Obamanation!!!

My biggest regret coming here was the timing. I knew that in coming now I would be unable to watch the inauguration. I would have made the trek to D.C. in the freezing cold to watch history in the making. Some things need to be seen as they occur. About a week before I began frantically searching for a place where I could watch the inauguration, as I have neither a television nor reliable Internet connection (man I can’t wait to get my ARC card). No one seemed to have any idea. Ideas started floating around as to just creating our own event but then I realized how far away I lived and how late I got off work. It was beginning to look like a bust for me. No one else really seemed to care that much about it, especially since it would be occurring here in Korea at 2 a.m. Dang it….

Just then a savior arrived. My coworker Lu asked me if I wanted to watch the event at her friend on the U.S. military base house. Of course I said yes. I was ready for any adventure. So after work I boarded the shuttle for the adventure to the forbidden land of Itaewon, forbidden to me so that I don’t become re-addicted to western living. At this point I am bouncing off the walls with anticipation that in a few more hours we can put the mistake that was the presidency of George. W Bush behind us forever, and the historic occasion marked by the election of Barack Hussein Obama can reach its pinnacle. On the trip down to the city though, I began to hear more about this U.S military base, and it sounded like a most magical place.

The base is of course guarded 24/7. It is off the outskirts of Itaewon, called Yongsan. For military personnel to have you over, you need 2 forms of i.d. and to be signed in. However, the person we were going to see is a diplomat, and as such we can just be escorted in with her car. Once you touch pass the military base you are on American soil (no really, by law you are) but not just that, it is set up to look just like an American city. It’s been only 3 weeks and I didn’t realize how accustomed I’d become to not seeing things like that anymore. There is every American restaurant you can imagine on the base, and get this, a bank of America. So we pull up into the house after waiting at the gate. Dang. America hooked up its employees. I already am no longer used to that much space. I could probably fit 5 of my house in her one bedroom house. You can call America at no charge from their phones, get all American T.V. and the houses even have American plugs, which means I don’t need my adaptor. So after we were treated to some good old pizza (good stuff, no Asian versions covered in mayo) and hot wings (mmm real American hot wings), and some nice drinks to get the mood right, we prepared ourselves for the wait.

While there I met some very interesting people. Other diplomats (some of whom have chosen to know nothing of living in Korea because the base literally is America), and assortments of editors, teachers and the like. It was all very cool but then the main event began. Barack Obama and Michelle walked out of the white house after dinner with W, and the room went wild. If you didn’t watch the inauguration, well you are a special human being indeed, so I won’t go into the details of it. All I have to say is that the historic and momentous occasion escaped no one in the room, black or not. When he finally said the oath of office, I let the tears flow. History had been delivered, and never again could I be told I cannot achieve something, simply because of the color of my skin. The yelling and screaming we did in that house in South Korea would have made anyone proud. We joined our voices with 2 million people watching on the American mall in D.C. and it didn’t matter what race, sex, and creed you were, you were, an American.

I’ve never been one of those to jump of the bandwagon of Obama is the black president. Rather I look at Obama as the one who was right for the job needed, and he happened to be black. There are arguments back and forth which way, but on this moment I know why the pride surged through my veins, and though I think it’s the stupidest song ever, I had an urge to start singing, My President is Black. But not as a slap to white people but as a sense of pride. In the later days when I would speak about democracy to my classes at school, it was all I could do to suppress the tears every time I heard Barack Obama. You see, he reminds me so much of me, the exotic background, being forced to pick a group to identify, etc, etc…. It’s all irrelevant now. He overcame all and he’s my president…
The night ended pretty uneventfully, we took a cab back to my coworkers place in Itaewon and I watched the rest of the inauguration in between cat naps. The parades were phenomenal. I made it back home and to work, but the thrill has not worn off. I hope it never does…