Soni Enjoying Mid-Season Break

By Anono J. Mus
The News Network

23-year old individual Mark P. Soni is enjoying his mid-season break from teaching. Spending time with his parents here in South Korea, "Little Soni" is enjoying his time relaxing, eating, sleeping, and sharing memories and experiences with his parents and family during the Korean Thanksgiving holiday.

"Its been a fun experience, taking a break from teaching classes, coming out here to my aunt's house in Anyang City, and seeing my parents all over again...its all good," said a laid-back Soni, who is in his rookie season as an ESL teacher at an all-boys' high-school in the city of Incheon, South Korea.

With his future in doubt, Soni knows that the future holds no bounds.

"Its all good man. I mean, KG (Kevin Garnett) and other free agents in the NBA go through this, when your contract is about to be up and all. Your future is always in doubt, but, I'm just trying to live out my life day to day and see where things are headed. You can't really whine or worry, because its ultimately going to come down to what is best for my future, and I trust in my Agent, God, to deal out what is best for me."

Soni is half-way through his teaching contract, meaning that his options are wide open: re-sign with the school, pursue Korean language training at a university in Seoul, or find a new school to teach at. "The sky's the limit," he adds.

Lately, the 23-year old little man has been experiencing some surprise difficulties during his mid-season mark of his teaching campaign. He was told by a senior teacher recently to not speak Korean anymore to the English teachers of the school and the students. Also, he is experiencing some communication issues with his new boss, who is also a fresh rookie out of university, and her English skills are not up to par as our rookie would like them to be.

"Just like other players in this ESL ballgame here in South Korea, communication is such a vital problem. Some English teachers in the schools are not adequately trained to handle and communicate inter-culturally with the native English teachers. Its a tough situation, but, just like any other job, I have to do my best to react and handle it like a man, and then some."

"I can't really complain. Yet at the same time I'm not going to let this issue idly remain, and let this be the status quo for the rest of the year. I'm going to make some fundamental changes on how I react to certain situations, such as when I cannot get my point across to the staff, or that I certainly get truthful feedback for my efforts."

Is Soni experiencing doubts about his job? Soni fires back: "Not one bit. God put me here in South Korea for a reason. To preach the Gospel. Paul once wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:16: '...for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel!" That's what I'm here for, and if I lose focus on that mission statement and goal, than this job is meaningless. So I will continue to press on regardless and do my best."

"As for co-worker issues, this is nothing different than I have experienced in the past, in other jobs that I have worked in there were some really tough issues I had to deal with, well, particulary for my life. But, I learned from all of them and I don't get too pressed about them. I can't let it get to me, because it robs the joy of teaching from me."

Soni's break continues next week as the students of Yeonsu High School Celtics take their mid-term exams.

"That's what I'm talking about! Just need some time to reflect, recharge, and write new lesson plans."

Soni is an unique individual based on the fact that he is a young born-again Christian still trying to maintain the fire of the faith. Not your typical Bible pusher, Soni is a man who is much a normal guy who enjoys a myriad of interests: from reading about foreign cultures, learning foreign languages, and watching/following the NBA, Soni's goal is to give all of his life to the Lord.

"I like it how in the Christian faith you do not need to sacrifice your interests to live a life of dull-dom. More about it, when your life is focused on Christ, your interests come second behind Him, and He takes them as an avenue to help you enjoy life more and share the Gospel more effectively with the people around you."

So for Soni, 6-months are done, 6 more to go. The Saga continues...

- Anono J. Mus is a freelance writer out of Anyang, SK, detailing about the life of ESL life for South Korean teachers, and will regulary contributes to this blog.