When we met with a girl from Ulsan and her friend who are going to study abroad in America, we had some discussions on what to expect. We had to discuss how different American food culture is. Large individual portions rather than sharing, taxes, tipping, prices, and serving are all very different in America. She was a little bit shocked when I told her how American portions are, so I advised her to share with a friend or take some of her food home for later. We also had to have the unfortunate discussion of the safety factors of living in America. Crime rates are higher, so it's important for her to be cautious and not to walk alone at night as much as possible.
Another friend we made said he loves America because Americans helped so much in the Korean War and he is thankful. It surprised me because I had once heard that Koreans weren't fond of us. Maybe those that don't like us were Koreans near American bases that have to associate with soldiers who never took the time to learn or appreciate their culture and mannerisms and thus come off as rude.
However, most of the comments I've heard about Americans were from the other UIP participants, such as the Canadians, joking about us. Overall, most of our friends were more curious about things and they didn't actually try to assume things about Americans. Everyone was very mature with their questions and listened what we had to say.
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