Field Trip to the Folk Village
The first school sports day had just ended and the final exams were over so we were finally enjoying summer break.
There was just one thing that nagged at me though.
The fact that my uncle wasn’t around this summer vacation.
Before this we would have gone to the pool and had so much fun but missing that out… felt a little bit sad.
Still if someone asked if summer break was boring… well it wasn’t.
“Okay everyone did you finish your summer homework?”
“Not yet.”
“I’m still working on it…”
“Then how about we all do our summer homework together? I’ll help too.”
Because my aunt was right there helping us with the homework.
The summer homework had a lot of tasks but we were allowed to pick whatever we wanted.
For example… collecting leaves by type from the mountain or writing a picture diary or a book report and so on.
So I started looking for a summer homework that Sia and I could do together and I chose the book report.
It could be written comfortably at home and best of all it was something Sia and I could do together.
Since this was my first time writing a book report my aunt was watching over us the whole time.
Basic things that had to go in a book report.
“Of course the most important thing is to write about what you thought after reading the book right?”
So my aunt read the book with us too.
Sia and I read fairy tales together while my aunt read something else from the side and watched us in the middle.
The days passed with Sia and I spending every moment together and before I knew it summer break was almost over.
Of course we hadn’t been completely bored.
We had gone out to play with my aunt and Sia too and we had gone to visit family only.
The most fun moment had been when we went out with Sia.
When we went with family I had been the most nervous but my dad and mom had been too tired to really have fun.
On the other hand when I was with Sia I didn’t have to hold back and could just enjoy myself with her.
That was why the time I spent with Sia stuck in my memory the most and it had been the most fun.
When we got back to school after summer break and turned in our homework the teacher pulled us aside and asked us.
“Did you spend the break together?”
Sia and I answered proudly.
“Yes we did.”
Hearing our answer the teacher smiled.
“I see. I’m glad you had fun. You can go now.”
And she gave us the gold award for the book report.
When we first saw the award we jumped around.
“We’re going out for dinner in celebration of Siwoo and Sia getting the gold award!”
And we all went out together to eat tonkatsu.
“There’s a reward for all that hard work right?”
“Yes!” “Mm-hm!”
Even though my parents had gotten busier lately and had said they were proud when I told them I got the gold award.
They just ruffled my hair and said.
“Our Siwoo is amazing.”
“Good job Siwoo.”
Of course they had hung my gold award in a frame… but that wasn’t what I wanted.
I just wanted to spend time together but they were still busy.
Still I was okay with it.
They weren’t ignoring me they were just busy.
Time flew by and before I knew it it was October.
October meant it was time for the field trip right away.
In other words instead of going to school we were going somewhere else to experience things.
My first field trip made my heart race with a mix of excitement and worry like the sports day.
The excitement part was that we were going somewhere to have fun instead of school.
But the worry was that I might get lost.
But that worry didn’t last long.
“I’ll hold your hand so you don’t have to worry.”
Sia had said she would stay right next to me.
Of course Sia got more easily confused with directions than me.
Even if it was a place we went to often unfamiliar ones were still a long way to navigate.
But thanks to Sia the knot of tension melted away like snow under the sun.
The day of the field trip finally arrived.
“Siwoo did you pack your bag?”
“I did.”
“Good. Come back safely. If you can take lots of photos with your phone and show them to Dad and Mom a lot okay?”
“Yeah I’ll take lots and show them. I’ll come back.”
“Okay have fun and come back.”
Mom put my lunch in a thermos and drove me to school.
When we got to school Sia was already there.
“Sia did I keep you waiting?”
“No I just got here too.”
“It’s gonna be fun right?”
“Yeah I’m really looking forward to it.”
Just as Sia and I started chatting together the departure time came.
After the principal’s speech we checked the attendance and got on the bus.
Of course Sia and I sat next to each other in the same seat.
“Where do you want to sit?”
I asked Sia where she wanted to sit but.
“Next to you.”
She said she would sit right next to me and didn’t offer any other opinion.
“Then I’ll sit in the aisle so you sit by the window.”
“Okay.”
After we sat down and hung our bags.
“Okay everyone! Fasten your seatbelts!”
The teacher told us to buckle up.
I easily found my seatbelt and buckled it but.
“Ugh…”
Sia was struggling to buckle hers.
Seeing her I asked.
“Need some help?”
A moment later.
“…Yeah…” The seatbelt was in Sia’s hands after I helped her.
“Thank you.”
She said while ruffling my hair.
“…???”
“Why don’t you like it…?”
Sia tilted her head in confusion after I flinched from her touching my hair.
I was suddenly flustered.
“Eh… um… no…”
I stammered but.
“Then that’s good.”
She said and started stroking my hair again.
