If I Had a Million Dollars

Three years ago it seems that I was often writing about my students, either things they did in the classroom that entertained or amazed me, or some occurrence from the rest of our time together.  The past six months I've often had thoughts of "I should write about this" but for some reason those rarely materialize.  The blog has taken a back seat in my life while I pursue other interest and spread my time thin between different outlets, but I'll try to get back into it.  My students although vastly different than those I had at Buksam High School are still entertaining, intelligent and full of fun ideas so it's only fair I share some of this with you.

Last week I presented one of my writing classes with the topic "If I had a Million Dollars", I'm surprised I hadn't done this sooner, but was reminded of the song (and discussion point) while chatting with a friend last week.  This particular class is always filled with energy and bright ideas, so I was hopeful for the writing they would produce. So without further ado, if I had a million dollars...

Teacher, I'm Coming to America

During my first two years teaching in Korea I had multiple students that spoke of the day they'd be coming to visit me in the United States. I of course encouraged these dreams, but aside from a select few, seriously doubted it would actually happen.  Then last year, while teaching in Cambodia I got a text from one of my previous students 임희욱.  He was asking for advice, which school from a list of 7 he should pick; believe it or not he was going to start studying in America that summer.  My jaw hit the floor when I browsed through his choices, there at number 5 was UW-Milwaukee, a short 20-minute drive from my parents. house.  I gave him an unbiased review of his options, but also mentioned that Milwaukee was in fact my home-town, although I wasn't planning to be back for a while.