I, India OK

(2/21)

Upon arrival in India, I decided to speak only in English. I called my mother to convey my safe arrival. The issue was that neither she nor I knew English. The following was our first ever international call conversation:

I: Hello.

Mother: 여보세요? (when translated, “Hello”)

I: I . . . India . . .OK.

Mother: 한국말로 해. (“Speak in Korean”)

I: I . . . India . . .OK.

Mother: 한국말로 해. (“Speak in Korean”)

I: Thank . . . you.

The call ended, bringing the possible infinite loop to a close. Two days later, I joined my first class in J.N.U. I couldn’t understand a word. My only answer to all questions was a smile. My professor liked it at first but soon got irritated. After the class, she said to me one statement for an hour. She meant, “Go back to Korea, learn English and come back”. However, I stayed back because I couldn’t understand her English. Only after a month could I decrypt her point. I was like a newborn baby in India. My English was broken, but my life wasn’t. “Hello, I . . . India . . . OK” came true in my life.

We all are newborn babies to the pandemic situation. Our languages fail to read our tomorrow, but our life doesn’t. In God, our life knows how to write it with bright hope.