I often volunteer as a teaching assistant for computer classes at an organization that supports the well-being of foreigners. These classes, designed for adult learners, proceed slowly, focusing on basic knowledge and practical exercises tailored to the students’ skill levels.
Even so, since the keyboard layout is unfamiliar, many students who are not fluent in Korean type slowly. Sometimes they fall behind and struggle to keep up. That is when the teaching assistant steps in, guiding them to the correct key positions and helping them stay on track.
It doesn’t require exceptional computer skills or involve anything particularly difficult, so being called a “teacher” sometimes feels undeserved. But to these foreign students, I am just as much a teacher as the main instructor. They’re sincerely grateful for even a little help and follow the lessons with great enthusiasm. I also find it deeply rewarding to support those who have left their homelands and are working hard in a foreign country in search of a better future. That’s why I actively participate in volunteer work whenever the organization calls for assistance and my schedule allows.
Though the students come from various countries, such as China, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka, they all share the same goal: to build a better life. In truth, learning to use a computer in Korean isn’t easy, especially when the language itself is already challenging. If I imagine learning computer skills in Sinhalese, the native language of Sri Lanka, I feel overwhelmed. I doubt I’d even try. Yet these students give up their restful Sunday afternoons and attend class without fail.
Seeing them strive for a better tomorrow instead of settling into complacency, I quietly cheer them on. And I make a personal resolution: as someone living as a spiritual foreigner on this earth, away from my heavenly home, I too will not grow complacent but will do my best each day to nurture and grow my soul.