Brianna really seems to love kindergarten. As parents, we find everything about DISD pretty confusing and non-user-friendly. Oh well--I'm glad SHE has a good attitude!
This morning as I was walking her into her school, I heard a voice somewhere way behind us yelling, "There's a white girl! Hey, white girl!" It never crossed Bri's mind that this was directed toward her, but a surreptitious glance told me that we were the only white people within sight. When kindergarteners notice that their skin is a different color than someone else's. they are mostly just intrigued by how that happens and want to find out if it feels different, etc. But the older kids--when did 6th graders get so big?--. I am not completely comfortable with Brianna being The White Girl at her school.
Then I went and got on the bus. During the twenty-minute trip downtown, a large African American woman sitting near me was shouting loudly. Then I realized she was actually preaching to the whole bus on the eveils of men who don't take responsibility for their families. I felt uncomfortable again--my ears hurt from the noise, and I felt a bit embarrassed by the very personal information she was sharing with strangers. But I heard vaious "Unh-hunh"s and "You got a witness here, girl," and even the bus driver was saying, "Preach it, sister." Glancing around I realized that I was the palest person on the bus and the only one that seemed uncomfortable.
I reminded myself that if we were missionaries in another country, we would live as a distinct minority, but somehow, I think I'd feel more welcome as the minority somewhere a million miles away than I do in my Dallas neighborhood.