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Marriage was not part of my plan. But, everything changed when I met Hyo. We had the same supervisor, and we did our research together. The other boys called me names, threw things at me in the lecture hall, and one time I was even threatened with a knife. But Hyo treated me as an equal. Right after our wedding, my father-in-law sent us to Canada to continue our studies. I didn’t want to go, but I had to obey his decision. When I came here I cried every day for a year. I had no language, I was nothing.
Luckily, the language of science is the same. I got a job in the faculty of agriculture, department of soil chemistry. Among the male Caucasian post graduate students, many times they didn’t want my support. If there was a mistake with the data, it was always my fault. I knew it wasn’t me. I was an A++ student. Even on coffee breaks, they never invited me along. This was my orientation into racism.
When I got pregnant, I had to leave my research behind. But inside I was a feminist, a leader, and I started getting involved. But often at women’s conferences, I was the only non-white woman there. It was like I was invisible among the women. Those instances made me join the National Anti-Racism Committee at my church. I became a speaker for women’s issues nationally, and internationally. Finally I got my moment, I became the first woman National Chair at the Korean Faith Association. Even so, in a church, circles of male ministers, I earned the name “Black Sheep.” But I thought, I am who I am, and I continued on.
After my retirement, my husband and I took one piece of luggage and one laptop, and left for Korea. We had no plans. We didn’t really know what was next. After two weeks, a school contacted me. It was a gift from god. For the last 3 years I have been developing programs in public schools. I get to develop new tools where I can emphasize leadership of women and multiculturalism. At 72, I am a totally different person, a one that has being enriched by Canada and Korea.