Changing Lifestyle

Changing Lifestyle

Nowadays, many young Chinese people worship western culture. They think that living in the United States must be wonderful, but I didn’t think so at the beginning. I had lived in China, spoke Chinese and accepted Chinese education as a norm. I came to the United States three years ago, and as an adult, I needed to spend much time to accept this new culture. I was confused about many things at the beginning, especially manners, transportation and food.

At first, I found one difference between China and the United States, which is manner. When Americans meet you on the street, even though they don’t know you, they will say “Hi” to you. I had never greeted someone who is stranger in China. When I just arrived here, I was confused when a stranger greeted me. I just responded to them with a smile, but I found that Americans didn’t have feedback for my smile, so I had to speak out to them. This situation forced me to accept this new culture. I quickly learned that I had to do as the Romans while in Rome.

Anther thing I accepted was that driving to anyplace, although you only need to work ten minutes to arrive. When I was in China, I always walked any where I wanted to go even if it took me ten or twenty minutes. Although some Chinese people have their own car, they also like to walk. You can see many people walking on the street in China. They think that taking a walk is good for their body. However few people walk here. You cannot always see many people on a big street. If the weather is cold and snowy, you only can see cars on streets. Living here has made me became not enjoy taking a walk.

Food culture is also one of the new things that made me felt unaccustomed. I also didn’t enjoy eating food here. I enjoyed eating food in China. I always went out to find different kinds of restaurants, and I always got great surprises from many dishes. I never though this surprise would stop one day. I was disappointed about food when the first time I was eating at Chinese restaurant here. The way of cooking food and its taste are almost opposite with the dishes in China. Every dish was too sweet for me. After that time I tried to eat at many restaurants in Chinatown, but I couldn’t find good surprises any more. I was sad that I felt I lost one of my big pleasures in my life.

Living in a new place always makes you uncomfortable at the beginning. People’s manner, transportation and food are always the first thing to making a newcomer feels unaccustomed. I was confused and sad when I had to change my lifestyle in America. No matter how my Chinese culture and American culture have clashed, I realized that I have to adapt everything here, and then I can have a better life.

New Generations, New "Cinco de Mayo"

Imelda J. Munoz

ESL 100

09/27/10

New Generations, New “Cinco de Mayo”

Do you feel like new generations are changing the way we originally celebrate a certain holiday? Cinco de Mayo has always been one of my favorite holidays, although its real meaning has gotten lost. Cinco de Mayo is known for the victory of the Mexican Militia over the French Army at the Battle of Puebla. In Spanish it is known as “La Batalla de Puebla”. This special event is celebrated with different types of Mexican music called “Folklorico”, “Rancheras”, “Duranguense”, and the most important of all, “Mariachi”. Food and drinks also play a big part in this event. Nowadays, I’ve seen people from the United States adding other types of music that aren’t Mexican, which in a way seems to me somewhat odd. Although this is a Mexican holiday, many Mexican immigrants still maintain their tradition in the United States.

Music is the most important thing that can’t ever be forgotten in this event. Women wear their big, colorful dresses swirling them around as if they were flower petals made out of rainbow colors. Men dress in what they call “Charros” with their black suits, black boots, and large sombreros. Both represent the Folkloric dances. The “Mariachi” men also dress in black suits, sometimes in other colors, too, large sombreros, and big non-electric instruments. “Rancheras” are mostly played with electric instruments such as guitars, drums, keyboards, and sometimes the percussion. “Duranguense” is new to this event in the United States. Even though it also comes from Mexico, it started to be part if the Cinco de Mayo in the United States. “Reggaeton”, “Bachata”, and “Cumbia” are now part of it, too. Since it’s Latin music, but not originated from Mexico, it brought a different rhythm to the Mexican environment and people enjoy it as much as the rest of the other music.

Food and drinks also play an important part in this holiday. Popular dishes like “Tacos”, “Enchiladas”, rice with beans, “Gorditas”, and “Chiles rellenos” with American cheese on the inside, are all famous dishes that some people enjoy eating on this particular day. Drinks, such as beer, tequila, margaritas, michaladas, “Agua de Orchata”, “Agua de Jamaica” and different soda drinks like “Jarritos” and “Sangria”, are also important on this holiday. In the United States many people have now added some American food to this event such as hamburgers, hotdogs and cheeseburgers along with other soda drinks. This has also made a great combination in the Cinco de Mayo to make other ethnicities feel welcome to be part of this.

The different customs that make part of Cinco de Mayo each year take me a while to get used to it since it’s starting to be celebrated differently. However, it’s a part of a great experience because you meet people from different places and you are able to share your culture with them. Cinco de Mayo is also a holiday that makes Mexican people feel and be proud about our roots. It is also a holiday to commemorate those Mexican soldiers who died for their country to gain independence from the French. Even though I was born in this country, I am proud to say that I’m Mexican-American, and I will never forget that I have Mexican blood. My parents always tell me now that new generations are born, every parent’s expectations and dreams is that children that are born here, they should ever forget their roots and customs no matter where life takes us.

