Disclaimer: This in no way should be taken as fact or as a depiction of how all Koreans treat Foreigners or African Americans. These are my experience with a select group of people while I was in Seoul. This is in no way indicative of Koreans as a whole this is just a retelling of my experiences and others.

Alright, Alright if you don’t know by now I’m Black and a foreigner those two things go hand and hand, but it would be cool to know a POC (Person of Color) that was born in Korean and get their perspective on life here. Regardless being that I am a Foreigner and Black I can’t discern where people are reacting to one or the other or just plainly both. Whatever it is the level of unconformability I sometimes feel is real. So, here is a list of things that have happened to me and others

~Being asked if I played basketball / Being a Basketball player (usually because of my                height)
~Trying to be sold on Basketball shoes or Basketball Jerseys
~My Friends has Dreaded Locks; People are intrigued by them
~Once at a hip-hop lounge someone tried to touch them
~Being in a hip-hop club and when songs come on people repeat the N-word when used
~Going to a park cypher and having a guy saying “hold up, let a real N-word rap.”
~Taxi drivers here can be picky
~Once we couldn’t get a cab for 30 minutes and had to walk to another location to find a          taxi that would pick us up
~A Biracial couple (Japanese female, Black male) couldn’t flag down a taxi either
~When I was practicing Japanese with my friend an older gentleman gave me like the              hardest eye adamant glare
~I was in Maccas (McDonalds), and a little girl started at me for what I felt like a long time
~My other black friend and I got shooed out of a restaurant ordering and like an hour                before it closing (the attendant said something in Korean, but we didn’t know so that            may have added to it)

Look, no place is perfect, and not all Koreans act the same. That’s the same of everyone. If I went around thinking everybody I see on my day to day has something semi “racist” to say, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy life. I don’t know what to say of a bigger picture. My blog not an afterschool special just statement from my mind. Rest assured foreigners as well have said things as well. It was back in the 2nd week I had been asked what’s it likes to be black in Seoul so many times it mentally affected me. We were in I-Park Mall it’s kind of like a physical Ebay you negotiate prices on electronics and other things and me in my friends were sitting at this intersection of the mall where all the people walk pass. My thought process was something along the lines of “there aren’t any black people or individuals who look like me if I don’t see any I might freak.” Luckily I guess this couple walked by, but it was a weird experience to have that thought process and a possible anxiety attack maybe. I been good since then but that was an oddly real moment for me. I guess the easiest thing to say is nobody is perfect and respect others and their culture question mark?

 

This one isn’t Seoul-related but more what I want to do next in life. Once I leave my semester abroad, I will have a year left in college. They’re internships and jobs that need to apply for, but where is the question. I no longer feel limited to the United States as a place of employment. I think my school giving me a chance and Sogang giving me a chance gives a lot of needed confidence. A dream of mine is still to go to Japan. The hard part is trying to figure out by what means to get there. There are many options for work (usually English teacher) to international internships or even through my homeschool taking the intensive language course during the summer in Japan next year and staying a few months after to explore. I like that option the most just cause the learning of Japanese will still be fresh in my mind. Although I don’t know yet, there are many avenues to take I just have to be willing to put the time and effort in to achieve them. Wish Me Luck!

It has now officially been one month and two days ( I left February 24). There are many questions to be answered. Has he thrown in the towel, called it quits, homesick and want to go home? Not really, Not in the slightest, But before I make myself seem like some Ex-Pat (EX-Patriot) who never wants to come back to America, I just haven’t felt the needs of home. I have been in weekly contact with my friends and family; I still have access to most of my American television programming. Thanks to my dad and his mini speaker I can still blast music at whim. Albeit not on the same scale, and you know the computer I am currently writing this on helps a lot. Although there are things, I have missed from the States. Sadly it’s only really been food and tiny things from home like American breakfast, Americanized Chinese food, My computer and my speakers I use to blast music, but I would also be lying if I didn’t say I missed hugging my parents or hanging out with my friends from home. Sitting in E’s apartment while we played video games and listen to music I miss those things but I can’t let them stop me from enjoying my time here, although what is a real hindrance is what I’m going to call “Clock down Syndrome.” It ‘s where at least once a day or week I think about  “oh its March 27 I leave June 20 that mean I have less than three months left.” and rinse and repeat. I wish I could stop thinking about it, but I don’t think I can, because even though I live here, I don’t live here. Like yesterday, I caught on to how I was referring to the dorm as home. It is where I lay my head, take showers and change clothes and essentially live, but in less than three months later it will be gone. Reverted to what it once was, only to linger for the experience again. These are thoughts just after the first month; I’m going to be some mess once month three hits. My friend “L” said, “you’re just in the honeymoon state”, and she’s right when I first arrive I likened everything to newborn experiencing things new for the first time. Seoul is my first major city to live. I went to New York as a youth, but that was under parental guidance. Being is Seoul is something a tad different. I want to get out of that “honeymoon state” so I can just think of this place as nothing particular and live life normally, but I don’t think I will. The time it takes and the time I will be here don’t match up to me. I think the result will be a memorable experience with breathtaking moments up until the end where somber goodbyes will be given. Although like I said this is only the first month I can’t predict the future.