Twenty-one Twenty
Twenty-one Twenty By Brittany Scardigno, 1st Year ETA 2-1-2-0* The keypad lock on your apartment door beeps with rejection for the fourth time, setting off the alarm. Even though it is an alarm, and its purpose is to let others know that someone is trying to enter a space that is obviously not theirs (because if it was their own, they would know the code), the sound only lasts for thirty seconds. When the alarm stops, your fingers press: 2-1-2-0* Again. 2-1-2-0* You know this is not the correct code, yet your fingers keep pressing the same numbers. If you try the same numbers two more times, the useless alarm will sound and echo through the empty apartment’s stairway. You know this is not the code, because when you first moved in, you thought to yourself: “This code is so similar to the numbers my father used to use for his passwords.” You remember thinking this; so why do you keep pressing 2-1-2-0*? Because it is the correct code. There must be something wrong with the lock. It is the lock, not you. 2-1-2-0* Can a mind be conscious and unconscious at the same time? A mind can be conscious of a mistake being made while it unconsciously instructs the body to perform themistake. Consciously, you are sure this is not the correct code because it is not the same numbers your father used to use for his passwords. Unconsciously, your fingers push the keys: 2-1-2-0* There is an intruder trying to enter this space. Defeated, you walk up to your landlord’s door on the top floor. She becomes worried, asks if you are okay. You pay ₩200,000 for a man to drill into your metal door and replace the keypad lock. [Featured photo by Victoria Thiem]
할머니
할머니 By Grace Moon Meharg 할머니 no longer belongs just to me.Out of every man, woman, and childthe word slips from open mouthscasually, carelessly. Their teeth barely catching its edge. She was Halmoni and she was mine,growing into a god.Framed by a halo of storiessown by the lips of my mother. Grandmotherborn of her daughter, deliveredto the girl whoshares her name. I climb my roots across the ocean. Reaching within and without,glimpsing her in roses,curved backs in the market.The mountains gaze at us both. There’s so muchI remember I’ve forgotten.As stories start to fadethe gaps gain flesh and earth. Our bodies meet in Jeonju. My soles where my mother began.The air wrinklestogether. Three generations.One pair of shoes. [Featured photo by Kierstin Conaway]
From the Executive Director
With 2022 drawing to a close, I am pleased to share with you this year’s volume of Infusion. Volume 15 brings together an impressive collection of work from our Fulbrighters and their students, reflecting experiences of change, growth, and discovery. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Fulbright Korea’s English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program. Through the ETA Program, the largest of our U.S. programs, we have had the honor and pleasure of welcoming hundreds of American young people to Korea. For many, their experience with Fulbright has been the first spending any significant length of time in the country, and in some cases, any significant length of time abroad at all. As all our Fulbright participants can attest, whether Korean or American, stepping into the unknown (or in some cases, the half-known) brings a unique set of triumphs and tribulations which require new ways of thinking, new ways of considering oneself and others, and identifying one’s position in the global and local community. It is with such experiences in mind that we are pleased to celebrate this milestone anniversary for the ETA Program and the contributions of all our Fulbright participants, past and present. As they have taken the step into the unknown, they have simultaneously shared knowledge across communities through the international educational and cultural exchange core to Fulbright’s mission of building mutual understanding. I encourage you to savor this exchange of knowledge as you reflect on the stories and images shared within this volume by our many talented Fulbright participants. I would like to thank these individuals for inviting us in to part of their experience. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to the dedicated members of the Infusion team who have carefully compiled these experiences for us to peruse and enjoy. May Volume 15 leave us feeling newly inspired to make meaningful connections with others and the world around us. Dr. Byungok Kwon Executive Director Korean-American Educational Commission