Nevertheless, Cinco de Mayo is a special holiday for me no matter how it has changed. The music, food, drinks, and customs from Mexico are still present even if this is a different country. I’m glad that people still celebrate it even if it’s a little different than how it was originally celebrated in Mexico. Mexican styles change from time to time and are now added to Cinco de Mayo. This shows how Mexico has changed and improved to make the holiday interesting and better for some people, and can also share these traditions with others from the U.S. As new generations are born in the U.S., I still want to see that our Mexican roots are still present in the United States.

Eat, Drink, and Get Social

Eat, Drink and Get Social

Joey steps in and says, “Hello, everybody, this is my grandma. Grandma, this is Monica, Rachel, Ross, Chandler, and Pheobe.” This is the way to start party for Americans from what I have seen. Wait, isn’t it interesting or even weird? How can grandma join her grandson’s friend’s party besides she has not met any of them before? It had been my old question before I came here, and I thought I could do a same thing if I am in the American culture. However, whenever I am invited by American friends, honestly, I hesitate to give an answer right away whether I can join or not. The definition of party is a social gathering of invited guests, typically involving eating, drinking, and entertainment. It sounds like a miniature of people’s life in culture. Figuring out the differences between two cultures and getting into new party environment will be my main task while I am living here.





‘Here I am, in America, so I should follow the American way,’ I reminded myself. However, as I got the EVITE message from my friend, which was written , “Hello, everybody. My mom is going to be in town this Saturday. Why don’t we have a house warming party all together?”, I began to wonder. Also, I needed to create a good excuse to avoid going to her party because there were many people on the invitation list that I didn’t know. Koreans usually hang out with familiar people and I am Korean. Korean house warming parties usually take a few weekends because we invite one group of guests at a time like friends from high school, friends from college, coworkers from my side, coworkers from my husband’s side, and family members. It doesn’t mean that Koreans don’t talk to strangers, but Koreans prefer having deep conversations with familiar people. If there is somebody who doesn’t have any similar experience or reminiscence, it is going to be hard to socialize with each other.

When I organize a party for any occasion, making a food list is always the first thing I do. Sometimes, I spend a couple of days thinking about it and assembling all the ingredients, and all the dishes must be ready by the time the guests arrive at my place. Throwing a house warming party for a couple of weekends in a row is not that easy. The host may be sick of eating the same food and spending dinner time with another guest every weekend. But it is also part of a party, so it can be enjoyable. Also, guests expect that if they are invited around dinner time, they will have a supper. In contrast, my expectation was diverged when I got Katherine’s place where we were supposed to have dinner party. There were some snacks, cheese and beer. Snacks with beer is not considered a meal for me, but I didn’t mention anything about it and kept saying that I enjoyed the food a lot. Afterwards, the most unimaginable thing happened. One of the guests picked up the phone and ordered some food only for her, but nobody seemed to care about it including the host. In my culture, either attending party with a full stomach or ordering some food for individual person is considered rude behavior because everyone knows that host puts a tremendous effort into cooking, so eating well and giving some compliments is the best way to make the host happy.

American parties normally start with a cocktail or a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. When guests arrive, the host generally asks what kinds of drink would be the best for the guest after greeting them. As guests have drinks in their hands, the party states and they will help themselves for the next drinks. Of course, there are no rules for eating and drinking, even walking around with a beer bottle or dish is totally proper manner for a casual party. On the other hand, Korean parties start at the table and end at the table. When the last guest finds a seat, everyone starts eating. While the chopsticks are moving, the host keeps focus on the table, if any empty glass is on the table, host will fill the glass up without asking. If the host is busy taking care of other things or the host is seating far from the person who finishes a drink, especially liquor, the person who is sitting next to them, has a duty for filling the glass up. Apparently, we wouldn’t say to a guest, “Help yourself.”






Still, I am wondering when I will become comfortable at American parties without questioning myself. The answer may be broad and uncertain because it depends on the situation, culture, and the people. But the obvious thing is that I need more time to be accustomed to American culture. It may take me a long time, but I am not going to stop pushing myself because understanding the way of making relationships with people is a significant aspect of living in a different culture.

Warm Floor, Warm Heart

Warm Floor, Warm Heart

Summer is gone. The extremely cold wind which blows between buildings is coming. Last year, I spent my first winter in Chicago. I had a cold very often, and the cold winter made me miss my home and my family. People instinctively want to stay at home with family when they are sick. When I was young, I tended to have colds. At that time, I preferred to lie down on the warm floor, eating the baked sweet potatoes that my mother made for me. It made me feel very comfortable, and it was helpful to get rid of my severe cold. You might get curious how I can lie down on the warm floor. Unlike in America, there is different heating system in Korea. In-floor-heating called ‘Ondol’ makes me miss Korea, my home a lot. Ondol in Korea represents Korean culture which cannot be experienced in the United States. It shows that traditional history, relaxed atmosphere, and helps community and relationships.

