and then it hit me....

when we arrived in Korea, everyone looked the same.  black hair.  fair to semi-dark skin.  narrow eyes.  they were short.  somebody made a killing selling sandals.  the feeling was compounded when i began teaching.  i had classrooms full of small Asian clones.  the first morning that i was going to ride to school with a fellow teacher, i was secretly anxious as i stood at the appointed space on the sidewalk.  would i remember what he looked like?  i mean, I've been working with this guy for about a week, but for the life of me i couldn't recall his face in my mind.  i resigned myself to the hope that he would know who i was.  six feet.  six inches.  white.  red beard.  i stand out in a crowd.  and then time passed and i began to notice subtle differences in each person's appearance.  its amazing how different each person's eyes are.  contrary to popular western stereotypes, not all Asians have the same "slanted" eyes.  some of my students are quiet.  some of my students are participatory.  some of my students are class clowns.  with most of my students, i know to what point they will try to push my patience, and consequently where to counter-act their pushing.  over two months I've gotten to know 100+ little Korean personalities.  and today it hit me: I don't know any of their names.  learning 100+ little Korean names at the beginning of our stay here was too much to even think about.  now, i really want to be able to call them something.  but i can't.