Reflections from a Kansas City protest: a historic view

I carried a sign: “The system isn’t broken -- it was built this way.” 

We marched. We marched on the ground upon which the system was built.  

We gathered at J. C. Nichols Memorial Fountain: a beautiful, bronze memorial to a man who wrote Black men and women out of the city, not allowing them to occupy these homes, this space. Kansas City is not unique in its history and multigenerational effects of racially-biased lending practices and homeowner regulations. Still today, these words remain in many homeowners association rules for J. C. Nichols’ homes: 

“None of the said lots shall be conveyed to, used, owned nor occupied by Negroes as owner or tenants.” 

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The fountain is only blocks away from Troost Ave, the Troost Wall, where school boundaries were drawn in 1954 in order to help “preserve” the all white schools in the southwest side of the city. This was in response to the United States Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Mind you, prior to this decision, mandatory racial segregation was the law in all of Missouri. 

To this day, Troost Ave remains a stark dividing line of demographics in Kansas City: race, education, income, life expectancy. 

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From there we marched north into Westport, the neighborhood itself sharing a name with one of the largest battles this side of the Mississippi, where over 8,000 men showed up ready to die for the right to own another human.   

Further into Westport, we turned right before one of the oldest buildings in Kansas City, under which in the cramped, dirt basement, those in chains were held prior to being sold at auction, where families were forever separated. 

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This list is far from exhaustive, as it’s only a few things that stood out to me on our short march. TLDR: You don’t have to go far or look hard to find our vile and racist past. 

There’s so many more stories I’ve yet to learn about, and a great number of which I’m sure have been erased. Don’t let Black voices and Black stories be erased in your time, too. Go listen to them. Amplify them. Protect them.

Black lives matter. 

"Free spirit coffee Jeep?"

The following story was adapted from the one I had shared on Instagram in the past.
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About the name — it was a scorching, July afternoon on a highway about five miles southeast of Incheon, Korea. 

In a sudden turn of events, I was in a minivan with a kind Korean family that I had only met upon entering the vehicle. We were going to visit a cave - Gwangmyeong Cave, in fact. Due to the excessive heat, so was the rest of city it seemed. 

We sat in stop-and-go traffic for hours. I studied the rows upon rows of strip malls and restaurants as we crawled past them. 

At the corner of a dusty, 
yellow mall was what appeared to be an abandoned coffee shop: 
outdated, coffee-themed signage in the window, 
random assortment of broken cafe tables and chairs strewn haphazardly inside. 

Painted above the business in faded orange letters: 
FREE SPIRIT COFFEE JEEP. 

What a concept. It tickled me. I loved it. It stuck with me. After returning to the city that evening (the cave itself is a whole different story) I googled the 4-word expression hoping to find some context for it. To this day I remain empty-handed. "Free spirit coffee jeep" remains a mystery. 

As for myself, yes, I do enjoy a good cup of coffee, and yes, I have been referred to as a “free spirit” once or twice, but I did adore each and every adventure in Korea and every individual with whom I shared them. —I think about Korea a lot, and no, I’ve never owned a Jeep, though I’m not altogether opposed to the idea. 

Jeep, jeep, jeep, jeep, jeep, jeep 

I have a job

On February 5th, over one billion people will celebrate Spring Festival worldwide (also known as Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year).

On the same day, I will be celebrating the completion of my first full year working for the Beijing-based education company, VIPKID. 

Here are my short answers to the 5 questions I have been asked the most in the past year in regards to this job...my VIPKIDFAQ, if you will. 

Okay, so your job is what?

Me. Student in China. Usually age 5-12. 

One-on-one. 25 minutes. 

The goal? Teach them English by any means necessary. 

So you know Chinese? 

Nope. Even if I did, classes are 100% conducted in English, but I have learned some words and phrases over the past year (featuring a very American pronunciation guide)... 

Hello! Ni hao! (knee-how)

Goodbye! Zaijian! (zai-jyen)

Teacher, why? Laoshi, weisheme? (lao-sheh, way-sheh mah)

Happy New Year! Xin nian kuai le! (sheen-neen-kwai-luh)

If you don't know Chinese, how do you teach?

I often joke that I attended a university for 4 years to answer that question. 

But really, it's patience and the full-immersion method. 

Full-immersion is simply full-immersion into an English-speaking environment. 

