This week we're looking at what causes cultural differences and how people react to them.
1. Skim
DeCapua & Wintergerst, pp 108-116 and respond to Blog Question 1
4. Respond to Blog Question 2
5. Prepare
an interactive presentation on your assigned Cultural Dimension
Cultural Dimensions Presentations Groups:
Power Distance – Jasper, Jeff
Uncertainty Avoidance – Laura, John, Lawrence
Masculinity/Femininity – David, Dee Dee, Amy
Individualism/Collectivism – Liz, Kevan
Presentation Guidelines:
- Keep it brief (less than 10 minutes)
- Summarize main points
- Make it interactive – ask questions that allow your classmates to personalize the content
Blog Question 1) Describe and reflect on your
experience playing the "5 Tricks" card game. Some questions to think
about: What emotional responses (cultural "attitudes") did you
experience? How did you deal with them? Based on the concepts and ideas from
last week's reading and our class discussions, why do you think you had those
emotional reactions? What did you learn from the experience (if anything)? How
might this experience be important to you as a teacher? Might an activity like
this be useful for your students? If so, how would you adapt it?
Blog Question 2) Briefly state what stage of the DMIS best describes you in Korea right now?
ICC Week 4 - Here is my response to the first question:
ReplyDeleteBefore we even started playing the card game, I was uncomfortable as I did not have a chance to thoroughly read and understand the rules and had to go with the “flow”. The feeling was quite similar to what I had experienced when first relocated to Singapore from the USA: not knowing the belief systems, values, cultural norms and attitudes there. I just knew that all these concepts would be different. I had no choice but to go with it. I tried to learn as opportunities presented themselves and ultimately at the two-year mark, had a relatively good understanding of these concepts, at least the ones which concerned me as far as living and working in Singapore successfully.
I was also surprised to find out that different groups had different rules to play by. I realized this when a new member was introduced to our group and I noticed he was surprised when he realized that diamonds were the trumps at our table. Relating this to my experience living in Singapore as an expatriate, I would say that it is in one’s best interest not to have any assumptions about the new culture being introduced to, expect that there would be differences, to a small extent with regards to some aspects and a great extent with regards to others, and try to understand the new culture to function well in it. Otherwise, one may end up prolonging the length of and increase the severity of the degree of the culture shock experienced.
These emotional reactions, I believe, are caused by the unknowns, question marks one has with regards to the values, beliefs, attitudes and norms of the new culture one is introduced into as a member, differences in subjective culture as referred to by DeCapua and Wintererst and as coined by Triandis. I surely think that differences in more obvious things such as food, dressing, transportation, etc., “objective culture”, play a role as well.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteICC Week 4 - Response to the first question (continued):
ReplyDeleteIf, as teachers, we have firsthand experienced culture shock and are equipped with the knowledge to recognize different stages with which it manifests itself, this would enable us to help our students, who may be suffering from culture shock. We would be able to anticipate how they may be feeling, obstacles they may be experiencing as most likely we have been there and done that. Looking at it from another perspective, I believe that going through such an experience makes us stronger in certain ways, sharpens our judgment and even makes us appreciate our families, friends living back in our home countries more. Personally, as a result, I have also grown to cherish every positive thing I experience daily no matter how small. This positivity and personal growth helped me in several ways when I moved from Singapore to Korea.
An activity like this would definitely be helpful for my students. As we would all admit Korea is not as multi-cultural as some other countries such as Singapore and Australia. But, it is changing rapidly as more and more expatriates are choosing to live and work here. Students I am teaching are a bit less fortunate in the sense that they are living in a small town as opposed to those living in Seoul, who have regular opportunities to interact with people from different cultures and get clues about how people from different culture have different values, norms, beliefs, expectations, rules by which they “play”. Beginning to realize that and increase tolerance towards “others’” ways of doing things, would enable my students be more open-minded, understand people from different cultures better and would help them when they are in others’ shoes, if they decide to study overseas later at some point. I believe that this card game or another activity like this would bring across these points. I may consider, however, changing the activity a little to include group effort whereby two groups (three students per group) would be required to work together for a prize (stickers, juice, etc.). Moreover, I would find a way of making sure that after each game one student from each group would change places. I would also make sure that two groups would have slightly different rules similar to our classroom case. By having them work together to compete as a group, I would hope to make them realize “the big picture”, how we need to make it work together and we can create harmony though we may have our differences.
