Differences...there are soo many differences here...one of them being the lack of minorities....of other ethnicities, of DIFFERENT types of people....I mean when you ask people what ethnicities they are..they will say Irish..I am Irish..or I am British..and that’s it...and I'm like uhh really??....when I am asked that question I always think….umm..where do I start?..and then I realize I don’t even know all the ethnicities that make me..me…another one being that in Europe a lot of people are sent to boarding schools…and this past weekend we had our first experience with the boarding students…

So because of the lack of minorities …racism is soo very common here, and truly it’s appalling to me…and embarrassing, and some of the comments I have heard come out of people’s mouths truly make me cringe..and I think is that okay here??..I mean do people truly think that’s okay here??…how can it possibly be okay?…and then I think well racists exist in all forms..and are found in all countries..and we have issues with racism in the states…but it comes in a different form I suppose??…the racism in the states is soo deeply embedded in the system…institutional forms of racism are much more common and most people will not make blatant racist comments…I think I’m just really naïve and I hope they wouldn’t at least??..doesn’t mean they don’t think them, but they just don’t speak them outloud! But here I mean people make blatant comments…and I think whoever said that was okay??…do minorities accept it..or are they bothered by it at all?…

So an example..because this example INFURIATED me…and I just wanted to scream and cry at the same time….so peter runs this thing called Late breakfast for the teenagers during the church service..and he had the boarders this Sunday in with the regulars…and the majority of them were students from China…so I guess two of the boys told their father that there were too many Chinese people when they were asked how late breakfast was….anyhow..it gets WORSE!!!!!….just hold tight…so then Derek (the pastor)…confronted peter about it at church on Sunday night ..and just said..so how did late breakfast go??…and peter said I think it went fine…Derek ..so did you separate the boarders from the regulars?..Peter said no…and Derek said bad idea I think…and then preceded to tell him that two of the kids said that there were too many Chinese students there!!…

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??..I mean I first thought…I can NOT believe Derek would have the decency to NOT repeat that comment…and then I thought..does he NOT realize how racist that comment is??..does he not realize how terrible that comment is??..how ignorant that comment is??….does he not realize that you should NOT separate the two groups because its then us vs. them…the in group and an out group…does he not realize that this interaction with people from different countries and different cultures is a blessing!!!!…and that the people here are sooo use to comfort and maybe not crossing over sides and interacting with the protestants if they are Catholics..or vice versa…and maybe now that the lack of interaction has become old…they need to find another group to discriminate against and pick on…

So last night after peter told me about this conversation…I was soooo worked up…just thought to myself..WHERE AM I??…how can I live in a place that is sooo racist…and if they declare they truly believe what they preach…then how can they make comments like that..and allow comments like that to slide….

But the biggest question is…which is worse??…living in a country where racism is hidden beneath laws and the system, where people are quite about their racism and its shown in different forms, OR living in a country where people are not ashamed of their racism and they are comfortable with making racist comments…or are they both just the same…because that’s what I think…I think that at home I am naïve, and it is easy for me to believe that people I surround myself with don’t have those racist thoughts, but here I am soo very aware of the racism and I can’t escape it…

So then that brings me back to the concept of sending your children to boarding school..so in my young church group ..we had 4 boarders…2 from Hong Kong and 2 from England...either 9 or 10..and I just thought…what kind of message does that send your children??…umm…I am sending you to boarding school so that someone else can raise you…and I don’t have to deal with you…soo young..they are truly babies..and they are screaming for attention..just want someone to notice them and acknowledge them…and I just think…they are going to be in boarding school for AGES…for like 9 years…away from home for 9 years…how can parents do that??..send them away at 14..but 9…they have no idea who they are…and it could just lower their self-esteem even more..who is there to love them and hug them…and show them that they are important and precious…

And then after all this…I just thought..gosh I am such a passionate person!…I can get really worked up over certain things…but I find that my passion ignites when I am disappointed in humanity…with the ways of man..with the things they have done..or have not done..