Back in elementary school, we used to have a thing called the buddy program, where students in 1st to 3rd grade would be paired with a student from the 4th to 6th grade. For some reason, in 1st to 3rd grade I was paired with special eds students, which did a number to my brain at the time. I assumed it was because I was somehow like them, and it made me quite upset because while all the other students could have fun, it was really hard for me to know what to do with my buddy. Recently, I was told that teachers thought I was way more patient, which is likely why this happened. Would’ve been good to know at the time.
When I was around 12, I did an exchange program to Tsuchiura in Japan. For one day, I went to a local middle school and sat in on classes, including an English class. In that English class, they asked me to read from an English book for the other students. Of course, I did so, and to my surprise, realized that the book was on the American bombing of Hiroshima. Later on that same trip, we went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, from which I do not remember much other than melting bodies on the floor. From time to time though, I remember realizing that I, an American, was reading to many other people about how we had bombed them, and I still am not sure what to make of that experience.
On that same trip, we went to a temple and had to hold the lotus position for 30 minutes, and I swear that’s where the start of my knee problems began.
In Seattle, there was someone I had known who maintained a tier-list of his friends, based on how hard they tried at each event he hosted. He also charged people per event, with some profit margin. There’s some crazy people out there.
Going to Korea for half a year was likely one of the best decisions I’ve made, in terms of the way people live their life and treat other people. At the same time, it’s given me a reference point to compare America against. I hope someday some of the nice parts of Korea will arrive here.