ICC Week 4 - My response to the second question:
ReplyDeleteI believe that considering Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity I am in the “adaptation” stage in Korea right now. Through living in Singapore for about five years and after being here for about two and a half years, I am able to look at world through a different set of eyes. I believe that I am improving my skills for communicating and interacting with Korean people. I also do believe that I am able to be at this stage in a relatively short period of time with my husband’s and his family’s support. I feel that overall I am able to successfully function in this culture.
My response to Q1
ReplyDeleteI really had fun playing the '5 Tricks' card game. I like card games and played many growing up as a child. So I was excited to play!
As we began, I know I was nervous because I like playing cards, and I feel like I'm good at them, so I didn't want to been seen as someone dense or slow if I didn't understand the rules. The added dimension of not being able to talk made things a little more exciting, but also, I felt a little more anxious wondering if I was going to be able to read the instructions fast enough, AND whether I'd be able to understand them. John and I read the instructions first, and I remember feeling a little stressed when he signaled a "are you done reading?" message at me...and I wasn't done! After that, I skimmed through it and hurried to pass it over to Dee Dee and Jasper. I must admit, I realized that I had played a version of the game before, so I went into the first game feeling good.
As we played the first game, I was a little nervous, but I lightened up once I realized that my group seemed to be 'on the same page' as me. I enjoyed playing the first two rounds at my table. I would class our first 2 rounds as the honeymoon phase. I was settled and into the game, and had won a few hands.
John left our group and David joined, and again, I feel as though the rounds went well, but also because Dee Dee and Jasper and I seemed to be playing well enough. I remember David seeming a little 'off' but I assumed he maybe hadn't quite settled into the game (Sorry David, for my stupid assumption!) I remember him playing strange cards...or rather, cards that I didn't think made much sense.
When reflecting on this time, I would definitely see Dee Dee and Jasper as my 'support network' who helped me feel comfortable.
When I moved tables, after winning, I definitely started feeling out of my comfort zone. Even though John was in the group, and he had been in my original group, I felt like I had been moved somewhere where I had to prove myself. As we started to deal...John tried signaling something to me...and I didn't really understand what he was saying...Laura was quiet... and I felt like there was something going on that I wasn't included in. I felt as though I wasn't privy to some information they both had. When we started playing, I felt like things were weird. We played one round and something happened - I know I lost, but if I remember correctly, Laura won, but in a way that didn't make sense. And I remember thinking "Wait - that's not right..." but the cards were being dealt again, and I felt like it was happening really fast... and I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. This was definitely the second stage of culture shock. I felt left out, confused, unable to communicate my feelings and stupid...because I kept losing. I don't think I felt a support network at all, even though John was in my group before - I guess I thought of him as "a citizen of table 2."
I think the game was definitely a good way of reminding me of how my children feel, at times, in my classroom. I know that there are times when they feel uncomfortable, and I don't always acknowledge their confusion. Or rather, I try and encourage them to keep going, rather than listen to them. When I wasn't able to share my confusion with John and Laura, I felt awful. Like an outisder. Also, I think the game highlighted how important it is to have a support network. As a teacher, I think it is important to create a safe learning environment where children feel they are taken care of, listened to, and supported.
At this moment, I'm not sure if I would be able to introduce this game to my children, because they're a little young (and competitive), but I think it would be a useful exercise to do as a teaching team with my co-teachers. I think it would be a good experience for both native and bilingual teachers to go through.
I was excited to play the 5 tricks card game right off the bat because (our) version of the rules is basically Euchre, without trump/partners. Easy. So I was just trying to win, and when I did, since I knew the game so well...when things were different at the next table, I sort've shrugged and assumed that they just didn't know the game well. For instance, Elizabeth dealt 5 cards to Kevan and I, but like 7 to herself.
