Self-consciousness of the Racial Minority - Miles Yun
Throughout my entire life so far, I've never lived in a place for an extended period of time where I wasn't surrounded by a plethora of Asian people. Born in Seoul, South Korea, I spent my first year there under my grandparent's care. Then moving to Palo Alto, I lived in Stanford Graduate Housing where my friends were other graduate students' children. After my father completed his doctorates, we moved down to a highly Asian populated suburban city in Los Angeles. And when college came around, I ended up at UC Berkeley, an institution known for its high asian population.
I always had the intention of finishing my college tenure with a study abroad experience, but I always imagined and thought of the cultural exposure I would receive, and the sites I will experience and see. What I didn't consider was the interactions I would have with the people of the country or region I would visit.
Towards the beginning of the trip, traveling through densely populated, high tourist attracting cities and areas, the presence of an Asian male walking through the streets did not capture any attention. However, as we reached the small, coastal city of Guardamar, I began to attract much attention. Every time I walked down the street, the elderly Guardamarian population turn their heads and examine me walk as if I were an exotic beast. I felt this the most when I went to Total Fitness (the gym in Guardamar). Every time I went in to get a quick workout done, the entire gym would start eyeing me, from the tip of toes to the top of my head. If it were glances, perhaps I would have been less uncomfortable, but they weren't even remotely discrete. Even when I stare back, the eyes would stay locked on me.
My initial reaction to all this unwanted and seemingly judgmental attention was anger and resentment. But I realized that it isn't necessarily entirely their fault. Humans are attracted to novelty by nature and a Korean male walking around and working out in a remote, coastal city of Spain is pretty novel. Although I do believe that people should be cognizant of the uneasiness their attention creates for the "novel" people, I also understand that their perception of a specific group of people, Asians in this case, is almost solely based on me, and watching me is one of their rare chances to perceive the Asian race. As a result, not only did I feel uneasy whenever I attracted unwanted attention, but also I felt a burden and responsibility for all the other Koreans in the entire world in regards to the people of Guardamar's opinion and perception of my people.
Throughout my entire life so far, I've never lived in a place for an extended period of time where I wasn't surrounded by a plethora of Asian people. Born in Seoul, South Korea, I spent my first year there under my grandparent's care. Then moving to Palo Alto, I lived in Stanford Graduate Housing where my friends were other graduate students' children. After my father completed his doctorates, we moved down to a highly Asian populated suburban city in Los Angeles. And when college came around, I ended up at UC Berkeley, an institution known for its high asian population.
I always had the intention of finishing my college tenure with a study abroad experience, but I always imagined and thought of the cultural exposure I would receive, and the sites I will experience and see. What I didn't consider was the interactions I would have with the people of the country or region I would visit.
Towards the beginning of the trip, traveling through densely populated, high tourist attracting cities and areas, the presence of an Asian male walking through the streets did not capture any attention. However, as we reached the small, coastal city of Guardamar, I began to attract much attention. Every time I walked down the street, the elderly Guardamarian population turn their heads and examine me walk as if I were an exotic beast. I felt this the most when I went to Total Fitness (the gym in Guardamar). Every time I went in to get a quick workout done, the entire gym would start eyeing me, from the tip of toes to the top of my head. If it were glances, perhaps I would have been less uncomfortable, but they weren't even remotely discrete. Even when I stare back, the eyes would stay locked on me.
My initial reaction to all this unwanted and seemingly judgmental attention was anger and resentment. But I realized that it isn't necessarily entirely their fault. Humans are attracted to novelty by nature and a Korean male walking around and working out in a remote, coastal city of Spain is pretty novel. Although I do believe that people should be cognizant of the uneasiness their attention creates for the "novel" people, I also understand that their perception of a specific group of people, Asians in this case, is almost solely based on me, and watching me is one of their rare chances to perceive the Asian race. As a result, not only did I feel uneasy whenever I attracted unwanted attention, but also I felt a burden and responsibility for all the other Koreans in the entire world in regards to the people of Guardamar's opinion and perception of my people.
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