1 Latina & 2 Asians

Why would a little Colombian girl end up best friends with a Korean girl and Chinese guy? Atlanta is a very multicultural city and even though there were other Latinos, I never really had one as a close friend.

I believe Esther was attracted to my friendship because she did not fit the typical Asian stereotypes. Yes, she was smart and a good student, but she also had a edgy and rebellious side. This darker side of her was not apparent to most people and she would hide it from family, teachers, and other friends. However, when I was around her, she felt comfortable in being herself and I insisted on bringing out that side out even more. I did this by not being judgemental, having fun, and encouraging bad behavior.

Esther and I on a typical weekend.

This came naturally to be because as Latino stereotypes go, I was outgoing, a partyer, rebellious, and fun. This may have been attrative to Esther because all of her other friends were typical A-type Korean Christian girls. I felt like she could not relate to them in the same way because they would judge or criticize her. To say the least, I did not get a long with her other friends very much.

Dale was also like this and this made us into great best friends. While Esther would tell her parents she was going to a math tournament over the weekend, we would be at raves doing drugs. We would sneak out, run over trash cans with Dale´s car, skip school, and steal items. Basically, these contraversial actions is what bonded us together, whether or not her other friends knew about it or not.

Esther Is A Christian

The Christian religion is very strong in the Korean community. This is especially true since we grew up in Atlanta, which is located in the bible belt.

When we were younger religion was not really an issue between us. I mean what 13 year old is considering the seriousness of their faith? However, as we grew older this definately became an issue. She became increasingly more religious as I became more athiest.

One of the reason´s why her religion is so strong is because her father is a pastor. He has a church and preaches to the Korean community. Her family in general is strict for this reason. Obviously, no drinking or smoking alllowed - things that eventually would become my specialties.

This is what Esther wanted people to think of her as.

The issues with religion between us began to show in high school. This is were we began to experiment with drugs and alcohol. We would go to parties and underground raves with Dale to listend to house music which was super popular at the time.  To be honest, we deffinately had fun as Esther always had a wild streak in her. Sometimes it would come out during these parties, but then it would go away once we were back in school during the week. This is when I began to notice the split personalities that Esther would manage. These split and opposite personalities were essentially the result of her pressure to be a good Christian from her family while also wanting to be a fun friend to me and Dale.

This is what she was really like.

I have to admit that if Esther was the ¨Christian One¨, then I was the ¨Evil One¨. My appetite for debouchery was growing every time we went out. I enjoyed spending that time with her, but was often surprised when she would switch back to the ¨Christina Esther¨ once the weekend was over. Not only was it a change in personalities, it also turned into judgement and resentment: I learned to view this behavior as hypocritical as she would switch between each lifestyle. For examples, one day she is at a prayer meeting then the next day stealing merchandise from stores.

This confilct in behavior is once of the main reason I lost respect for her, but instead of it being a small issue, it became a larger issue as the ¨Evil¨ behavior got worse and worse. Each time she commited a more severe discretion, the distance between her personalities grew more and more.

How It All Started

I met my Korean friend Esther in elementary school. We were in a gifted program for high achieveing students. Hence, in the 90s there were few Latinos in that school and a lot more Asians. Because I was one of the few Latinos, I immediately started making friends with the Asians. I made a Chinese friend (Dale) and my Korean friend Esther. Soon the 3 of us were a tight knit group of buddies - the three amigos!

Not only was it a little strange for a Colombian girl to befriend a Chinese and Korean, but it was also funny that I looked like Esther. For a Latina, I did not have the typical look. I was light-skinned, curly black hair, and skinny. I basically looked like Esther. But Esther looked like me becuase one year she decided to perm her hair so we both had the same hair style and looked the same from the back. In school, teachers would confuse us.

As the years went by, the three of us became closer and closer. Eventually, I started spending the night at her house and was integrated into the Asian culture even more. Whether it was hangiing out with her Korean grandmother, taking my shoes off at the door, or eating Korean food; I always learned something new at her house. Because of this, even to this day, I have a great passion and appreciatino for Asian culture. My apartment is decorated in at least 50% Oriental decor and I take off my shoes at the door of my own apartment.