I was walking back from lunch in our cafeteria, up this ridiculously large, steep hill and I, jokingly, reached for one of my students to "pull me up". She did as she was instructed. As we got to the top of the hill, she took my arm and then she held my hand. We walked for some time like this: all the way past the middle school, down the steps to the shared courtyard, into the high school, and up about three thousand flights of stairs to my office. All the while, she held my hand, prattling on about what she was doing this weekend. The back and forth conversation simple, light, and cheerful.
I was told today that more than half of our students at the school are from broken families. Because of this, they require more love, more attention than students who attend elsewhere. I was told that my lesson, "when friends meet again" was so special to them because I hugged them during my introduction and explanation.
Funny, isn't it? In Canada way more than half are from broken homes, but we would never think of holding their hands, much less touch them or welcome them as our own little children. Today I love Korea. I love Korea because of the simple things that make big differences. I love that the bureaucracy of the country allows me to hold a kid's hand, apparently making her day. All this and lunch was really good today: I'm in a great mood now.
Good day. I said good day :)
1 comment:
...sounds to me like holding hands is the beginning of beautiful, life long, lesbian relationship. Good for Alexis. I always knew Tom would turn you gay. Ha!
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