Back from the past

Arrived safely in Seoul yesterday. It's so tiring to be on a plane for 12 hours. Time managed to pass a little too quickly, per usual. I was quite busy having dinners and beers with friends, going to appointments, etc. The main highlight was my 3 day trip with my sister and brother-in-law to Monterey, which was very pretty and just how I remember it in times past.

An interesting psychological phenomenon that I've observed while on a plane is the following: passengers (yes, myself included) act much in the same way as dogs during the meal times. It's very strange. People wake up, others begin moving around. Soon everyone becomes so focused on "food" that they all but forget that they're flying 35,000 feet above the ground. People immediately dig in to their cheap, economy-class, microwaved chicken and rice like a weimaraner puppy on Christmas with a new kind of kibble.

I bought a lot of clothing in the US. Clothing shopping is one thing that is almost too overwhelming for a person like me. If I don't know the brand I want, I will literally walk through all the shops until I find the right style. Then, when I do finally choose a brand to go with, I need everything to be consistent -- if my clothing doesn't all match in the right way I won't buy it, or I will continually second guess my choices and go back and look again. Very silly, indeed.

I also bought a coffee maker with a delayed timer for the cool price of 25 bucks (to begin brewing my own coffee in the mornings). One thing my father pointed out that is missing from Korea is a reliable coffee franchise that serves good "drip" coffee before 7 in the morning (I'll get back to the importance of this time in a minute). Most coffee shops always tell me there's no hand drip coffee available at the time. Why? Because it takes too much effort to make and they only do it during the busiest hours of the day. Firstly, by that logic shouldn't it be the other way around -- only brew coffee during the slow hours because you have more time? Secondly, it's not rocket science to brew a cup of coffee. For starters, stop calling it "hand drip" -- that name alone sounds like you're squeezing the coffee beans with your damn hands or something.

Now, on to the time part. When my father visited during the week of 추석 (Chuseok), it was literally the laziest week for coffee shops. They were all closed for the holidays or opened very late in the morning, some as late as 10:30. This drove my father nuts because he woke up around 6-6:30. He had to sit around for a good 3-4 hours before he could actually go into a Starbucks or Cafe Bene. I didn't mind, but it was kind of funny to see my father's reaction, since he usually drinks his coffee right after he wakes up.

Didn't know what I had 'till I moved to Korea

I thought I was going to have a reverse culture shock when I came back to the US. I wouldn't describe my experience as that at all. I would say that I'm getting the chance to experience California (particularly my hometown, Davis) through a completely different lens. I've never had an "eye changer" quite like this before. I'm ashamed and almost a little embarassed -- I didn't realize how good I actually had things at home until now.

First off -- holy crap, am I American. And I never considered myself that American until now. I think I'm so American that it blinds me from understanding what's 'acceptable' and 'not acceptable' in Korea. It's no wonder I have such a hard time understanding Korean culture. I've been judging what's right and wrong -- good and bad -- in an American context, which simply doesn't make sense. I used to think I could completely accept a different culture other than my own, but now I see that crumbling.

Which leads me to a fundamental question: can one fully embrace (i.e., assimilate into) a different culture other than their own? For me, it doesn't seem possible anymore. I can try really hard. I can even pretend and appear to blend in. But in the end, I think there are too many traditions, values, and mannerisms from my culture that have shaped who I am, psychologically. I believe when we become adults, our native culture makes it all but impossible to become completely accustomed to others.