Cindy Cho

     Right now I am taking a class called International Social Work, taught by Dr. Chakradhar, a professor from India. The class only has two exams, one midterm and one final, so there are many papers that are assigned in the class. One that I have been working on is a paper written over an interview I had with an international student. The assignment was to learn about an international student’s culture as well as the politics and social welfare of their country.


     For two years I have been fairly good friends with a 20 year old girl from Korea. Her name is Jeongwha Cho, but she goes by the American name of Cindy. When I asked her if she would be willing to let me interview her, she gladly complied. We spent about an hour and a half discussing all sorts of things, most of which were new to me. We talked about how Koreans will eat rice at every meal, and how they use flat steel chopsticks and a spoon. She told me how the most popular thing for her friends to do is going to a local café where there are Playstations and Wiis set up for the boys to play while the girls sit and chat. She told me her family’s tradition of eating Seaweed Soup on every birthday, since the soup is given to pregnant or breastfeeding mothers drinking it on a birthday is symbolically honoring the mother. At the end of an hour and a half we came to the last question, what are some key adjustments that you have had to make since coming to America.

     It started out with the typical list: food, public transportation, and that cars actually stop when you cross the street. After talking about all of these “key adjustments” Cindy stopped talking. She got very emotional and started to tell me of her most difficult adjustment… discrimination. She said that in the ESL department, you do not experience any discrimination. This is due to the fact that all of your classmates are from other countries, and your teachers are trained to work with foreign students who normally can’t speak English. It’s when you become a University student that the change occurs. Jeonghwa Cho sees discrimination from everyone, both faculty and students. She explains that the first two or three weeks of classes are the most stressful and depressing weeks for her. If she goes into a classroom and sits by an American, 90% of the time that American will get up and change seats. Cindy said that if she is assigned to a group for a class project, that the group she is in will be treated as if it is handicapped, and will not be required to perform at the same level as the rest of the class. Even individual assignments given by the professor do not come with the same expectation as the rest of her classmates.

     Her hardest problem is that people assume that she can’t speak or understand English. “Savannah,” Cindy said, “they think that I cannot speak English. Or understand it. But how can they think that? If I could not understand English I would not be a University student, and taking their classes with them.” She cried as she said that students sitting in the row in front of her are always talking about her, as if she couldn’t hear them. Jokes are made, insults are thrown, and no one ever cares or shows compassion. Teachers see it and don’t reprimand the insulter. Discrimination is also shown through the tone of voice that people use when talking to her. “I am not a baby, so don’t talk to me like I am little,” Cindy repeats over and over. It’s fine when someone makes an effort to talk slower, and to pronounce the words slowly and correctly, minimizing a difficult-to-interpret country accent… but when they change the tone of their voice it hurts.

     I was completely shocked at how much discrimination is shown towards international students. Maybe that is in part due to the fact that I am in Christ Ambassadors (filled with wonderful, compassionate people) and we have an amazing International Ministry, so I am blind to how others treat foreign exchange students. Maybe it’s because several of my close friends are ESL students, and I feel that I am constantly aware of my tone and speech and attitude towards foreign exchange students that I meet. But as I listened to Cindy talk, I was ashamed. I was ashamed of my blindness. I was ashamed of the people around me, and to be honest, even in my country. We call ourselves the “melting pot” of the world… yet how are we to blend together if we hate each other, and openly show that disdain? Think of how of much God loves that 20 year old girl who is shunned in class. Think of how much pain Jesus feels when someone openly makes a joke about the girl sitting in front of them. It pains me so much to think that there are so many students on my campus who feel this way. The interview opened my eyes completely. It strengthened my determination to be kind and show as much compassion as I can to Internationals I meet. And to tell them about the love of my beautiful Savior, where there is never discrimination, prejudice, mock, or hatred.