A comparison of Korean and American food

I consider myself a big fan of food, and because I love eating so much, there really is not many kinds of food that I will not eat. Right off the top of my head, I can only think of two foods I will not eat, which are mushrooms and onions. I just can’t stand the rubbery texture of mushrooms, and do not find the taste very appealing. Onions taste bitter unless they are cooked, so I’ll only eat them if they are grilled. Now, being a Korean living in America, I got to have a taste of both cultures. Regarding food, I grew up eating Korean dishes because my mom cooks Korean food. But with all kinds of restaurants out, I got to compare the different foods. First of all, rice is a stable food for Korean dishes, and because I have become so accustomed to eating it, It sometimes bothers me when I eat some sort of food without it, particularly meat. For example, even when I go out to eat steak, I may want rice too. I guess the reason why I like rice is even it is bland, you can mix it with the flavors of other food, and get more to eat. It’s kind of like having a bottle of strong sweet tea, and pouring some water into it to sacrifice a little of it’s flavor for more tea. This may explain why I sometimes prefer quantity over quality. I would much rather eat until I am full than eat just a bit of really good food. Overall, I love food of all types of cultures, and I’ve never been much of a critic because I’m not picky. But to compare American food (which probably is more like a mix of foods from all cultures) and Korean food, I find that American food is generally more focused on bold, strong flavors with the usage of barbecue sauce and plenty of salt. Korean food is generally focused more on a variety of side-dishes to eat with the main entrée.

Culture Differences (New England and Georgia)

Since moving to Georgia, which I consider "the South," I have actually noticed many differences. The first most obvious thing that I noticed was that just about everyone in Georgia dresses very nice. People here seem to put a lot of emphasis on style and trends to express here whereas in Connecticut most people were completely fine with wearing a simple sweatshirt or hoodie and jeans. Even the adults here (not that adults cannot have style) seem to emphasize style a lot more here. I also noticed that many guys here generally have longer hair that the guys at my old school. Maybe it's another part to the style thing I mentioned earlier.

Another different cultural aspect here is what my friends call PDAs, meaning personal displays of affection. At my old school, it was guaranteed that you would see a couple kissing in the middle of the hallways each day. This drove one of my best friends crazy because he would say that they need to keep their affection out of school instead of blatantly kissing in front of everyone in the hallways. But now that I think of it, in the two months that I've been here, I have not once seen a couple kissing in the hallways, just hugging. Someone mentioned to me that our school has some religious influence, which may explain this. Though I know for sure that my best friend back in Connecticut would rather walk in Alpharetta High School's halls!

The last cultural difference that I just have to mention is something that I thought was silly, but I saw that it's in fact true. I did not expect to actually hear people say the world "y'all" with a country accent when I got here, but I've heard plenty of adults do it, even some kids.

Overall, I like it here in Georgia, but that might change once the summer heat comes around.