become teachers.  That’s fine for them but not me.  I had said over and over and over “there’s no way I’d have the patience to teach.”  But how could it be?  There I was, about ready to move to Japan to become a teacher…of English no less.  I have to be honest with you.  I was a nervous wreck.  I’d just sold my truck, put all my belongings in storage, quit all three of my jobs, and was about to move about 7,000 miles west of Ohio.

If you had asked me then what a past participle was I would have said something like, “Uh, let me see, it happened in the past and it’s…give me a minute.”  I’ll admit it; I bought a Grammar Resource Book. Of course there were times when I flat out did not know the answers to some questions from students.  But I will tell you this; it’s better to be honest and tell the students you will get back with them ASAP rather than make some crazy story up about what YOU think a past participle is.

Once you find the answer, you’ll never need to look it up again.  This happened over and over in the seven years I taught in Tokyo.

I understand that my experience may not be exactly like yours will be or was like.  I worked at a private language school that focused primarily on everyday, survival English.  For example, if these students were on their own in New York City, would they be able to ask for directions, understand what was said, and find their way to the train station?  So for me at least, I didn’t need to diagram a sentence; all of my lessons were focused on speaking and pronunciation.

Sure, grammar is important but it’s not everything.  If one of those students were asked, “Where did you find that lovely scarf?” and the student replied, “I go to Macy’s yesterday and buy it.”  Who cares about those small errors?  In the real scheme of things, this student was able to explain where and when they bought the scarf.  Now, if the grammar errors impeded communication, well, that’s a whole different ball game.

Later on, and the more comfortable I got with the teaching, I’d teach a lot of fluency exercises.  I called it “word joining.”  For example, a student reading the sentence “What are you going to do today?” will read it just like it is written.  Nothing wrong with that.  But I know that here in the Midwest at least, it’s more often than not pronounced “Wuddaya gonna do taday?”  They often would be embarrassed and ask me several times, “Are you sure that if I say that they will understand?”  I not only assured them, but I also said that knowing this will also help with their listening ability.

God knows we don’t slow down for someone we’re speaking to who doesn’t speak English as a first language.  We just get louder.  I SAID, “WUDDAYA GONNA DO TADAY?”

Regardless of the school, the bottom line is that these students want to learn and come to class with big smiles everyday.  I taught thousands of students in my seven years of teaching and not one of them was unhappy to be there.  It sure put my mind at ease.  Before long I had forgotten about how stressed out I was prior to departure.  I’d forgotten about all the worries and “what if” scenarios.  And in all those years no one ever asked me to diagram a sentence.

by Brian Park

Getting a glimpse into what living in your host country is like is probably the single most important thing you can do in making a decision to teach English there.  While teaching is a big part of what you will do abroad, your experience will not mean much if you are not having a good time or enjoying your surroundings.

Having recruited people to teach in Korea over the past five years, it was not very long ago where resources were slim for the prospective candidates to educate themselves.  In recent years, the blogosphere, whether video blogs sites like YouTube or travel blogs, have created concrete glimpses into what other explorers have discovered, experienced, enjoyed, and hated.  Here are some cool blogs to get you started.

What is so interesting about the grand opening of a Quizno’s in Korea?  Yes, Korea also has American restaurant and fast food chains like Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Popeye’s and TGI Friday’s, but what’s perhaps more interesting than this are the use of interesting promotion tactics when opening a new local business.

What kind of an apartment will I be living in?  This is a great resource when trying to get your head around what to expect in an apartment when living in Korea. Teachers have posted videos showing their apartments from various cities.  Like anywhere, there are apartments large and small, new and old, but these videos are a good sampling of what an English teacher can expect.

Korean Break-dancers?  B-boying, also known as breaking or break-dancing, has become a phenomenon in Korea, and has been the source of some of the best b-boys in the world.  Korea is the last place I would expect a b-boy culture to develop, and I am a Korean-American.

What is the Boryeong Mud Festival?  It’s one of the most popular festivals of the year in Chungnam Province, celebrating the local earth, which is considered to be rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics.  It attracted 1.5 million visitors from all over the world in 2006.

Grand openings, breakdancers and mud festivals definitely do not define Korea, nor are they the most interesting things you will come across.  For more insights, check out the millions of travelblogs out there- they are a great resource to see what is out there, what interests you, and if it is somewhere you want to experience for yourself!