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A. People think differently from me. B. It taught me disagreements are unnecessary. C. It took a lot of listening, patience and effort. D. The comment was focused on my upbringing. E. He then asked what l would be studying here. F. I was excited and terrified but tried to act bravely. G. In a way, I'm thankful that I had to take those extra steps from the first day. |
I am a Korean-American growing up in Korea. My delayed first day at Wheaton College was my first time in the U.S. in more than 10 years.
From my first time eating at Chipotle to the endless variety of Scotch tapes on display at Target, culture shock affected me deeply. I was flooded with the rush of Starbucks caffeine (咖啡因).
On that first day to-do list was a job interview for a worker position. The interviewer asked where l was from. Seoul. English literature. He said, "Oh, you must be enthusiastic about coming all the way here to study English from Korea'!"
That comment annoyed me, in a way I couldn't describe then. It's clearer now: The interviewer was measuring my passion without knowing anything about me, only based on where l was coming from.
That interview was a small example of what came after that first day of college, but I hesitate to tell the story because some people who made ridiculously ignorant (无知的) comments ended up being my good friends. This wasn't easy. Through them, I learned to express my feelings clearly in words. To them, I owe this story.
We get to know some people and others we don't. We make decisions to involve in conversations or not. otherwise, I would have stayed in my bubble, meeting only people who say things that sound right.
