Cultural Shock
The day was finally here. It was November 11, 1990, the day that our family was to go to cLand Of Liberty.¯ I heard so many different things about this country called United States of America and I was warned that it would be nothing you¯ve expected. The plane ride did not seem as long as it was; partly because I was lost in my own thoughts with hopes and anxiety. I thought about what I will become in this massive country I was headed and how soon I will adapt to this new culture and people. Every bits of hope I had faded as we drove to our new house after the plane landed. All I saw was open space and emptiness; something I did not expect or was prepared for. I lived in urban part of Korea all my 9 years of life and I was never aware that there could be any place as empty as I was now. I was a bit relieved when we reached our 2 floors, 6 rooms house in Northbrook. It was like a castle to me. My father told me that this house cost as much as the little 1 bathroom, 3 rooms apartment we had in Korea. As I was getting used to the castle we have just bought, the emptiness filled my heart again. I looked outside and saw houses across the street. For a week, I thought those houses were stores. Living in Korea, everywher
When I think about what I went through, it seems funny to me. Such a slight difference in cultures affected me in so many ways. Even nowadays, I can feel the cultural difference among different Koreans. I look at my parents, the first generation immigrants, then myself, what people might call 1.5 generation, and then the 2nd generation Koreans and we are all different affected by the American culture. Even the 2nd generation Koreans, who were born here, they still hold some of the Korean cultures. My next cultural shock came when I attended my uncle¯s Thanksgiving dinner. For the first time, I encountered what seemed like a gigantic chicken: turkey. There were many other foods besides the turkey, but overall, I was overwhelmed by the abundance of food at such low price. I began to understand why there are so many cases of obesity in America. I couldn¯t escape the abundance of food either. I gained so much weight as I got used to American food. I got so chubby to a point where my relatives did not recognize me when they came to visit us from Korea. My biggest problem in getting used to this culture was the people. I was astounded when I first entered 4th grade. It was so different from what I was used to. I couldn¯t decide which system was b
Some common words found in the essay are:
Living Korea, United America, Nowadays Korean, , Korea America, education system, 2nd generation koreans, math teacher, 2nd generation, generation koreans, culture people, abundance food, whereas korea, teacher yell,
Approximate Word count = 855
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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