Looking back and moving forward

Grant County students reflect on their sister-city exchange to South Korea and prepare to host students from Gunpo City

Last weekend, Ty Good hoped for plane trouble.

A little engine trouble, maybe a slight flaw in the guidance controls — anything that would keep the flight from Seoul to Seattle on the ground for one more day.

Because Ty, born of South Korean parents and adopted by a Moses Lake family when he was a baby, wanted to stay in the land where everyone looked like him for one more day. He didn't want the inaugural sister city student exchange between Grant County and Gunpo City, S. Korea, to end.

"Every day we did something new and something interesting that we don't usually get to experience," he said.

Ty, Brianne Roylance, Claire Goodrich, Trent Armstrong, Whitnie Snead and Dana Scott are the six members of the first Moses Lake student delegation to travel to Gunpo City, where they experienced how Koreans live, learned their history and made new friends.

I went along on their journey as a chaperone, along with Sarita Riley, an independent business consultant from Moses Lake, to watch over the students, and tell the story of this first-ever exchange of Grant County youth to South Korea.

On Aug. 23, Gunpo City will return the favor, sending 15 students and two chaperones to Grant County to learn about our youth and further the partnership between the two areas.

Our schedule was packed for two weeks with trips to Seoul (a half hour drive), a mud festival on the beach and the Demilitarized Zone separating South Korea from Communist neighbor North Korea.

But it was time spent outside the agenda, when Korean and American students were most free to bond, that our students appreciated the most. A highlight for all the Moses Lake youths was karaoke night held in one of the many karaoke rooms in the city. The Korean and American students shared this experience shortly after we arrived in the country, and it was then, our students said, when students of different cultures began opening up to each other.

"They wanted to have fun just like we wanted to have fun," Brianne said of the experience.

"They were good times to be able to relate to the kids we were staying with better," Trent said.

Claire added that the Grant County students were able to watch the Koreans come out of their shell and paved the way for friendships to be made.

"After that, we all had something to talk about," she said.

Whitnie said she will take home a lot of memories of the friendships she made with the Korean students, whether during karaoke night or at a dance held at a youth camp at the end of the trip.

"They're very loving people," she said. "Friendship seems more important to them than anything."

The sister-city relationship between Gunpo and Grant County began with the goal of enhancing the economic development of both. Whitnie added that she hopes the relationship will continue so Koreans can bring more business to Grant County that will allow more people to go to work.

Beyond the social connections, the students learned a lot about the way the Koreans live and their culture, and they hope to bring some of that knowledge back home.

We took two separate trips to Buddhist temples, where we were given the chance to learn the history of the religion in Korea and how its people practice it. Trent said he was glad to have that opportunity because it was different from what he knows at home.

Brianne noted how the Koreans still adhere to old traditions and the people who pass them down.

"They act really respectful to their parents and elders," she said.

All six delegates recommended the exchange for students in the future, and all hope their experience as individuals will provide residual benefits for the people of Grant County.

"It's a fun experience. You get to go halfway around the world, you get to make friends and you get to learn a lot," Claire said.

"You can go to different places in the United States, but there's nothing like going to another country where the language is different, and the beliefs. Everything is different," Dana added.

"It'll show others that they should go out and do it because it will strengthen the relationship with other countries," Ty said.

Preparations are under way for the Korean students' visit to Grant County. Those students will see historical and cultural landmarks such as the Grand Coulee Dam and the Grant County Historical Museum. The Grant County students hope the Koreans have as much fun during their visit here as they did in Gunpo City.

"I hope that they enjoy the open space, and learn about the Americans and what it's like to be a youth over here," Dana said.

Claire said she hopes the Korean youth, who will often spend more than 12 hours per day in school or studying, will have fun in Grant County and learn something outside of studying.

Trent said he hopes the students will take note of some of the differences between the two areas. For example, Trent said he noticed how much of the agricultural land in Korea was reserved for rice fields, while Grant County land boasts a lot more acres for wheat.

Our plane had no troubles, so Ty is back in the United States. But he's already planning to return to South Korea, hoping to learn to teach English as a second language and use those skills to teach Korean youth.

Ty said he was very impressed with the attitude of the Korean people, and he's already received e-mails from the new friends he made in the Far East.

"Once you get to know them, they're friends," he said.