First Post

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I am starting my blog for Intercultural Communications....

....so I suppose I should kind of introduce it, or talk about things that culturally affect me?

I think one topic that might come up for me a lot while writing this blog is kind of the dichotomy that exists for me when I live in the US as a Korean citizen. I don't think I ever thought about it in terms of intercultural communication specifically and consciously. Mainly, it was just something that I encountered everyday, so I got used to it. But that's the point, right? It's everywhere.

Sometimes, when there's a situation that seems to affect just me as a Korean, I notice it more. For instance, a lot of my friends tell me they think my mom is rrreally strict. And I agree! No sleepovers, no going out for fun on weekdays, and if anyone is going to come over, I better clean the house for five hours the day before they come. And when I tell my mom about it, like "Hey, Mom, most people don't care if our house has absolutely NO DUST in it...." her response is complete surprise or a semi-resistance. "We're Korean. So we will be living by Korean rules."

Okay. It makes me wonder how possible it is for someone to take on two cultures at once. Acculturation happens for everyone, I'm sure, but to what degree? For my mom, her Korean values are going strong. i think the only thing she's paaartially adjusted to is American food. And some language. but for me, from going to school and things like that, I've adopted a lot of American ideas! I like the idea of Individualism, I like a lot of the US justice system, and I'm used to US emphasis on being "well-rounded": studying coupled with sports, hobbies, community service, other things. I think I'm almost half and half, but it's to a point where I start thinking that I'm getting quite hypocritical. I like the Korean tradition of being highly respectful to elders, I think it's nice, but when I argue with my Mom she says I've become Americanized and that I don't know how to respect elders at all.....That sort of thing kind of tells me that I might have the wrong perception of the Korean values I like.....

But hopefully this sort of thing will clear up as I think about it more in the context of intercultural communication? :)