"If you don't shut up, I'll hit you with my stick. Back in my days, if we made even a peep, the teacher would pull out "Dr. Be Good" and give you 20 to 30 rounds"

That's what our Nigerian substitute told us in Study Hall. If I was told something like that, I'd be pretty much scared stiff. He even had the actual stick to prove he would strike at us. It was a iron stick with a wooden handle. Yet, the kids thought it was hilarious. Of course, the man was kidding. He knew that here, in US, students don't get beatings. It reminded me of how I was hit once. It was back in Taiwan. I think I was in a nursery for like toddlers. I was hit on the hand with a ruler, for what reason, I can't recall. Afterwards I was locked into a room with no lights along with two of the other kids. All I remember was that I had a bloody nose after the teacher let us out and we were told to clean up because our parents were coming to get us.

Anyway, the circumstances in America are truly different from other regions of the world. At the same time, we're so comfortable with our situation and our environment to think that one could possibly be struck at in class. I often wish I wasn't so comfortable. I take for granted with what I have and lose sight of how some people in other parts of the world aren't as fortunate as I am. I mean I have a loving family, I have a warm home to go to, I have food in a second's notice (I just made ramen noodles). I think if I was stripped of my amenities, I could actually understand what it is like to "suffer".