THE SLIDE

EBC; English Boot Camp - It’s the realization of a long time dream and passion for English language that Sam, (Sungho Kim) my nephew by marriage, has been nurturing for a lifetime. Here we are, a store front in a crowded, business district just outside the main gate to Dankook University, in Jukjeon Korea. It resembles a military base with local businesses geared to feed soldier’s/student’s appetites. There are restaurants, bars, drug stores, coffee shops and who knows what else packed into a 20 square block neighborhood. We opened, (In Korea they have a Grand Open, instead of Grand Opening) two days ago but yesterday was our first real day of business.

EBC is a store where they sell English language. You can buy sweet, American snacks and wash them down with coffee, soft drinks, juice and near-beer, but the business is about good communication and English language. The way it works is a daily membership fee to come and go, to sit with American, native speakers and practice your English. The culture here is one of extremely courteous and accommodating protocol. But the climate among the natives is highly competitive. Sam, (Sungho Kim) has two teenage boys who get a few hours of free time each week on Sunday. The rest of the time, they go to school. They get a late start in the morning but don’t get home until bedtime which, after day school, night school, tutors and study halls, may be midnight. There are schools, better schools and the best schools. If you want to prosper, you need the best school because it’s the path to the best university and it’s all about grades and the reputation of your school. Coming out of the best university is how you get the top job, the best pay and social status. It really helps if you’re born with a grown up work ethic because your life potential is fixed, with little chance to improve, by the time you hit middle school.  So students, for the most part, pay their fee, sit with staff members from the states and talk, about anything and everything. After all, they will soon be doing job interviews in English; many going abroad to graduate school. 

Two people I’ve met recently: the carpenter who put the finishing touches on EBC’’s woodwork was really creative, intelligent and clever. His table saw was a Skill-Saw, bolted upside down under a card table. It’s fence was a piece of wood with two nails in it. You pull the nails, realign the fence and seat the nails again when it’s right. He knew two words in English, yes and no. But in body and sign language he was fluent and anticipated just about everything I wanted to know. I doubt he could recite a single geometry axiom but his work was spot on. 

Then there is Dr. Choi. I went up on campus yesterday, knew there was no swimming pool on campus but it was a place to start. I swim for exercise and I need exercise. It was lunch time and the only person I could find was a professor whose English was shaky and asked me to come back. An hour and a half later, I returned and noticed that tiny buds on trees had opened and the leaves were pea-size. As I was admiring them, a man approached me and waited for me to notice him. He asked if I was the person interested in swimming. I said I was and he invited me inside, apologizing for his cluttered office which was pretty organized and neat by my standards. Dr. Choi is a professor of Anatomical Analysis; we called it Kinesiology back in the 60’s. Motor skills analysis, the study of levers, mechanical advantage and efficiency with the human skeletal system. He was tall, handsome and maybe 40 yrs. He did his PhD in England and his English got a B- or a B from me. A serious swimmer also, he went to his computer and produced a map and schedules for the nearest indoor pool. All the time, he was focused on me and my needs. People came and went, left messages, turned in assignments; and we talked. All the time, I was his first priority, in my jeans and U of M t-shirt. He gave me his card and an invitation to come back any time. He was cool. So I met two characters, a carpenter with makeshift tools and a PhD. The big difference in their life achievement probably turned on their middle school test scores. 

Last night as we approached closing time, we had a room full of students and the place was buzzing. We did the “Cup Song”, a viral video where you do an intricate, hand slapping, table tapping choreography with a paper cup. At the witching hour, my niece Terry took the brave ones out into the street. With our music turned up full, they did the Electric Slide, for several minutes. Drunks from the bar across the street came outside and watched in disbelief. Today’s a new day but closing time tonight I bet we’re in the street again.