In April 1996, I(Glen) graduated from Teacher s College and I had decided to do two things before I would enter the teacher's market in Canada. Go do some tree planting for a couple of months and then go to Europe or Asia for a year and do a little teaching and traveling there.
 
 
 
       
   
    So I went and first did my tree planting. While I was doing the hardest work I had ever had to do in my life, I decided, for no particular reason except instinct, to go to Korea. Why Korea? I honestly don t know. I soon chose a school to work in, somewhere in the city of Kyongju, and sent my acceptance to work for them by sending them a fax to Korea from Canada. After a couple of days however, I began to feel somewhat uneasy about the Kyongju school. Just a gut feeling. So, I called another school with whom I had been in touch with before to see if there was still an opening. They said yes and I quickly decided on the spot that that was going to be the school I was going to work for. I called the Kyongju school and apologized to them and soon found myself on a plane for Taegu, Korea, where I was going to work for a school called Dind Ding Dang Children's English .
     
   
    I settled in and quickly found myself enjoying the teaching environment, especially the children's energy. After a few months, Ding Ding Dang asked me if I would mind working a few extra hours(with no extra pay) at the local elementary school with whom they had just made contract with. I said I would but they told me I didn't have any choice. So off I went to do my daily extra 2 hours duty. Not long after, the elementary school, known as Hyo-myoung, had what they called an open class day in which elementary school teachers from across the city were invited to observe an English native-speaker from Canada teach English to Korean elementary school students. On that day, just before I was about to teach the class, three young elementary school teachers, all female and in their twenties, came to me and made their introductions. Standing in the middle was my future wife. She initiated the introductions and wished me good luck. After the class, they came back again and their leader said that they enjoyed my teaching and learned a lot from it. The leader and I then exchanged business cards(a common practice in Korea) and said our farewells. Needless to say, the leader girl left a strong impression on me. She was beautiful and I felt that she was smart and quick minded. But it was her smile, her bright smile that left the strongest impression. It has a positive brightness that continues to shine my day. But of course, no one called anyone.
     
   
    It was only by chance a couple of months later that we met in a jazz style pub downtown called The Emanon . Silver told me later that she had not intended going there that night. After being elsewhere in the downtown area with friends, she was heading home when she met a couple of old friends on the street who wanted to know where the Emanon pub was. Silver knew where it was and offered to guide them to it. With a little arm twisting Silver's friends eventually convinced her to join them. So inside the pub she went where she soon found herself involved in a beer chugging tournament. This is when I came in with my group of friends and soon recognized her as she was leading her team to victory. I went up to her and congratulated her on her beer slugging prowess. We again exchanged phone numbers and promised to call each other this time. I couldn t take my eyes off her the whole night. We occasionally made eye contact and when she gave me a smile I just melted. I made sure to call her a couple of days later and we went to see the movie The English Patient . We've been together ever since.
     
   
   

However, there is still a little bit of drama to our story. Silver actually turned down my proposal of marriage. Although she said she loved me, she basically felt that being married to a man from a far off culture thousands of miles away was just too risky. I tried to convince her that although our marriage would certainly be a challenge(Isn't any marriage a challenge?), our life together would be special and magical and well worth the trip. As poet Robert Frost said: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference . But, her mind was made up. I then started asking myself whether or not I should continue to stay in Korea. I didn't know what to do. Should I stay and continue to try and convince her or should I leave and let her go. I called my mom and asked her for her advice. She said 'If you really love her, you will let her go' . I did really love her so it was obvious what to do. On that same day, I made an airplane reservation for a flight to Canada for that night and started packing my things. Sitting on my packed luggage, I called Silver one last time and told her I was leaving for Canada. I said I truly loved her and that was why I was leaving. I also told her that while I would be in Canada I would not try to contact her. But if she contacted me and wanted to see me, I would fly back in a second. She understood and we said our tearful farewells. I continued my packing and called Mom and Dad to tell them I would be in Canada in 24 hours.

Then, not long before I was ready to leave my apartment door, the phone rang. It was Silver and she had changed her mind. She proposed to me that night and we got married 6 months later on May 3, 1998. Life with her has been wonderful and they have been the best years of my life. Now we have a beautiful daughter named Jasmine who was born on Canada Day July 1, 2001.

       
   
   
     
   
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