ReplyDeleteBut then when I won and switched to the 3rd table, i had junk cards and was just throwing off, not really paying attention- I didn't even notice a difference of rules.
I was legitimately surprised to find out we all had a different rule sheet. I would be interested to see what the rule differences were and reflect back, watching a video of the game would be funny.
q.2
I would have to say that I am at the integration stage of Bennett's Ethnorelative stages.
I first moved away from London, Ontario when I was 22, was in Cheongju for a year, then I went to Kobe, Japan for what was supposed to be a year, but I was quite miserable so I left after 7 months, back to Canada. I was enamoured with Korea, and wanted to go back. I've now been here since 2008.
I have since been on what can only be described as a roller-coaster of experience which this blog comment simply could not contain.
There are things I love about Korea, and things I can't stand. I was married to a Korean and am now divorced. I always say about Koreans :The ones I know personally are great, and would do anything for me. All the strangers in the street/subway/anywhere~ push my buttons".
But one thing is for sure, I have serious issues with Western culture too. Issues that have me on a path which seems to continue in Asia. My 10+ trips to Philippines/Thailand, and love for south-east asian laid back culture, has changed me in a way that leaves me not belonging to any culture of this world, and I'm okay with that.
My response to Q2
ReplyDeleteAccording to Bennet's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, I believe I am in the 'Adaptation' phase. I've been living in Korea for almost seven years, and I can definitely say that I feel as though I hold a sort of 'dual' culture. I feel that I am able to approach situations in Korea from both a South African, as well as a Korean perspective. Having worked closely with Korean colleagues during my time here, I feel I have been introduced to, and learned so many things about Korean culture, including beliefs and values. I also believe that my many of my colleagues and friends have welcomed me into their culture, and even their homes and celebrations etc. and by doing so, have extended an invitation into their culture, which I believe I have accepted very willingly. This means that I often find myself thinking about situations or problems from 'both sides.' Specifically at work, being part of the foreign management team, I always try to approach decision-making and/or problem solving from both a 'foreign' and 'Korean' perspective. When I think about it, I feel lucky to be able to have two perspectives from which to process the world.
The card game at the end of class was a great activity. My first impression was that it was to experience the process of learning a new culture hence the no talking. Not being able to talk represented “communication gap” between cultures and then we had to try to bridge those gaps through the game, being able to communicate without being able to communicate. Which, my group had done very successfully.
ReplyDeleteThen it was time to switch and move to another group. Since I had won, I left my group (my culture) and moved to the other group (new culture). We started the game in the same manner as my previous group (my culture), everything felt the same until Jeff stole my trick. (To me it felt like he had stole it, based on what I had learned from my group (enculturation), but to him, he had done nothing wrong)
I had laid down a trump card, which back at my group was a winning card. I became very confused (culture shock) because of this and started to jester that I had won. But couldn’t make myself clear about what had just happen due the inability to talk. I decided to just go with it and keep playing.
On the next hand it had happened again. This time I didn’t want to give up my cards as easy as before. I signed that the cards should be mine, but Laura and Jeff (people from the other culture) made it clear that I was wrong. I felt sure that I was right, that’s what I had previously learned/played in my group (enculturation). At this time I stopped and looked for the sheet that had the rules on it to show them, which was also very difficult/ impossible again due to the lack of ability to communicate. I then remembered Adam had collected them earlier and I couldn’t see the rules. This is when I realized what was going on, I wasn’t playing the same game at this table (the new culture).
After I had realized this, I just went with the flow trying to play the best that I could, using/incorporating the rules (norms from my previous group (culture), while trying to reading and understand the other members of the new group (acculturation).
When it was time to change again, Jeff had the most tricks and moved to another group. Amy from my first group had won, so she came over to the table. By this time we played one hand and it was time to finish. Once we were able to talk I had found out that in their instructions, they had no trump cards, but everything else was the same. Due to the similarity in rules it was easy for me to figure (adjust) out the game (low culture shock due to lack of cultural distance) than it would have been if all the rules were completely different.
