Today was activity day,
which isn't really important. It's Lunar New Year coming up, so we made wooden
tops, they dressed in Hanbok, they bowed to me, and we talked about resolutions. It was cute and fun, but that’s not the point
of this entry.
Every Activity day there
is a special lunch that is smaller than regular lunch because the TPs are super
busy during activity days and don't have enough time to serve the larger lunch.
The lunch consists of a clementine, a roll with melted cheese on top, and
shrimp fried rice. The shrimp is tiny and there isn't a lot of it, but I still
can't eat it because the rice has been cooked with the shrimp. The first
activity day I went to, however, I didn't even notice the shrimp, ate a huge
serving of rice and felt sick for the rest of the day. Because I can't have the
rice, Miss Theresa (the lunch lady) always puts in extra rolls and clementines
for me. I sit at a table with Thomas, Cherry, Andrew, and Jully, with my back
to my other students (Miss Young sits at their table).
Today, I sat down with my
tray full of rolls and oranges, and Thomas asked me why I didn't have any rice.
I told him I had an allergy. He said shrimp was one of his favorite foods,
which Ryan chimed in on. He heard that part from the other table, and said it
was one of his favorites, and asked why I didn't like it because he hadn't
heard the first part of the conversation. I repeated myself, saying I loved
shrimp but that I can't eat it anymore. Sally, who sits across from Ryan and
about as far away from me as possible, having heard nothing but this, asks if I
have an allergy. I say I do and explain to the other kids what an allergy is
because they didn't understand. Everyone then turns back to their food and
proceeds to eat.
A minute, maybe two,
passes in complete silence. Then, out of nowhere, Sally jumps out of her chair
and yells "Miss Kelsey! Don't eat the rice! It has shrimp!" I turn
around to look at her and she is reaching out toward me (from about ten feet
away), and she looks so concerned and afraid for me. It was adorable. This
little girl who is only seven years old, was THAT concerned about my health. It
was like I was about to go into a room that had a bomb in it, or as if I were
the heroine in a scary movie, running from the villain and trying to get away
by running up the stairs. She literally JUMPED out of her chair (she actually
almost knocked it over) and reached out for me, just to warn me about my rice.
Honestly, the first thing
I thought was that this girl actually cares about me. I'm not just some white
lady she's known for six months. She really loves me. Then, when we practiced
our graduation songs after lunch she sat on my lap and leaned her head on my
shoulder while she sang. And when I told her I'm teaching the new class she'll
be starting in a few weeks, she got so excited she practically tackled me just
to give me a hug. So, in other words, the cuteness of the week award goes to:
everything Sally did today. Thanks for making me feel amazing, my love.
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