Before I left for South Korea, I tried to do as much research about the society and culture as I could. I tried to mentally prepare myself for the differences I knew I would encounter once I got here. However, reading about a different culture and trying to live in it every day are two very different things. Sometimes there are just fundamental differences in perspectives that you take for granted when you live among like-minded people for a long time, and it takes a little adjustment time to recognize the differences and how they affect you.
One of the most interesting and difficult adjustments I had to learn to appreciate when I moved here was interactions with strangers and acquaintances. Although I was born in California and lived in other places growing up, I’ve now lived in the Midwest for a large part of my life. Midwesterners in general are a friendly bunch that have no problem having casual conversations with strangers just because we’ve been waiting in line together too long, we are grabbing the same item at the grocery store, or we happened to both be walking our dog in the same area. Smiling and nodding at someone in greeting is so ingrained in our everyday life that I didn’t even realize I did it until I came to South Korea.
