The Days We Wandered the Streets of Sydney Looking for a Language School
While preparing for the trip, my biggest worry was definitely the kids' language school.
Both kids said they really wanted to attend a language school. They wanted to learn the language and make friends their own age.
So I looked up and even planned to register for a language school in advance while in Korea... but then I suddenly received a notice that the school had closed its doors along with news of bankruptcy.
Among the people who had already registered, there were cases where they couldn't even get a refund, and I also heard news that some were transferred to another language school to take classes.
It was even more shocking because it was a large-scale language school with branches not only in Sydney but also in other areas.
Hearing that there were even parents who sent their kids without knowing anything until the day before it closed made me feel dumbfounded and bitter.
I searched through Sydney-related cafes to find language school information again, and
when I contacted the person in charge I had been emailing previously,
they said they had also moved to a different language school and would help me if I came over there.
At that point, due to my husband's work, it was a situation where he might not be able to go to Sydney with us, so
my mind was quite complicated thinking, how am I going to handle this situation by myself if even the language school gets canceled.
It wasn't an easy task to look for another school after a famous language school closed down.
Checking Language Schools in Person
After much thought, thankfully my husband was able to go to Sydney with us, and
we decided to visit the language school in person to get a consultation.
I tried calling a few study abroad agencies, but there were only a few recommended language schools, and there was the issue of having to pay in advance, so I made up my mind to find them myself once we got to Sydney. I couldn't shake off the anxiety of 'what if it disappears again after I register in advance?'. I opened Google Maps and searched for junior language schools in Sydney. Checking the distance from our Airbnb and the environment made me feel like I had been around downtown Sydney several times. I read the reviews, looked up pictures of the facilities, and sent emails to a few language schools, finding about two places with matching dates.
I checked if they were actually operating by exchanging emails with the person in charge and checking the websites of the language schools I had found in advance. In particular, I was checking if it was a place where photos were uploaded every few days on Instagram and activities were lively. I also sent Instagram DMs to double-check, but most of the answers told me to inquire again via email. The atmosphere was one where all information was provided and communication was done via email.
While looking hard, I also remembered what a representative of a study abroad agency had told me on the phone before.
They said that nowadays, living expenses and taxes are high in Sydney, and with the changes in studying abroad/immigration policies, there are many schools facing financial difficulties due to a decrease in students.
So, rather than places that only look active on the outside, I spent over a month observing places that consistently showed activity.
Because deciding on a language school was more of a priority for us than sightseeing, we immediately looked for the school as soon as we unpacked.
We just walked in, greeted them cheerfully, and asked for a consultation with the marketing manager. While talking with the resident manager, we could comfortably discuss our family's plans and what kind of environment the kids would be in.
They said a new class starts on the first Monday of February, so
we also really wanted to finish registering before then.
Fortunately, my husband naturally continued the consultation in English, and
I stood next to him smiling and agreeing.
The atmosphere flowed quite positively, and through a bit of dealing, we were able to get a discount.
Since we visited in person without a study abroad agency, I asked if we could get a discount instead of the commission fee, and I felt really good when they said it was possible. We have two kids, so it was an enrollment for two, and we came with the information we gathered ourselves. It seems our intention of 'let's just try talking with a smile' got through, and the manager said they would try talking to the higher-ups.
Adjusting Expectations
While adjusting our expectations, we didn't expect the kids to improve their skills tremendously at the language school.
Rather than hanging out only with us all day,
just spending time mingling with friends in a local English environment was enough.
I also told the kids in advance not to have too high expectations.
Since it's winter vacation, there will be many Korean friends too, and
just building new experiences by meeting various friends from different countries
would make this one month special.
We decided not to expect their English skills to suddenly improve in the short time of 3 weeks.
That's also why I made up my mind not to be an overly picky parent to the kids.
I thought it would be enough if they just had a good time in a new environment, and
experienced English even a little bit.
The language school manager told us, "Australia is a country where various cultures blend."
They said because people of various backgrounds, such as Chinese-Australians and Indian-Australians, live together,
you can experience English with various accents and styles.
At first, those words sounded a bit unfamiliar, but after thinking about it carefully, it was very true.
I thought that learning English in such an environment
could actually be a more natural and open experience for the kids.
We were going to go for consultations at other places too, but because we were satisfied with this place, we decided to register right away. The facilities weren't bad, and the scale was large, so the kids said they liked it too.
After finishing the big homework of registering for the language school through twists and turns,
I finally felt like our life in Sydney had stabilized a bit.
Unexpected variables encountered while traveling, and
the process of finding our way and pulling ourselves together within them,
might have been a necessary time of growth for our family.