The Darker the Berry the Sweeter the Juice???

I've got another cold. This one is very minor but annoying none the less. I swear to God this country is unhealthy. I have never been sick like this. I never got sick back in Portland, never. I don't know if it the yellow dust they have in the atmosphere out this way or what but Korea has not been friendly to my immune system. Poor me. Anyways, this week was an interesting one at my work place. We had a lot of low level English kids and they were pretty bad (not well behaved) for Korean kids. It's still funny to refer to kids as bad, because Korean bad kids are like regular kids in the United States.
Working at a lock down facility was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. The job was horrible and the pay was even worse, but it prepared me to deal with pretty much any situation involving kids. I think it should be a requirement if you work with kids to have to work in a teen group home, a residential center or a lock down psychiatric evaluation ward like I did in Portland. I should write a book about that time. These kids were fucked up. I know that's probably not the politically correct thing to say but it's so true. The thing is none of it was their fault. The kids we got, with the exception of two or three, in the 3 years I worked lock down were messed up by adults. They were either forced to take drugs, rapped, molested, mentally and/or physically abused....unfortunately the list could go on and on. Now, I don't know what this says about me but even knowing all the horrible things that happened to these young boys and girls didn't stop me from hating the really bad ones. I couldn't stand those little messed up bastards. I treated them well. I was never unprofessional, but I really could not stand some of those punks.
This might sound odd to some of you but I think that's why I was able to work there for 3 years. Most people don't last six months in that kind of work. I never took anything those little shits said into my heart. I never reacted to the ridiculously inappropriate things they would say. Also, I was not there to save anyone. I didn't think it was possible or even my job to save these kids. Does that sound harsh? So be it. But the people who worked there and tried to "save kids" ended up leaving with the quickness. Lots of them also ended up getting hurt...I mean "have to go to the hospital hurt." I figured I was there to keep these kids safe and learn what I could in that environment. I learned a lot working there. I never pretended to like a kid if I didn't and in the end I think they appreciated that about me.

I witnessed some staff people do some pretty messed up things. They abused their power in my opinion. They would purposely blow a kid out they didn't like. "Blowing a kid out consist of pushing the right buttons and having that kid explode in anger and then they get sent to THE SAFE ROOM". The safe room was an isolation room that locked if they tried to leave without permission. I would just always tell kids that they had a choice. Sometimes they listened and sometimes they didn't. I understand that if you're young, being abused and have never had the ability to choose before suddenly having choices can be very difficult. I always reminded myself of this and tried to keep it in mind when some of these kids would go ape shit on the unit. But sometimes....sometimes you just fucking can't stand a kid.

That little rant has nothing to do with this week except for the fact that there were some real asshole kids this week and I can't say we have had many of those since I started working here. I got yelled at for the first time by a girl student this week. Funny story actually...went a little something like this:

Girl: Teacher, where are you from?
Me: (Thinking to myself) Awww shit. This little bitch is about to throw some Africa shit at me!
Girl: Teacher? Did you hear? Where are you from?
Me: I am from the U-S-A.
Girl: (with a huge look of disbelief on her face) But...no...you have black face (moves her hands over her own face)
Me: Yes...I am black, that is why my face is black. I am from the United States....
Girl: No, you are from Africa.
Me: Nope, sorry, I'm from the U.S.A. All people who have dark skin are not from Africa.
Girl: No, teacher, you are from Africa, you black face.
Me: (thinking to myself) Look bitch...have you even ever met a Black African?
Me: Hey, where are you from?
Girl: (laughing) I am Korea.
Me: You are from Korea.
Girl: Yes, I am from Korea.
Me: Are you sure? You are not Chinese?
Girl: (Angry and loud) No! No Chinese. I am Korean!
Me: OK. I am not African. I am from the U-S-A. Just like all Black people are not from Africa, all who have features like you are not from China.
Girl: (Angry) I am Korean! What is "features" mean?
Me: I know you are Korean and I am American. Features is what someone looks like physically. Like skin color, hair color, the size of your ears, nose....understand?
Girl: (lying) Yes...
Me: (thinking to myself) No you don't.
Me: Remember, Asia is very big and there are a lot of people in Asia, but you do not all live in the same country or look exactly alike right?
Girl: Asia is very big...I am from Korea.
Me: And I am from America
Girl: But you have Black face.
Me: (thinking to myself) what if I slapped this bitch? Hmmmm. I've gotta stop saying and thinking swear words so much.
Me: Yeah....I have black face.


Sometimes these kids either get it or they don't. Most of the time they make the connection after I remind them that all Asian people are not one thing but this girl was annoying the hell out of me and just could not wrap her head around the fact that a Black person could live outside of Africa. This country has huge issues with dark skin in general. The whiter your skin the better. They have umbrellas in the summer so their skin doesn't tan. There really no such thing as tanning beds here and kids are made fun of if they have darker skin. A dark Korean is the color a normal looking white person by the way. They want to be powder white for some reason.

There are some foreign teachers who believe that Koreans stare at all foreigners the same. This is simply not true. I have never once heard a Korean walk up to a white foreigner and say "Africa?". I have never once heard a Korean go up to a white teacher and say in broken English "What up Yo'?" I have also never heard a Korean call a white teacher a monkey. Today I was simply not in the mood. I don't get angry really I feel kind of sad for these kids. It's the year 2008 and they have all this technology at their fingertips. The country is surging ahead on the world market and they don't know how to talk to or react to foreign people who don't look like Brad Pitt and Angela Jolie. This is going to be a huge disadvantage in the coming years because the world ain't getting any whiter people. Remember: One day we are all going to be brown.

Anyways, my nose is running and the ol' stomach is doing some funny things right now so I should get going. I'll leave you with one last statement that has nothing to do with what I have been talking about. I hope Obama and Clinton can learn to just shut the fuck up and wish each other luck in the coming nomination. I'm sick of both of them at this point...which isn't a good sign.