The Best Global Leaders at the TQ Headquarters in Brisbane

I took another trip to Oz last month, but this time it wasn’t with 15 other candidates competing for the Best Job in the World, instead it was with 6 kids from South Korea, picked for “The Best Global Leader” campaign sponsored by Tourism Queensland and DAKS KIDS (clothing brand).

The 6 children were picked from an applicant pool of hundreds from across Korea and they ranged from 8 to 12 years old.  Most of them have never been abroad before and all of them had never been away from their parents for an extended period of time.  But who needs parents when you have this much fun!

suddenly i became a human sled

But it wasn’t all fun and games… these kids learned about nature, the ecosystem, Queensland’s history, business etiquette, table manners and SURFING!

Learning from Tangalooma's in-house biologist

You don't see this in Korea everyday!

Is that a mouse tail?

I think I'm pretending to teach.

Learning about business etiquette. Future MBAs!

Feeding WILD DOLPHINS at Tangalooma

TIME TO GO SURFING!!!

a quick surfing lesson...

and we're off!

He was a bit scared so we wanted to try on the little waves first. The really little waves.

what's up with all these forks and knives?

The kids also had an opportunity to experience a real Aussie household through a dinner that was provided to us in the home of an awesome Aussie family.

Now, where does a clothing line like DAKS Kids fit into all of this?  Well, these children also make some fabulous child models and all the fantastic locations that we visited made excellent backdrops, including one of the kid’s favorite, Dream World!

VROOM VROOM!

Sponge Bob wants some camera time too!

You can bet the boys LOVED the laser tag!

LET’S START THE SHOOT!

The rascals turning into the models.

Oh, and almost forgot… they also played a little “cowboy” I mean, “stockmen”, as they say in Australia, too!

Yes, they brought the hat back to Korea with them.

Till next time Queensland!  Thanks for another great experience.

This never gets old.

For a more detailed look into my experience with these wonderful kids… here is my column piece in the monthly 귀가 트이는 영어 text book.

“Dabbling in Parenthood”

As some of you may already know, a couple of months ago, I made a return trip to Australia, but this time, not as a contestant in some campaign to be an Island Caretaker, but as the Tourism Ambassador for Tourism Queensland (TQ).  TQ had partnered up with the clothing brand, DAKS KIDS to run the “Best Global Leader” campaign.  The campaign selected 6 children from across Korea to travel to Queensland, experience first hand the culture of Australia and also have the opportunity to model clothes from DAKS while on location ALL FOR FREE!  My involvement with TQ allowed me to act as the “team leader” of sorts for this bright group of children and I jumped at the opportunity.

I might have been a little naïve heading into this but I thought, ‘Five days with kids aged 8 – 12… can’t be too hard because after all, I’m a big kid myself!’  But boy, was I in for a surprise.  I know that babysitting 6 kids, mainly 2 boys aged 8 and 9, doesn’t compare to raising kids from birth to adulthood for a better part of two decades, but this trip was both so rewarding and challenging, and it gave me new found respect for ALL parents out there.  KUDOS to all the parents of the world!

Most of the children participating in the “Best Global Leader” campaign had never traveled very far from Korea, yet alone travel alone without their parents.  This was a big concern for us as we picked the participants because if a child gets homesick or starts missing their parents, there’s nothing we can do once we get to Australia.  So we made sure we picked children who assured us of their independence and ability to look after their own needs.  Luckily, with all the fun that we were having, I don’t think any of them really missed their parents enough to want to come home.

Watching the children’s faces light up when they saw, heard, touched or smelled something new, different or sensational had to be the highlight of my trip.  Someone said children were like sponges because they soak up everything around them.  I now completely agree.

From feeling a real live snake, holding a koala and feeding a real-life kangaroo to sand tobogganing down a giant sand dune, surfing in the ocean and seeing a wild dolphin eat from your hand; every experience that these kids went through, will no doubt leave a lasting impression in their minds.  You always remember your firsts and all of this was their first.  The smile, the wide-eyed amazement and their little oohs & aahhs gave me the satisfaction that I was doing something worthwhile, no matter how beat up and tired I was at the end of each day.  By the way, not only are children like sponges, they are also like the “Energizer Bunny” – they keep going and going and going and seem to have unlimited energy!

