짐잉글리쉬

I am very pleased to share with you my dreams that Jimenglish made possible; dreams that came true and gave me an experience so unforgettable.
I’ve been with Jimenglish for almost three years now. It has been a greatly satisfying job, with all the convenience and comfort of working at home -- no worries of dressing up for work and no stressful traffic to and from the office. There are no bosses around; but that only made us more responsible individuals.

Koreans have become part of my daily life. Five days a week, 30 minutes a day per student, they study English with me. Over these three years, it is wonderful helping, hearing, and seeing my students grow into confident speakers of the English language.
Our relationship though goes beyond the task of learning the language. We get to share to each other our culture; we learn about each other’s people, food, places and many more. More intimately, they also share their dreams and aspirations; and even their failures and sorrows. With that, my students, from beginner to advance level, gave me excitement, fear, knowledge, happiness, stress, but above all…fulfillment.
The students have different reasons for studying English; but whatever their reasons are, Jimenglish teachers feel we are already part of their success. I can see how Koreans value their culture, family and education. They are humble, sincere and generous. They have such high level of perseverance and diligence.

It was over the headset where I became aware more of and learned about Koreans--through my students, that is. Then I saw pictures of beautiful places in their country over the internet. Through all that, a desire to meet my students grew in me; but that would be possible only if they come to the Philippines. Luckily, some of them did. I began to wish for the day I myself can go to Korea. This year, Jimenglish invited me to do just that -- to experience in full, the Korean culture.
June 10, 2013. At 9:40PM, I landed at Incheon International Airport in South Korea. My dream became a reality. I shared the experience with another teacher, now a good friend, Eliza. I was really amazed starting right there at the airport--its infrastructure! It is an island -- a really big one. Ms. Jina picked us up and brought us to their beautiful home in Yong-In. It was already a bit late when we arrived. We had dinner and then we went to bed to ensure a good night’s rest that should make us ready for the next day’s full schedule.
June 11, Tuesday -- my first morning on the “Land of the morning calm”. Of course, it was also my first time to experience a truly authentic Korean breakfast with a Korean family—our employers’ family.
After breakfast, we headed to the capital city, Seoul. We went to Chang Deok Gung Palace to meet my student Alberto--Mr. Ji Keum Pyo. Mr. Ji very patiently stayed with us throughout the Palace tour, which took more than two hours to finish. It was fascinating!

Next we met another student, Ms. Shiela Lee. Ms. Lee brought us to La Luce in MyungDong for a lunch buffet. It was another great authentic Korean experience, second to a series of delicious and diet-challenging cuisines to come. Afterwards, Ms. Lee, and another student of Eliza, Ms. Sunny, accompanied us to Insadong. There, we walked the streets of Seoul and bought souvenirs.
Around 6 pm we were turned over to one more of my students, Lily–Ms. Lee Young Sook and her husband Michael--Mr. Son Myung Hwan. The couple brought us to Grand Hyatt Hotel for dinner buffet and then to Namsam Tower. At Namsam Tower, we saw the breathtaking night view of Seoul.
It was almost midnight when they drove us back to Yong-in. It had been an amazing first day, full of wonderful surprises from my first set of students.

June 12, Wednesday. We went to an Italian Restaurant in Yongin to meet my student James--Mr. Kim Sung Sil, who drove all the way from the capital. After lunch we went to Jimjilbang and we had Chinese massage, together with our employers, for a relaxing day. After the very satisfying spa experience, we proceeded to meet our Korean staff Sue, Min and Nicole for dinner.

June 13, Thursday. We went to Gyeong Bok Gung Palace where we experienced to wear the beautiful traditional Korean dress, the Hambok. We had to learn how to properly move around with it, walking, sitting, giving graceful courtesy and all. It was fun! Afterwards, we soaked in more of Seoul, exploring other parts of the city, and of course, shopping for more souvenirs. I must say it was nice, and definitely fun, eating street food like tteokbokki and tokkebi hotdogs.

June 14, Friday. Finally, after tons of incredible experiences, the day of our departure came. We were packed and ready to fly back home to the Philippines. One more stop was necessary – at the Jimenglish office. Once again, we had a great time getting to know more of our Korean colleagues. From there, we had dinner at the seaside restaurant not far from Incheon Airport. That moment was rather difficult. As always, farewells are bittersweet. We couldn’t help ourselves feeling sad to bid goodbye to the people who shared their friendship, generosity, and home to us.

Indeed, thank you very much to our employers Mr. Jim and Ms. Jina. We truly appreciate your graciousness in inviting us, your Filipino teachers, to Korea. It shows us how much we truly share the lives of our students, as they take this specific step of learning the English language with us, towards their dreams and their future. We are even more inspired to help them learn.

Thank you also to our Manager in the Philippine Office, Ms. Grace Ramos, for her support – always encouraging, ever motivating.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my students. I wish I could have seen all of you…. Thank you for your trust and confidence in Jimenglish.
Thank you to Mr. Ji Keum Pyo, Ms. Shiela Lee, Ms. Lee Young Sook and Mr. Son Myung Hwan and Mr. Kim Sung Sil. Thank you for all the wonderful gifts, but most especially, thank you for the time you shared. Your time is priceless. I would also like to thank Christina--Ms. Choi Sun Kyung, and Catie--Ms. Kyung Hye Han, for giving me a call while I was in there. I regret we could not meet, as there was only so much time. I hope to see you in another visit.

Let me conclude by saying Jimenglish teachers take great satisfaction in the fact that we are successful in helping even the most beginner of students to speak English, and in dramatically improving the proficiency level of the many others, whatever advance level they may be. Your ever-growing confidence in speaking the language is our ever-secured confidence in teaching the same. Your success is our success.