Editor's Note: This is the first in a three-part series on the perceptions of 1995 Warsaw Community High School graduate Chad McKenzie, who traveled extensively in Asia.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Chinese proverb

For Chad McKenzie, a 1995 Warsaw Community High School graduate, his recent journey to Asia began when he became frustrated with his career.

Little did he know he would be confronted by communist rebels, hear traditional Chinese music, witness the majesty of Mount Everest or see firsthand the effects of Nepal's caste system.

After graduating from the University of Kansas in 2000, he worked in sales for a Japanese corporation in Portland, Ore., until summer 2002.

"I was really kind of frustrated with my career choice. I really wasn't into all the greed and everything else that goes along with the corporate world," said McKenzie, 27. "So I wanted to do something else. I really was interested in teaching, but in the States, you have to have extra schooling and I didn't have that. I had a friend teaching in South Korea and they had a position open at their school where he was teaching."

McKenzie asked for more information. For the job, he didn't need a teacher's degree, just a bachelor's degree. Within a couple of weeks, he decided to go. He signed the contract, put his two weeks' notice in and within a month, he was in South Korea.

He arrived in Korea on July 3, 2002.

SOUTH KOREA

"I had no expectations going there. I didn't know much about the country and I was really surprised at how developed it was. I expected it to be more like a Second or Third World country and it's at first world status. It's got a lot of things that the Western world has mixed in with a completely different culture. Just lots and lots of urban development going on. Very strong economy."

His job in South Korea was to teach English to kindergarten and middle school students. Students in his first kindergarten classes had been taking English for a while so they could communicate some.

"That wasn't much of a problem. The same goes with the older kids, a lot of them could speak a little bit of English. And it was a lot of trial and error. My director gave the teachers complete autonomy to do whatever we felt we needed to do to help the kids learn English. I thought that was great because everyone has a different style of teaching. What works well with some students may not work well with others, so you kind of have to figure out the best way of teaching for your classes. It's not going to be the same for every class."

His first month was "really tough" because he had never taught before. He didn't really know the best way to award or discipline students, but found rewarding students made them respond better.

"I learned a great deal of patience because, to begin with, I'm not a very patient person. With some students, it takes a lot of time because, ideally, everyone would be at the same level but as we all know, they're not. You have kids that are a lot farther along than others, they pick it up a lot quicker. Then again, you have to take the time out to help the kids who are not learning because they are the ones who need the help."

While in South Korea, McKenzie didn't just teach. He read a lot, hiked on the weekends and got back into working out.

As for highlights, he said, "Just being in a culture, submerging yourself where you're surrounded with an entirely new way of living and thinking. It was great. It took a while to get used to but after I got used to it, I really got into it. They have a great deal of respect and they have a lot of saving face in the culture similar to the Chinese and Japanese cultures. There might be three different ways to the same thing in accordance with respect. ...

"You saw the younger generations, they're being more influenced by the Western world," said McKenzie, including music, television, politics and sports.

"When America does something, it seems that it does affect the whole world just because they're so economically powerful."

His one-year teaching contract with the School of Tomorrow Language Institute completed, McKenzie flew to Beijing. [[In-content Ad]]