Racism is alive and well in the world. Living off of our privileges, our languages, our money, our accessibility and SO many more it would take me days to write them all down. I'm going to outline a few things that I have come to realize which was brought about by an article a friend of mine wrote concerning some of the problems that American foreigners (of both asian and non-asian heritage) face in Korea.
1. English speakers have privileges that speakers of other languages do not.
It is no secret that if you grew up speaking English you did not have to learn another language. Perhaps you took a Spanish class in High School but more likely than not you don't remember any of it because it held no weight in your future. English has become an international business and travel language. If you want to go somewhere and do something or trade with someone you have to have a common language and lucky for us English Speakers that means our native tongue. So now we can go ANYWHERE, and I do mean anywhere, in the world without a great fear of being helpless or needing to put in ANY effort to learn the native tongue of the country we are going to. Not hitting home? Here's a musical number that is what we sound like when people don't know what we're saying. Everything is better as a song right? You can also type in "skwerl" to your video search browser thingie and it'll give you a conversational version of English babble. Mind you I've been to Japan, Macau, Thailand, France, and (of course) Korea and I have never encountered a serious communication problem. Never.
2. Most Foreign Countries do not require a certain level of language proficiency in order to live/work in said country.
Note how I said most. There is of course an exception to every rule and there are places around the world that require language proficiency in order to obtain certain visas. Also there are jobs that will require language proficiency in order to be considered but in Korea there is no need for any of that. If you are a native speaker of English then you are in like sin. I honestly believe that we should be required to learn to a certain level of proficiency before and/or attend classes while we live in a foreign country. Do I think that I would have started off living in Korea if that were in place? Nope. I think I'd be somewhere else, and doesn't that say something? Something that is maybe not so good? Maybe, but maybe if I really wanted to come here and I was required to learn the language, I would.
3. Foreign/English communities are built within other countries.
One of the biggest problems I have with the globalization of the English language is that we also create/are given these preposterous "safe havens". OK we have them in America too where you will have a community of immigrants in a concentrated area with stores catering to their every need. But they're in Korea too. These "American Towns" perpetuate life as an American citizen inside another country. But where in Korea or America I think it's wrong. I think instead of trying to cater to people who don't want to be a part of either culture we should incorporate global trade markets and break down the segregated towns. I'm not saying sell all 3 billion different brands of cereal in Korea or start replacing our pastries with ddeok in America, but can't we start finding a little balance and incorporate it into our communities instead of specialized stores (now I'm talking mostly America). Either way we need to do away with these communities segregated by culture and be open (on both sides) to learning.
4. These communities deny both parties of each others' culture.
As I started mentioning in the last point we are missing out on each others' culture when we not only segregate others but segregate ourselves. When we go to these built communities these segregated little havens to get a taste of back home what we are really doing is missing out on actually living in a foreign country. You can live anywhere in the world as long as they speak your language and have the food you are familiar with. The trick is to break out of those norms and to live a life that is not your normal life. Of course there will be people who need special dietary need and whatnot but food and meals aren't everything. Go to a coffee shop, go shopping, go to a movie, find a local volunteer group or port or activity to get involved in. The reason foreigners have such a hard time is that we huddle in these little tight knit communities and we never expose the local people to us, to who we are, and to what great people we can be. If we don't at least try to be around the locals and make ourselves a prominent part of the community how can we expect their treatment of foreigners to change?
5. These communities are also reinforced by the natives misguided views.
Foreigner's can't be blamed completely for their lack of willingness to open up to the native community. It's difficult to live in a place that tries to adapt so quickly that it will take one example and follow that to the "t". There are so many misconceptions about foreigners because we are seen as individual communities not a community of individuals. Some of these misconceptions include:-Eating bread for every meal. I don't know about you but I enjoy fruit, salad, cuts of meat, and soups too. But remember it's common to eat rice with pretty much every homemade meal here.