It wasn’t all fun and games for the children, as they did have to some activities that they probably thought were not that entertaining.  The children visited the head office of Tourism Queensland where they were introduced to a business environment and learned about business etiquette.  TQ tells me that our little “leaders” from Korea are the youngest group of visitors ever to make an official visit to their headquarters.

Let me ask you a question.  Do you guys really know what all those forks, spoons and knives are used for when you go to a fancy Western restaurant?  Why are there 3 forks and 2 knives and weird looking spoons?  Which one do I use for my salad and which one is for the entrée?  Ever asked these questions to your self?  Well, you can now ask our “Global Leaders” for the answers.  They are very well rehearsed in table manners and can tell you not only which forks to use, but also tell you which way is the proper way to tilt your bowl when trying to scoop up the last little bit of soup.  The boys even stand up from their chairs when a girl (or lady) leaves and returns to the table.

One of the most impressive things that I saw was the children’s ability to adapt to their new surroundings despite the language barrier.  All of the children did know the basics but they were nowhere near fluent.  To give you an idea, one of the best English speakers in the group, who also happened to be the youngest one, told one of the resort managers that his favorite part of the trip so far was “Giving rice to the dolphins.” (돌고래한테 밥 주는거)  But just to have the creativity to form that sentence and then to have to courage to open up and say it… I think a lot of adults in Korea should be envious and should take note.

On the last night of our stay in Queensland, the entire group had an opportunity to experience a real Australian household.  The kids got to have an Australian family dinner at the house of an Aussie family with two beautiful daughters, Jara and Teal, 7 and 4years old.  I think it took the children all of maybe 10 minutes to get acquainted and start laughing and playing with these Australian kids even though they didn’t really speak English.  They were laughing, running and jumping with these kids as if they had known them all their lives and somehow, they managed to communicate all they needed to communicate with broken English, hand gestures and smiles.  Then I realized why it’s so difficult for adults to learn a new language but so much easier for children.  Adults are bound by social norms, customs, fear of embarrassment and fear of public perception.  All of these restrictions go out the window with kids and they adapt so much quicker.  Like I said, 10 minutes.  If you are really serious about learning English, take a lesson from the kids and throw those inhibitions out.  I saw it work in person.

Now, I mentioned the challenge this trip gave me.  It was a challenge getting up at 6:30AM to wake up 2 little boys who didn’t want to get up, get them clothed, fed and ready for the day.  It was definitely a challenge to keep the kids behaving and running around in a thousand directions in a place like the theme park Dreamworld, where honestly, if I was there by myself, I probably would’ve ran around everywhere too.  It was hard being the responsible one every time at all places, making sure the kids had their belongings, put their seat belts on, brushed their teeth, folded their clothes, packed their bags and etc.  Honestly, I don’t know how you parents do it, 24hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Where do you find the energy?  I joke that when I do get married and it’s time for me to have kids, because of this whole experience, I’m pushing back the kids for another 3 years.  But despite the challenges, I’m wouldn’t give any of this back.  I absolutely loved being there and I’m thankful that I had a chance to play a small part in a pretty big event for each one of them, at least for a little while.

My connection with Australia started with a bit of hard work and a lot of luck, but it seems like that country is continuing to give me so much more.  I never thought I would get my first real parenting lesson in Oz but it happened.  After I came back from the trip, yes, I was sick in bed with 몸살 for a couple of days.  Those kids can run you into the ground, but nothing in this life is free.  I think I got a pretty good deal actually… a couple of days being sick in exchange for a valuable life lesson and the chance to be a part of six very special children’s lives, even if it was for just a short five days.

It looks like I’ll be returning to Australia in February once again.  Can’t wait for another adventure in Queensland, but we have some exciting news for one lucky listener of 귀트영 who will be going to Queensland on TQ’s tab.  I’ll have more details in my next post!