thankful

Since my time in Korea, I've come across a variety of people who have added to my sheltered view of the world. My stance on Koreans as a whole has changed dramatically. There are your stereotypical drunken men staggering the streets at night (or even the morning... and for that matter, even the afternoon!), and the ultra skinny girls with excessive makeup. However, from the sea of black hair and surgically enhanced eyes, a few faces with admirable back stories have emerged, shining a harsh and revealing light to my privileged life.

The perceptions that my Korean students have on Americans is that we're all rich. Time and again, they will tell me that they want to move to America because America is so great. "What's so great about America?" I would ask them. "It is big! It is a lot of money!" I only laughed and said, "It's not that great! I love Korea!"

As a first generation Korean American, I traveled the same road as many friends. Immigrant parents who dared to venture to America in hopes of a "better life" for their children. Coming back to the motherland has given me an opportunity to see just how fortunate I was to have grown up in the states. It's not that I'm surrounded by abject poverty, it's just that I realize how much easier it is to live in America than even a well-developed city like Seoul.

Korean people work incredibly hard. They literally study for ten hours a day. They work in the office for twelve hours straight. The competition is ridiculously intense. It's so much more difficult to break into a career here because everyone is so qualified. Yet I feel like I'm cheating the system because I've virtually no credentials that would allow me a good job as an English teacher except for the fact that... I speak English!

I've been taking notes on what to tell my mother once I approach her for the "Thank you for sacrificing for me" conversation. I think it's going to be like one of those touching movie moments. If you haven't watched Stepmom, watch it.

Isabel: And my fear is she'll think, "I wish my mom were here."

Jackie: And my fear is... she won't.

You've no heart if you don't think that isn't a good line.