Hosts get taste of Korean life

For three weeks, about 20 middle school students from South Korea have been immersed in American culture in North Idaho. They’ve attended classes at the local middle schools, watched for bald eagles on Lake Coeur d’Alene, toured the Buck Knives plant in Post Falls and accompanied their host families on weekend ski trips and other North Idaho activities.

Wednesday evening was different. Instead of going about their typical weeknight activities, exchange students and their host families came together at Woodland Middle School for a celebration of South Korean culture.

They watched a video presentation on the country, enjoyed Korean dance, music and tae kwon do performances, ate traditional Korean cuisine, and swapped stories about their experiences during the exchange thus far, the first of what organizers hope will become an annual event.

“I wish I could have offered you better Korean dishes. As you know, there aren’t that many Koreans living in the area, let alone restaurants or grocery stores,” Daniel Kim told the crowd to laughter.

Kim moved to the United States from South Korea years ago, after fleeing North Korea as a child. He worked with the Coeur d’Alene School District to organize the month-long exchange, which started three weeks ago.

Some who welcomed the kids into their homes and schools said they wished they could stay longer.

“It’s going to be hard to say goodbye,” said Teresa Cruse, office manager at Canfield Middle School. “It’s just starting to be fun. They’re warming up to us.”

The students attended English language classes in the mornings, then went to regular classes at their assigned middle schools. Activities were scattered throughout the weeks, but host families tried to stick to their normal routines to show the students what life in the U.S. is really like.

Ha Man Ho, one of two South Korean teachers who came with the students on the visit, said many of his students’ English skills have improved immensely.

“Some more than others,” he said with a laugh.

For the teachers and their visiting students, this is their first time in America.

Though they’ve all been studying English for at least a couple years, they’d never had the chance to speak it so much – and with native speakers.

“They’ve never spoken to foreigners in their lives,” Kim said.

And for the host families, the experience has been somewhat reciprocal.

“We all know how to count to 10” in Korean, said Kristin Wood. Fourteen-year-old Ara Jo is staying with Wood, her husband, Doug, and their children, 13-year-old Kaylee, 11-year-old Sam and 9-year-old Olivia.

Ara practices English with Olivia nightly. Her progress has been noticeable, Kristin Wood said.

But for some, the experience has been more of a struggle. Away from home for the first time, their lack of English skills made the thought of participating in class or interacting with their American host families even scarier, Kim said.

When Kim asked the group of kids how classes were going, he said that they said they just sit there doing nothing because they don’t know English well enough to know what’s going on.

“That’s why you’re here,” Kim said he told the kids.

Kim said one woman called him recently, concerned because the boy staying with her remained in his room and didn’t interact with the family.

“I talked to the kid the next day and he said, ‘What can I say. I can’t say anything. … I’ve never felt so ashamed, so I stay in my room.’ So I ask him, ‘Are you going to study English even harder when you get home?’ ” Kim said.

Kim said the boy responded with a vehement “yes.”

Kim has been the point man on the exchange, hammering out details and checking in with the students, as well as fielding calls from families back in South Korea.

One student broke his arm during a sledding trip near the beginning of their stay.

When his worried father called, Kim said he told him not to worry, that his son was in good hands. The boy is staying with a former nurse, now a middle school teacher, Kim said. Besides, Kim told him, “The hospital is so good, the boy will return with a $6 million arm. The father was very happy.”

But what the students will really return with is the experience of a lifetime.

“After this experience, I think I’d probably send my daughter to be over there (in South Korea) for a month,” Doug Wood said. The school district hopes to organize such an exchange in the years to come.