This week Jessie, my conversation partner, and I didn't get to meet because of our crazy busy schedules. As fate would have it, we still got to see each other, even though it wasn't the best of situations.
I saw Jessie while I was on a quick run. I had dropped my ID card and luckily no one had picked it up. I say this because if I hadn't dropped my card, I wouldn't have been on that part of the path. I then see Jessie, in the middle of the road by the physical plant, crying, and then she almost got hit by a car.
"JESSIE GET OUT OF THE ROAD!' I yelled. She came over and this is apparently what had happened:
While in her international class one of the other girls (name and nationality removed for privacy reasons, but the girl wasn't chinese) pulled Jessie's hair. In China that's a huge insult. The equivalent of calling someone a poisonous b****.
Let me just say that Jessie is one of the sweetest women I've ever met and would never do anything to offend anyone on purpose.
Jessie then talked about how hard it was to be in a foreign culture for so long. It's surprising to hear considering how optimistic and fun loving Jessie has been all year. I talked her down, explaining how I was sorry and just tried to calm the poor girl down. I've had my more than fair share of mean girls to deal with. For those of you that know me from Burkburnett, you probably remember all of my high school, middle school, and even elementary school years.
Makes me wonder, did the other girl know how upsetting that small action was or was she innocent? Are we giving those who aren't from our culture too much credit?
Girls are mean no matter what race, culture, or language. Meanness is just a streak that girls wear like the natural highlights that come out in the sun. Striking and unseen publicly in a majority of circumstances.
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