exchange ; jjk

01

I stared absentmindedly at the whiteboard in the classroom that had something written on it in large black marker. It read:

ANNOUNCEMENT
SOUTH KOREA EXCHANGE PROGRAM
INFO MEETING: THIS FRIDAY XX/XX/XX DURING LUNCH

I hummed to myself and leaned back in my chair, contemplating on whether or not to attend the meeting.

"You should go," someone whispered into my ear from behind me.

"Jeez!" I lurched forward and turned towards the person, "Don't do that!"

Jaeden laughed hysterically, "My bad. But, in all seriousness, you should go!"

My eyes trailed back to the board in the front of the room, "You think?"

"I know. Just ask Ms. Park! She'll definitely want you to go." Jaeden nodded her head towards our teacher sitting at her desk. Before I could go up to our Korean language teacher, the bell rang, signaling the start of fourth period.

"After class," I whispered to Jaeden before turning around in my seat to give my full attention to Ms. Park.

"Good afternoon, students." Ms. Park immediately began her lesson by already speaking in her native language.

"Good afternoon, teacher." The class chirped in harmony.

Ms. Park smiled, "Have you all seen the board?" Without waiting for a response, she continued speaking, "Well, I do recommend most of you in this class to consider signing up for this wonderful program. It'll be a great immersion experience, especially if you want to improve your listening and speaking skills." Ms. Park' eyes met mine, causing me to look away quickly. "Anyways, let's start with class, shall we?"

"Yes, teacher." My fellow classmates and I responded unanimously.

"Let's review the verbs we learned last week..." Ms. Park turned on the projector and pulled the screen down, revealing the list of vocabulary we learned in the previous days. "Mina," she turned to me, "Please read the left list out loud."

I nodded and obeyed the instructions, stumbling only a couple of times over a few words.

"Nice job!" Ms. Park smiled and turned back to the board.

I let out a deep breath and shifted in my seat. Adrenaline flowed through my body after speaking Korean out loud and not screwing up completely. I guess that's what motivated me into talking with Ms. Park after class.

"Excuse me, Ms. Park?" I walked up to her desk once the class ended.

"Mina, what can I do for you?" My teacher looked up from her computer and smiled.

"Do you think I should go to the meeting?" I asked hesitantly.

She laughed, "There's no harm in attending. But if I'm guessing correctly, you want to know if it's worth your while, right?" I nodded shyly. "Of course you should! You've been working really hard lately and I think you definitely deserve to go on this trip."

"Thank you. I'm just not sure if my parents are up for it..you know, with payment and all," I sighed and looked down at the ground, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"Hey, it's okay. The school is more than willing to help. Plus, we'll fundraise, ask for donations, and have a scholarship to give out!" Ms. Park explained kindly. I nodded again. "I hope to see you this Friday."

I gathered my stuff before exiting the classroom, "I'll be there."