jennyandwalt

“The pleasures of heaven are with me, and the pains of hell are with me,
The first I graft and increase upon myself . . . . the latter I translate into a new tongue” (46)

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As Whitman also inscribes within these lines, life can often shed moments of heaven and hell at the same time. How, you ask? Well, take a look at the picture above for instance. It may seem like a mere snapshot of a couple grown adults with a bunch of children. However, have you thought of what might be there beneath these smiles? In fact, if you take an even more meticulous look, notice how most of the kids are not smiling. Perhaps, one or two of them may be staring at you with a rather weak grin. These faces who are staring at you from your computer screen as we speak are a few of the many lost, abandoned children of South Korea.

This past summer, I flew to Korea for the first time and spent about three months eating, sleeping, and teaching English to orphans from remote areas of South Korea. Technically, I was asked to teach them English. However, after a couple weeks living and breathing with them under one roof, I ended up teaching them more than mere English. I taught them self-confidence, self-esteem, survival skills. But that wasn’t all. I wasn’t the only teacher there. They taught me life.

We ended up teaching each other life. Humanity.

If you wonder what it’s like to experience heaven and hell in one particular space and time, try flying  yourself to an orphanage and look into the eyes of one lost child. (Apparently, I think I’m beginning to sound like some sort of quack advertiser for a junk product…) but really, you’d feel heaven through these kids’ smiles and laughter. Then a moment later, hell, through their tears, empty eyes and fake laughter.

This picture was the day I had to leave Korea. As the child I am holding hands with looks up and asks me, “Mommy, where are you going,” at this moment in time, I’d say was one of the epitomes of Hell-experiences I’ve had to face in my life.