“……”
I obediently let Sia’s hand continue until the teacher checked if everyone had buckled their seatbelts properly.
“Okay everyone! Do not unbuckle your seatbelts until we get to the destination! If you need the bathroom or feel sick tell the teacher!”
“……”
“Answer me.”
“Yes!!”
“Good. Everyone board!”
The first bus started moving and ours followed.
We had to stay on the bus for a long time.
Since it was boring in the bus I started eating the snacks I had prepared with Sia.
“Want to eat this together?”
“Yeah.”
Dad had said if I ate on the bus I had to choose snacks that wouldn’t leave crumbs so he bought round moist snacks from the variety.
But they were big so he had put them in a separate container and even removed the air to keep them from getting soggy.
As Sia and I ate the moist snacks together before long we arrived at our destination.
Our destination was the folk village.
The moment we got off the bus.
What we saw in front of us were the traditional Korean houses and tiles from the textbooks welcoming us.
“Whoa… this is amazing…”
Seeing the houses we had only read about in books it felt really incredible.
“Okay! Everyone come here and line up two by two like we did in the morning!”
Hearing the teacher’s call Sia and I walked up holding hands.
Once we were lined up two by two.
“Good! From now on we’re going to see the folk village so how should we behave?”
“Don’t follow adults if they talk to us! Only follow the teacher!”
“That’s right remember well now follow slowly and don’t fall behind the person in front okay!”
“Yes!!”
And we were lined up and went into the folk village.
After passing through the tiled door various houses came into view.
“Okay now the place we’re going is the thatched-roof house! What did they put on the roof of a thatched-roof house?”
“Straw!”
“That’s right let’s go look!”
Following the teacher a thatched-roof house appeared in front of us.
“Okay this is a house people lived in a long time ago let’s take our time looking around.”
As I walked slowly looking around I saw people models.
Sia saw them and said.
“Are those real people?”
“Probably fake.”
“Then are they dolls?”
“Not dolls… mannequins maybe?”
“Mannequins?”
“Like the ones in the store standing in clothes right? Maybe that.”
“Ah… I see…”
When I said mannequins Sia nodded like she believed me right away.
Actually I wasn’t sure either. When Mom and I went to the department store before I asked what it was and Mom told me it was mannequins so I just told Sia the same thing.
But because I believed it myself I felt a little surprised.
So.
“I don’t know either.”
“But it’s fine.”
She said and believed me like I said.
I kept looking around thinking I should tell Sia if I didn’t know.
After we finished looking around we had lunch on the wide open field.
Sia and I took out the mats and started sharing our lunches.
“Want to try this?”
“Yeah… it’s good. Sia try this too.”
“……It’s a little… salty for me…”
“It’s okay? Here drink some water.”
“Yeah…”
After lunch ended and our bags felt lighter we started exploring inside the folk village.
Starting from the thatched-roof house then the tiled houses we were almost done seeing the folk village.
Along the way we also learned a lot about how people lived in the old days.
Lighting lamps inside rooms or fetching water from a well.
There were machines for making clothes too but the one that stuck in my memory the most was the sundial.
Because the difference between a real sundial and a phone clock wasn’t that big.
How the old people figured it out was really amazing.
After we finished all the sightseeing.
“Okay! No one’s missing! Hold up your hand if someone next to you disappeared!”
“None of us are missing!”
“Okay then everyone on the bus!”
“Yes!”
We got on the bus and tried to sit like before.
“This time Siwoo sit by the window.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah… okay.”
I liked looking out the window so it was fine but.
“……”
―Roar…
Thanks to Sia falling asleep next to me I couldn’t look out the window.
Sia had turned her head and leaned it on my shoulder while sleeping because if she hadn’t her head would have fallen down.
I was too busy worrying about Sia’s head falling and didn’t have time to look out the window.
I had been busy worrying about Sia but Sia hadn’t let go of my hand even while she fell asleep.
Looking at her I ended up falling asleep too.
When I woke up we had already arrived at school.
“Sia… Sia… wake up. We’re here.”
“Ah… uum…”
Sia looked fine even though she had slept deeply.
I kept yawning but Sia didn’t.
Thinking she must have slept really deeply Sia and I went up to the auntie who came to pick us up.
“Did you have fun?”
Auntie hugged us both and asked if we had fun and.
“Yeah it was fun.”
“Seeing the buildings we only read about in books in real life was really great.”
“Really? I’m sure it was fun. Are you hungry? Let’s go home and eat.”
“Yes.”
On the way to auntie’s car Sia still didn’t let go of my hand.
I tried to pull my hand away but Sia held it tighter like she didn’t want me to.
“We’re not home yet. I’m not letting go.”
“Ah… yeah…”
Because Sia was being so firm I had no choice but to agree.