One thing that I found very interesting was what Laura said at the end of the game. She commented about why Amy and I hadn’t just started playing with our own rules since we were from the same first group (culture) and out numbered her. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. I guess it would be wrong because I moved to her table and I was the guest, so I had to play by her rules (norms).
This is exactly the reason I don’t force my cultural norms, beliefs, values and attitude on others while in their cultural. Crazy that you can get all of this out of a simple card activity! I think that this would be an amazing and useful can for students. If I were to change anything, I would make one of the group games completely different for to portray cultural distance.
Q2
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard question to answer… But using Bennett’s model I believe that I would fall somewhere in/or just entering the integration stage. I know that I haven’t been here as close to as many years as some, but I definitely feel like I notice when I am shifting my actions due to the fact that if I hadn’t it would go against the cultures norms. On the flip side of this, I still keep my views and values as what’s appropriate and won’t act against them, even if they are accepted. I’ve been asked before about between the two cultures, which one I like the best. I always answer that I can’t pick. There are both good and bad things from both that I agree and disagree with. I want to take the good from both and make my own little sub-culture. Then I could always be happy and not have to deal with these stages at all!
Q1) Playing the card game was an interesting experience. First we started off by trying to understand the game by reading the instructions. We seemed to get off to a good start. We were learning together and I felt we were getting more comfortable with each other as we got more used to the game. I felt a little pressured at first, trying to read the instructions, while others seemed to have understood, while having additional pressure of time. But I decided to just “go with the flow” and see what happens. I thought if I had any questions, I can just refer back to the card. But after the card was taken away, I was a little worried. However, after playing a couple of rounds, I got more comfortable with it. This part of the game seems like the honeymoon or tourist phase of culture shock. You first feel excited about the game, trying to learn the new rules, and trying to win.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when we switched groups, it felt as if a member of our group was gone. A new person of a different group, or culture, had joined. For the next 2 rounds, I had one member who was with me from the beginning. New members joined the group and they seemed to do well fitting into the group. This is where confusion set in. I realized that the new members had different rules from their previous group, which I expected. This got me more confused too because we encountered a problem that we didn’t encounter with our first group, which was what happens when we don’t have the same suit of cards that we are supposed to put down. I think this would be the second stage of culture shock: adjustment or acculturation stage.
I think this game can help me understand more of what students would feel in a classroom. They would bombarded with instructions and work and they are expected to know how to do it and complete it. If you don’t understand it, then you “lose.” New students would not understand what to do, but are expected to join the rest of the group and follow along without explanations. You have to just follow along and learn for yourself.
Also, students could learn about different cultures and how people would feel in the classroom. For my lower aged students, I think this game would have to be played longer so that they can experience it more.
Q2) I would describe myself in the integration stage of Bennett’s DMIS. As a Korean-Canadian, or kyopo, I understand both cultures. I was born and raised in Canada but had strong Korean connections. Even as a kyopo, I had stronger influences in the Korean culture than other kyopo’s. Before moving to Korea, I felt I was always a “Korean-Canadian.” Kyopo’s have a strong Korean pride and I feel it got stronger after moving here. But I know I will always be Canadian. With my experience, I understand people from both cultures, and understand people who are “in-between” cultures.
Answer to Question 1:
ReplyDeleteThe card game was great. I am not a particularly skilled card player, but I enjoy a good game if one presents itself. Kevan and Liz were fun to play with, and after reading the rules, coupled with grunts and hand gestures the game was underway. We got into a fairly steady rhythm, and I was surprised to find myself the winner. Having been puffed up a little bit by this, I went to the next table. The game started off similiar to our table, so I thought nothing of it at first. As the round began I started to realize that something was off. I would play cards and get confused looks from the other people at the table. Dee Dee, Jasper and Amy knew something that I didn't, and that caused me to take notice. At my home table, the Ace was a trump card. I would enthusiastically play my aces, expecting to be winner, but the other players were confused and let me know that this was not the case.