-Spicy food is no go. I have met foreigners who can handle more spice than the natives and natives who hate any spice at all. In fact I know a woman who when I asked what kind of food she liked she responded "Not sweet, not salty, not bitter, not spicy." In other words? Bland. Keep in mind now, she is Korean. So although they are familiar with the differences in preference within their own community it seems to be lost when it comes to serving foreigners.
-We don't understand Korean perfectly therefore you can say whatever you want to us. Wrong. I've had this happen on several occasions and no I can't understand perfectly but I can understand enough to know that I don't appreciate the way I am being treated.
When we are treated like outsiders, not so coincidentally, we feel like outsiders which causes us to retreat back into those western structured bubbles of comfort. It's not to say we aren't outsiders in some sense but I guess for me we're all a part of a global community which requires other people with kindness and respect. Something that can get lost in the fray by either side.
6. My skin, my hair, and my eyes are not the only things I am.
Probably the hardest thing for me to overcome is my appearance. Everyday I am reminded that I am different. In the states we think we are so independent and separate from everyone else but really I think what we are is a community of individuals that has decided we want to exist as a singular community by accepting everyone's individuality and expression of self. So being somewhere where it is literally impossible to fit in, to be accepted, to not be judged, is rough on the old self esteem after a while. It's not that I blame the people around me for the way they treat me, because it's shocking to them to have a white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes walking around. I am the opposite of everything that could possibly qualify me to fly below the radar. I could dye my hair but my skin is still white. I could try wearing makeup but that is expensive, messy, and my eyes are still blue. I could buy contacts but then I'm 5'10". I am stared at from the minute the first person sees me as I leave my house to when I get home from work in the evening. I have cars slow down to the point where if I am trying to cross the street and they turn they will stop IN the crosswalk to lean over and stare at me, blocking my path to the other side of the street. I've had instances of people walking and riding bikes stare at me from so far away that as they got closer to me they also gravitated towards me to the point there I have to step off the 5-person-wide sidewalk and into the road or on the grass just to keep the person from running into me. When I finish my runs after work and stretch old men and children will stop and look at me. I've even had a few circle me while I was trying to finish to the point where I have to leave so now I stretch at home.
7. Korea is not America
I shouldn't have to say this but it really is something I have to remind myself of every day. Korea isn't America. They don't have an entire population made up of immigrants, they don't have a history of immigration and settling unknown territories. They haven't been dealing with an entire nation where not only do different regions have a different accent but where some people within those regions have different accents. They haven't dealt with people of different races since the day they were born. They haven't dealt with dialects from different countries let alone fluency level. They don't have "authentic" foreign cuisine because they didn't grow up in a place where not only the tastes but the ingredients were/are readily available. America is very lucky to have the ability to expose a person to a range of different ethnicity/backgrounds in such a small radius, but Korea is lucky to have a society that is so homogenous that they are able to feel like a whole, a community, a family, a proud nation of a single people.All of that being said it is clear that no one is right or wrong in the way that they live their own life, but it's in the treatment of others that we seem to have a problem. People are inherently curious, isn't that why we travel? Isn't that also why people stare and ask what we consider to be stupid questions? They don't say "Hey let me be rude and stare at this person" in fact they don't even consider whether or not it is rude. It's just who they are and how they are dealing with the situation. Much like when we first come to Korea we don't mean to offend everyone by walking across our apartment floor, but it's one of those mistakes that the majority will make in front of someone at least once. Let's try to remember that we all have our flaws, we all have our prejudices and our preconceived notions, and that it doesn't make us bad people; only human.With that in mind we should try to do away with these little pods of America in other countries; because you're not in America, no matter how hard you try to make it seem like it. You should go to another country to experience life like a LOCAL and strive to find your own daily life there, not try to continue your life in America; because as I said before, you're not there.
Well I hope that wasn't too long. I'll try to give a more chipper update after this weekend. I'm off to Seoul to meet up with some old buddies and just have a good time together. Have a good week ^_^
I hope the world treats you kind.
Sara
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