First of all, Ondol is a traditional heating system in Korea. Koreans always install Ondol in their house, public places such as schools, offices, restaurants and bars. Besides, there are public saunas which have a lot of various sauna rooms and warm floors in Korea. Without distinction of sex or age, many Korean really enjoy hot saunas. People prefer to sweat it out in the sauna and lie down on warm floors. We don’t need to wear thick socks or shoes when we come back home from outside in the winter. On the other hand, in America there is just heated air. That’s why people have to wear socks or shoes in the winter time to keep their feet warm. Most apartments offer carpet on the floor, but carpet makes people get allergies or breathe dirty air.

Secondly, Ondol makes people relaxed, stretch out and it promotes good health. People might get stress from their school or work, so they want to relax and forget about work or homework when they have free time. In Korea, my friends and I used to go out to nice restaurants or bars after work. When we went there, we could choose the rooms between sitting on chairs and sitting on the floor. We always chose in-floor-heating rooms because we wanted to relax and stretch out our tired legs. Eating and drinking on the warm floor also helps promote the circulation of the blood well.  There is just one bad thing about Ondol. People have to control the speed of their drinking because the warm floor makes people get drunk easily. Even though you are drunk, you don’t need to worry about that. You can lie down on the warm floor and then take a nap. In contrast in United States, there aren’t in-floor-heating systems, so people have to sit on chairs. It isn’t comfortable at all to me. Sitting on the warm floor as close to each other makes people feel closer than sitting on chairs.

These days, I am missing Ondol a lot. As the weather is getting colder, I would like to lie down on the warm floor and take a rest with my family and friends. There are electric blankets in Korean market. One day, I bought an electric blanket and spread it out on the floor and lay down on the blanket. I felt warm temperature, but it wasn’t same as Ondol in Korea. Maybe, what I truly miss is my family and friends, not just the warm temperature.

In conclusion, the warm floor is not just a warm floor. It is my home and memories with my family and friends. Americans may not understand about Koreans’ sentiments which are very deep and strong. Sometimes, people say that Americans have a cold heart. Of course, many American are very nice, but sometimes they don’t want people to show their true mind. If they install in-floor-heating in their houses, they would understand Koreans’ sentiments.

Between “Courtesy” and “Manner”

Have you ever heard about the country of courteous people in the East? I am a native Korean, so I’m not sure this expression is common among Americans or not. But courtesy customs are very common and one of the most valuable virtues in Korean society. The meanings of courtesy and manner are a little bit different. I think manner is more familiar with Americans, and courtesy is more matched with Korean culture. I’ve lived in the United States since last March and have run into some troubles between two words and perhaps two worlds.

Even if I live in this country for twenty years, I will not think about myself without Korean culture. It is absolutely more familiar to me than other cultures because Korean culture was already seeped into my bones too deeply. When I first arrived here, American culture was strange to me. Especially saying hello to unfamiliar person was too hard. In my country, sometimes saying hello or smiling to stranger can look ridiculers. We are accustomed to bowing to older people that we know instead of saying hello. The courtesy to someone who I know is much more important than manners to Korean. Sometimes behavior which is caused by the customs of my country often comes out while I’m unconscious. When I just came, I used to bow to American teachers without even realizing it, and I wasn’t familiar with saying hello. However now I know the greeting manners of America are so helpful to make new relationships.

In connection with the customs of bowing, Koreans usually ask someone’s age when they meet them at first. An American who has Korean friends might have experienced that. And they might feel bad about the question, but it is just a custom in Korea. We have to bow to older people and behave more politely with honor which is a different form of language as a mark of respect. As I said, courtesy is one of the most valuable virtues in my country, so nobody wants to seem like a rude person. Since I arrived in the States, I’ve tried to not to ask people’s age, because I know it is a discourtesy, before getting close. But humorously, it is still a curious part when I meet someone new. And it is still an important and common question between Koreans even if they are in America.

The strict hierarchy of Koreans also makes me confused to compare with strong belief in equality of Americans. As time goes by, I’ve met a lot of friends from all over the world. And I feel different culture and language don’t matter to be friends. But I actually haven’t met many Korean friends so far. I’ve met only five or six friends from Korea. Because we don’t call older people Friends. Friends mean just the same age people in my country. Instead, we have our own terms for older men and women, and Korean uses the words instead of saying the real name. In fact, it is natural to call the name of someone if he is a foreigner, and I know a Brazilian friend who is thirty-six years old. I’ve never imagined having a friend who has a wide gap in Korea. However in America, the age is not important when forming friendships. Partly because of this strong belief in equality, Americans may seem very informality. But treating people without honor or specific terms can make better friendship easily. People in America don’t have any authority of their position and age, so I think they have wider relationships without any prejudice.

This is not to mention that one culture is more polite or better. I know every culture has their value, and I respect each culture. As an international student, I have run into some troubles between two cultures and have had a lot of realizations. Furthermore, I’m certain to experience more problems in future. When I go back to my country, I may live as if nothing ever happened, but living in another culture and my realizations in America must be making me to have a broad perspective. And even if these experiences bring some difficult situations, I will keep my culture close and not lose the Korean part of my identity.