The American Experience Winter Blog

January 31, 2012

Tuesday, 31 January 2012 00:00

Today was the final day of the American Experience, and truly a bittersweet ending for both the Korean students and all of us here at Eastern Christian. The past three weeks of forming friendships and bonds with everyone were unforgettable and forever changed our lives in one way or another.

Right from the beginning of the school day, the students were exchanging letters and gifts with their newly made friends at the middle school. The atmosphere at school was emotional and the fact that the Korean students were leaving seemed to affect everyone.

Because the students were all packed for their flight later this evening, in the morning they had an extended math lesson from their Korean academy teacher to keep them on track with the rest of the students back in Korea.

At lunchtime, we had a pizza farewell party for the international students and their ambassador buddies a final time. During this time, the students gave thank you letters that they had prepared for the buddies, in appreciation for helping them throughout the American Experience program by bringing them to all their classes, introducing the Korean students to their friends, and familiarizing them with the everyday life of an American student.

Right after lunch, everyone headed up to the church for Chapel service and the graduation ceremony for the international students. Henny gave a wonderful farewell speech reflecting on the unforgettable time the students had while in America and wanted to say thank you to everyone who had affected their lives for the past month. Then, the Korean students received certificates of completions and awards for excellence in areas they'd excelled in while attending Eastern Christian. Many of the host families also attended the ceremony along with the rest of the school to congratulate the students today. After the awards, the students sang a final song, 'Arirang,' with the middle school choir students for the school. It was wonderful to hear both the Korean and American students singing the traditional song together in unison, as a symbol of their unity and friendship. It was a beautiful graduation and many of the students and host families were so touched that they were teary by the end of it.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of the students taking a final STAR reading test to see the improvements they've made since they first arrived here and doing interviews to comment on how they enjoyed their experience in America. Before long, it was already the end of the school day and the Korean students were saying their final goodbyes to their classmates. It was moving to see them promising each other to keep in contact, especially because it was clear how strong their friendships had become.

At 7 in the evening, everyone was gathered at the middle school to bid the Korean students farewell. The host families, their children, and the international students who had become their children for the past month- it was heartbreaking to see how difficult it was for them to say goodbye and express their thank yous to each other. So many tears were shed during prayer and as the students began to board the bus to the airport, but they were both tears of joy and sadness combined.

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January 30, 2012

Monday, 30 January 2012 00:00

Today was the final regular school day for the international students; it's hard to believe that the American Experience program is wrapping up so quickly.

Today's morning devotion was from John 21:1-14, when the disciples were uncertain about their future and decided to go back to their previous job as fishermen. However, God had different plans for them and gave them a purpose in life to spread the message of Jesus' word to the world. Like the disciples, God has plans for each one of us and through Him, we can do all things. We must trust him and follow what we are called to do.

In class, the students received all the homework and classwork with corrections that they've been turning in. It's wonderful to see all the progress they've made the past three weeks just by looking through their binders, and their parents can see all the work they did while in America.

The Korean students also wrote their final thank you letters to all the people who have been helping them out for the past month. Many of them went above and beyond to write letters to other people in school that they felt gave them support. It was heartwarming to see the close relationships they formed with one another, and we hope that the students keep in contact with each other even when the international students go back to Korea tomorrow.

In the afternoon, everyone presented their final book reports to the class and shared about the books they read. It was a new experience for the students because they had never had to speak English to present what they'd studied in class, however the students did a wonderful job explaining things such as the conflict, main events, favorite part of the book, etc. Speaking in front of the class was a new and different technique of learning English for them than just writing and reading, so it was useful way to have the students try it at the end of classes.

The Korean students are now packing in preparation to leave tomorrow, and everyone is feeling the bittersweet reality of having to say goodbye soon. Seeing them empty out their lockers after school today and pack their backpacks for the last time especially seemed to make it real for the rest of the students at Eastern Christian Middle School as well. However, we still have tomorrow to enjoy the final day here in America, so please come by the graduation ceremony during Chapel service to bid farewell to the international students!

January 29, 2012

Sunday, 29 January 2012 00:00

Tonight, all the host families and the international students came together for a final American Experience party hosted at the Justinianos' home.

It was a wonderful occasion for all the students to enjoy dinner and have fun with everyone. The food was absolutely delicious and there was more than enough for everyone to have as many servings as they wanted; the American and Korean students especially liked all the different kinds of desserts that the host families brought.

We also had the opportunity for the host families to take pictures with their international students and also reflect on the experience they've had for the past couple weeks. The evening overall was an enjoyable time and it was a blessing to gather everyone together for the final dinner. Thank you to all those who were able to come out for the party!

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January 27, 2012

Friday, 27 January 2012 00:00

It feels like just yesterday that the international students arrived here at Eastern Christian from Korea, but it's already been three weeks that they've been attending school and visiting places such as New York City and the famous Ivy League universities.

The morning devotion today was about Zacchaeus, the tax collector who was living the wrong life and had wanted to see Jesus. Only after he spoke with Jesus did he realize that he was truly lost, and that He was the only one who could offer him what was missing in his life. We hope that the Korean students also have the desire to be curious about Jesus and thus discover that Jesus can change their lives.

Most of the students brought back their library books that they had checked out and had been reading while living here in the United States. In ESL class, they made all the corrections from what they'd written for the book report, such as the conflict, main events, the conclusion, and began working on the final book project. On Monday, they'll be giving an oral presentation of their project in English to the class as their finishing assignment for the class.

Along with the book project, the students also finished their drafts of the Thank You letters they had been working on throughout the week. Because it's their second time writing letters in English, their writing has improved and the sentences are much smoother. The grammatical errors they made on the first letters have also decreased, so it's great to see that they've learned from their mistakes. The students will rewrite the letters next week after they review what errors they made.

Everything is slowly wrapping up for the international students, and most of them are already saying that they don't want to go back to Korea. This is their final weekend to have fun, so we hope that they enjoy their final days with their host families. Many of the students also went to the school carnival this evening, where they were able to visit various booths to play games, eat fair food, and just have a great time with the rest of the middle school.

One of the Korean students, Michael, was able to write about his fun experience at the carnival last night: "In the carnival there are many game and delicious food like a popcorn, cotton candy, water and italian ice. There are games like basketball, football,throw, the ball, dart to balloon, play cup, etc... First, I play throw the ball. I get ticket for present. If get ticket then I can put in basket or box with my name. In the game, I like a slide in circle on the table because I can get many ticket."

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