Graduation!

I woke up this morning to the second snowstorm of the year. Memories of the last snowstorm (refer to “My Painful First Day of English Camp” on Jan 4^th 2010) flashed through my mind as a shiver rippled down my spine…

Mrs. Jeon called and told me that I didn’t have to come to school. She was well aware of the dangerous conditions in the mountains, potential bus cancellations (again), and severe cold.

I have to admit, the first thing that went through my mind was, “YESSSSSSS!!!”

I couldn’t remember the last time I had a snow day, and considering I had just survived five weeks of English camps, I deserved the break. But my excitement was short lived...

Somewhere in a tiny corner of my mind, I heard a voice tell me, “But Ken! It’s your students’ graduation today. You promised them you’d be there…”

Damn promises…

So I donned my long underwear, dress pants, dress shirt, and tie, and headed out into the white abyss.

The trip to school was slow, but safe (the first of its kind in six months). The ceremony itself lasted a mere thirty minutes, and almost all of my twenty-three middle school students received awards of some kind (the presentations were in Korean, so I wasn’t able to understand what they were for). Mrs. Jeon informed me that they had far surpassed the provincial academic average for English class (the average for Gyeongsangbuk was 80.5%, and my students scored an average of 96.7%!), and that the Principal was highly pleased with their performance. I beamed with pride as I stared at them lined up in the front of the auditorium, preparing for their next big adventure in life (the dreaded “HIGH SCHOOL”)…

Once the ceremony was done, I had the chance to meet their parents, take a few pictures, and shake some hands before they were all whisked away by their homeroom teachers. Everyone left the auditorium, jumped into their cars, and disappeared into the mountains…

- Ken