Korea, Day 7

From my perspective, it’s been a fairly mellow day. I spent most of it in the IT room alongside Reuben, troubleshooting minor things as our team called in. It’s bittersweet because if we’re bored, that means that the Games are going well. If our plates are full with lots to do, it usually means the Games aren’t going as well as they should.

If I don’t mention this on the blog, Melissa E. will call me out on it: the toilet paper in our hotel room is scented. (Mel is quite amused by it) Though we can’t pin point the scent, rest assured that we’re making endless jokes about it. Toilet humor is a universal thing, regardless of what country you’re in. I can’t tell you what the scent is (it’s not like we can pinpoint it as “pine”, “vanilla”, “new car smell”, etc) but, I will tell you that it’s not just Mel’s imagination.

I am gaining a better understanding of what it is like to not be a minority among a group of people. There are definite differences in dynamics and the ways that you are perceived and treated. It isn’t until they discover that I’m an American that the treatment changes. It really makes you appreciate how people are treated, and how one should treat people. We all can stand to do a better job in the way we treat others.

The way that minorities are treated in the US is shameful. And, I do admit, I have been a part of that (treating minorities differently). Race and class are just one of the many ways that we, humans, separate, sort and judge. Our assumptions make us bullies and monsters.

For me, being 1) a minority, 2) adopted and raised by white parents, and 3) just now beginning to learn more about my origins, my thoughts and feelings are running rampant while here, in Korea. Most of my questions have no answer and fall victim to the age old argument Nature vs Nurture. How much of me, is me?

It’s not that US views are right nor wrong; they’re just different. I think that we, as Americans, have a lot to learn from the rest of the world. My advice to you: travel the world, and do it with an open mind, Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Learn as much as you can. Then, when you come home, use what you have learned to be a better person.