There are military bases in Spain, England, Germany, Italy and so on. The people that live there are mostly caucasian. Americans may look or act a little different, but no one may know for sure until they speak. For those living in Korea, Japan, or other majority non-caucasian countries it is a little different. You try your hardest to go about life as normal as possible, but you know you stand out like a giraffe in Antarctica! People know (or asume) that you don't speak the native language and stare at you like you are the wierdest thing they have ever seen. Some people don't like you and some people are just curious. Don't get me wrong, they are nice about it, but you know you look like a big idiot just trying to fit in. Even buying lunch is hard. Especially when you can't read the language. But that is a whole other topic!!
My point is, the next time you think life is hard, imagine being a very obvious foreigner struggling to do normal, everyday things. That should make you feel better!
I think you will never look at people the same way that are foreign in the US. I bet you even admire Kana and her friends even more. I was thinking how her boyfriend must have felt when he visited in Bellingham, lucky he had you and Danny to help and be understanding.
ReplyDeleteNow think about being hard of hearing, you can read and you can talk but you have no idea what people are saying or asking. It stinks, to put it mildly. Like speaking a different language.
I hope you are still writing all this thoughts in your journal. Your education has just grown by leaps. Congratulations.
Gram