Before coming to South Korea, I thought about how I would answer the typical questions I would expect foreigners to ask me. Do Americans like to party hard and try drugs? Does everyone have a gun? Are there tons of fat people everywhere? However, honestly speaking, there have not been a lot of interactions that involved people asking me about America or her culture. I'm not sure if it's because they assume they know American culture based on our television dramas or if they are simply too shy to ask. However, tonight I had a dinner appointment with a friend and two Korean students that are planning to study abroad in the United States this coming fall semester. While most of their questions were about the school, Tennessee Tech University, and what campus life would be like, many other topics came up throughout the evening. One of the topics we discussed was southern hospitality and what to expect from the "friendly neighbor" type of attitude that a lot of southerners have, which is not often seen here in South Korea, as generally strangers do not say hello, smile, or nod at each other. We also talked about tipping culture, safety at night, and some useful tips that will make their life as an international student easier.
A lot of the discussion made me think about things from my own culture back home. There are definitely some things in South Korea that I wish we could add, such as sales tax being included in the listed price, not tipping at restaurants, and sharing meals more freely between friends. Interestingly enough, there are things that I miss from the United States, southern hospitality being at the top of that list. It's probably safe to say that I will compare the pros and cons of my culture to others, and I'm quite content with this. How else will we become more globalized and work to make our own country a better place for future generations?
Until next time~
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