Aiden (Eunseok) Lee is a seventh-grader who moved from Korea in January of 2021. Coming to a place that has a 14 hour time difference from where he was is a major change, especially during the Pandemic. It gave him and his family time to adjust without a rush. However, since they don’t have relatives or friends here, there were no social interactions and opportunities to meet others outside of their family.

He is adjusting pretty well and is going to school in person. He shared that American schools and Korean schools are very different. American schools use macbooks for most classes, have different teachers and classrooms for each period, can wear any clothes, and have block schedules. While back in Korea, they mainly used textbooks, and the schools were one building with several floors; each floor for each grade. They have the same classmates and usually one teacher is assigned to teach all subjects. They don’t have cafeterias and eat in classrooms. There are no block schedules; they learn all subjects every day, and require uniforms. Also, in Korea middle school is grades 7th through 9th while here, it’s 7th through 8th.

Some of the challenges Aiden faced were not being able to speak fluent English and not having friends here. Due to the time difference, it is difficult to speak and connect with friends back in Korea. He did come to the States for four months as a vacation, but it is his first time living here. Not having a choice but to only speak English gave him pressure. At the same time, he is determined to improve and make progress until he can speak fluently.

As the Pandemic gets better and things become “normalized”, he would like to enjoy and explore his new environment. The things that he wants to do the most are: visiting other states, going to famous theme parks such as universal studios or six flags, hanging out with new friends at the mall, and going to restaurants. He is excited to create new memories and friends and start his new chapter in life in the States.