Trip With Disabled Friends
By Kim Hwan-Hui
Before I left for China as a volunteer with the disabled, I was worried whether I could take care of them. I boarded a ship with my friends and reached China after a day sailing. Even though the weather was fair, China was a bit foggy.
We first went to the Street of Russian Culture. We were surprised at the absurd prices and we tried to get discounts from the merchants. We went to the aquarium and the museum of modern natural history at Dalian, and even though it was not so good compared to the aquarium at the COEX and to the museums in Korea, there were so many people, and I realized that a nation's power is quite important.
The following day, we went to the Bisa fortress and I became close to a disabled friend, Choi Chi-won. We watched a Shaolin martial arts show and went to the museums of wax figures and fantastic rocks. I didn't know why, but Chi-won got excited and started to yell and jump around the place.
I tried to calm him down by giving him something to eat, but for some reason, he started to jump whenever he entered the museum of fantastic rocks. While the Chinese guide and other visitors all looked at us with surprise, I held Chi-won's hand and we had to run around the museum for two circuits.
On the last day, after we visited the Bing Yu Gou and on the bus, a friend suddenly suffered from a stomachache. Right then, one of the disabled friends massaged my friend's back and shoulders. The massage was very sophisticated and not like that of ordinary person. After then, my prejudice about the disabled disappeared. Why had I thought that a disabled person could not help others?
I realized we were not thoughtful enough to give the disabled opportunities to help us even if we were willing to help the disabled.
Also, I was deeply moved by the parents of the disabled who followed us all the way to China to care for their children. They didn't show their sufferings due to their children at all instead we could feel the biggest and most beautiful love in the world from them when they held their children's hands.
I also understand the unlimited love of my parents toward me and I can imagine that they would have done the same if I had been born with such disabilities. The travel with the disabled was a precious opportunity for me to actually feel big and beautiful love.
Kim Hwan-Hui is a second-grade students studying at Younghoon High School in Seoul.