In the blink of an eye, it is already week four- our last week at Jiguchon International school. 

First grade, first grade, ohhh first grade. This week I taught first grade with Daniel and Erin. We walked into the classroom, greeted the homeroom teacher, and were greeted with the curious eyes, runny noses, nose picking fingers, and warm smiles of Jun-ee, Ji-hong, Uk-hweon, Kiki, Hyeon-seo, TaHa, and Ji-Ho. In return we each greeted and introduced ourselves in Korean and English. And then the ball was rolling- mostly with us running after it.  

On our first day together, our kids kept us on our toes with their endless energy, their short attention spans, and their tendency to touch us after rubbing or picking their noses (shoutout to Uk-hweon and Jun-ee) in each activity- from learning the alphabet, counting numbers one through ten, etc. At the end of the day, after hearing the bell that signals lunch time, the three of us looked at each other, with our drained faces thinking the same thing: rough. 

At that moment, we couldn’t understand why Ji-ho who is so smart constantly resisted our instructions, why Jun-ee constantly rubbed his wet hands on us or tried to hug us when we let our guard down while playing Simon Says, or why Hyeon-so spoke with sadness when we were talking about our families during break time. 

But as the week progressed and our time together shortened, we slowly began to understand the whys behind the whats as our homeroom teacher gave us background information on our kids. While one of our kids was seven years old, mentally he was five years old, which explained his baby-like behavior. One of our kids comes from a rather broken, mixed family- her father lives in a South Asian country while she lives with her two older sisters and her single mother who struggles to make ends meet. Another one of our kids, feels alienated from his classmates which makes him resist our instructions. All of these behaviors and circumstances felt oddly familiar to me, my own life and experiences- it made my heart race and I began to see Jiguchon and the kids I have taught from the birds view. 

As I reflect, the majority of my kids have at least one non-Korean parent. Majority of them are from low socio-economic households. Majority of them rarely see both of their parents on a regular basis. And, majority of them rewear the clothes that they wear on Monday, again on Tuesday. Jiguchon as a school does not have a surplus of funds or teachers. But, all of my students are smart, adventurous, beautiful, loved and valued by their homeroom teachers and our Duke Engage team.

And to our kids like Hyeon-seo, Yeong-eun “Chris,” Forjune, Eunice, CIA, Calvin:  

More than your capability to learn English quickly, your ability to come to school and cooperate with the craziness of our lesson plans despite familial and financial circumstances resonates with us. You all have heart. More than me teaching you all English, you guys have taught me so much about myself and the world we live in. More than being an integral part of our summers, you guys have become an unerasable part of our lives. Despite the differences- linguistically or phenotypically- whatever forces you into silence, drawing, writing etc, I want you to know that we see you and we hear your tears, laughter, and overall awesomeness. You guys are some of the best cha cha sliders I have ever met. And I am so grateful that I experienced you all.

Remember these two things:

1)It is okay to be different. 2) Life is going to test you, never fold. Stay 10 toes down. It’s not on you, it’s in you. And what’s in you, no one can take away.

Now for the last time lets “cha cha real smooth, turn it out,” and hug each other tight. 

지구촌학교에게 감사합니다!