Kwangho and I met up at the Preserves to
work out our Housing Agreement. Being a native speaker, I guided him on the
filling out of the applications and understandings of what to expect. I’m glad
I could do this for him as being a foreigner in these matters is difficult, frustrating,
and has room for exploitation. Many of the terms and words he did not
understand like what a “guarantor” was, and the workers had a difficult time
hearing what Kwangho said. One of the workers even asked Kwangho in a serious
tone whether he was North or South Korean. We were both appalled and astonished
at how a 4 year FSU graduate still had to ask this kind of question. In my
mind, I felt if I had told this same person that I had lived in Germany for 7
years, that she would have asked me if I was a Nazi. Sadly, this girl was not
joking and she even mentioned how she loved Chinese people. We had to tell her
that Koreans are not Chinese, and I felt offended and was sure Kwangho was even
more offended or confused. Thankfully she left and we completed the form.
It was quite an interesting day. We
accomplished our housing agreement, and Kwangho learned that not everyone who
is a college graduate is actually educated about the world that is already made
so small and accessible thanks to texting, the internet, and T.V.
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