Full-immersion is the reason I lack fond memories of my parents lecturing to one-year-old me about subject-verb agreement and how to conjugate the present progressive tense in English. 

Is that really effective?

Did you graduate high school feeling like you can actually have a conversation in Spanish? 

(Probablemente no, porque la manera americana de enseñar el idioma es basura.) 

A more serious answer: yes. It's wonderful having a first-time student. For many, it's their first time interacting with English, and by the end of class they can complete activities with English instruction! (E.g., "Circle big C.") I love it. 

When do you work? 

My alarm is set for 3:44 am, 6 days a week. 

I work on BJT (Beijing time). I schedule my classes to be after the students' regular school day, usually 6 pm - 10 pm. That means I work from 4 am - 8 am Kansas City time in the fall in winter. 

BONUS: Best student names so far? 

Snow White, Dream, and Jelly

Teacher Samantha 

the first poem

“Morning of July 5th” 

And so we bid one another “goodnight” 

in an echo of what was ritual. 

The night itself as stale and unwanted

as the helpless tears dried upon our cheeks. 

I sat upon our brother’s bed and watched 

the stars evaporate into the dawn: 

celestial light consumed by morning, 

the inhalation of all life on Earth. 

With a most gentle knock upon the door, 

you entered into the pale-grey bedroom 

as it was still too soon to be alone. 

Somber silence grew alongside the light. 

Upon a bed designed for only one

missing him who would never see the sun. 

_________________________

As a child, I frequently wrote poems. I stopped in middle school. 

The summer after my freshman year of college, my friend passed away suddenly in the midst of celebrating his 24th birthday. 

I began writing again. 

10 Commandments of Myers-Briggs

1. There is no "bad type." No type is better than another. 

2. "Sensing" is not synonymous with "stupid" or "shallow." 

3. Your type is not justification for (bad) behavior. 

4. Your personality is innate. It does not change upon the day or situation. 

5. The letters that make up your type are a reflection of your cognitive functions. Cognitive functions are the real heart of Myers-Briggs. 

6. Allow people to be bigger and deeper than their types. With that, remember you can have relationships with someone of any type. 

7. Everybody has tendencies that are both extroverted and introverted, intuitive and sensing, thinking and feeling, and judging and perceiving. Of course nobody is all of just one thing. People simply do not work that way. (On that note, people can be very logical and be a Feeler, or can be very sentimental and be a Thinker. Hence, cognitive functions.) 

8. It is one thing to be torn about your type in the beginning (e.g., ENxP, xSTJ, etc.), but these are not real types. As each personality is unique, one cognitive function stack will better describe you over another. Most types are even just one letter different have dramatically different values and thought processes. 

9. People of the same type can and will be quite different. Maturity, life experiences, and general personal development will tweak and grow them. Well-rounded people will act well-rounded.

10. The whole system is to recognize your strengths and your weaknesses in order to grow your strengths and overcome your shortcomings. 

**This list is simply a guideline inspired by things I've learned while studying Myers-Briggs (MBTI) for the past 7 years. I hope it helps you enjoy and understand Myers-Briggs personality theory even more! 

Myers-Briggs types playing Monopoly

ESFP - has a song for when Community Chest and Chance are drawn

ISFP - happily has hotels on the first two properties

ESTP - dramatically rolls and blows on dice in desperate times

ISTP - says “boxcars!” or “snake eyes!” whenever they’re rolled

ISFJ - has the most organized money and properties

ESTJ - makes sure all the tokens are facing the right direction

ISTJ - desperately wants all the railroads

ESFJ - makes alliances with others players

ENFP - has to constantly be reminded it’s their turn

ENFJ - wants to be the little doggie

INFP - only gets competitive for free parking

INFJ - probably the banker

ENTJ - puts people in high-pressure property trades

INTJ - sits in jail because there’s no risk of losing money

ENTP - throws money at people they owe

INTP - keeps their money in a pile

Okay, but like, why?

I’m a writer.

Not a writer in a “I pay the rent with my words” kinda way,
but more of a “this is how I process my thoughts,
and come hell or high water, words will be written” kinda way.

With my disappearance
from most social media about a year ago,
without an audience in mind,
it’s been difficult to write about the things
I’m most excited about.

(Besides in my personal journals, of course.)

With no goals in mind,
I hope this place will fill that void.
I hope that we learn something, too.

Samantha