After being told that there were different rules for each table, I thought it was interesting and on reflection it made me realize something. I had automatically assumed that the rules were the same at the next table and all the other tables. Why did I do that? There was no reason for me to make that assumption necessarily. These two years in Korea have been my only real experience living abroad. I was here as a soldier, but I was part of the military community, which like an embassy makes their little patch of real estate "America" with some Korean vendors and odds and ends from outside the walls. The United States is such a vast place, and American culture so widely exported, it is easy to walk around in that bubble. I will talk about another example. At the EPIK orientation, I was talking with some other foreign teachers about little fun facts about Korea. I quipped that "Yeah, it is the size of Indiana." None of the teachers in this particular group were Americans....they were all Canadians, with one Australian. One of them bluntly told me that they didn't know a thing about Indiana.
My point is that when one get's comfortable than these subconscious expectations can come to the surface. The person may not even realize that they are there, but it can become apparent when anger sets in because Koreans (or anybody else) "do things wrong" or unfavorable comparisons to your own culture set in. I expected the Ace to be a trump card, and when it wasn't that knocked me out of whack. I lost focus and while I am an affable person, long term repeats of my Ace card being rejected will get to me. That is where adjustment comes in. Culture Shock handled improperly can lead to disillusionment and bitterness. People are people, and the human factor should never be ignored or diminished. I definitely have had to humble myself in my interactions in this country. The world is not America, and realizing that has made my sleep at night a whole lot better.
Answer the question 2:
ReplyDeleteI would see myself as a mixture between acceptance and adaptation, at least when it comes to Korea. I am not comfortable with the term "relativism" as I think diluting one's own values and principles in the name of "multiculturalism" would be a disservice to my own culture and theirs. Not everything they do is great, and not everything we do is great. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is sound advice anywhere you go. There is a lot I admire about Korea, and some things I don't like at all. I will not "accept" those things I don't like, but rather accept that it isn't my place to change them or make any demands of the same. I feel the same about my own country. I would much rather focus on the good I can do, and how I can be a good neighbor and guest.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteQuestion 1
ReplyDeleteI quite enjoyed the card game. I mentioned it to some of the Elementary Teachers I am teaching now and they thought it might be good for their classes on culture.
Firstly, I need to describe myself a little before I answer.
Some key points about my character:
a - I have strong attitudes and beliefs but I do not feel that they are necessarily the best or most correct. I am flexible in regards to adapting or changing them.
b - I try not to sweat the small stuff. In other words, I never let some problems become big problems.
c - After traveling the world, living in four countries, having friends and girlfriends from all over the world I learned one key truth. It is that there are good and bad people in every country and culture. In general, most of what people want is the same from culture to culture and country to country (food, shelter, love, etc.).
I have found that many Canadians but not all often feel the same way as we grew up in a multicultural society with an emphasis on good public manners. As a result public racism has, in my opinion, has largely disappeared, and good public manners allow us to go about our daily routine without much conflict.
However, I am not sure how much is just me or how much of my response is based on my family/community/country attitudes.
I did notice that both Liz and I did not get upset when our new partner had different rules. For me: since the game was not important but fun I did not care whether I won or lost and/or whether the rules changed.
Alternatively, I was too tired to worry.
Yes, this could be a good activity for helping students to deal with changes in rules and/or culture. How would they react? It would be interesting to see but hopefully no fights would break-out.
I could adapt it by making it an activity of how to deal with stress with native speakers and/or second language learners. It would be useful in teaching them how to react in a positive manner to changes in the environment around them. We could see which students have good strategies with dealing with negative change. As a result we could have a discussion on ho to deal with stress and solicit students' different ideas for resolving/reducing stress.
Question 2
ReplyDeleteI think my answer to question one gave away (or foreshadowed) my answer for this question.
It was:
"After traveling the world, living in four countries, having friends and girlfriends from all over the world I learned one key truth. It is that there are good and bad people in every country and culture. In general, most of what people want is the same from culture to culture and country to country (food, shelter, love, etc.)."
This would put me into the MINIMIZATION stage.
Part of the reason I feel this way is that my best friends in Korea are Korean. In addition, my circle of friends that are not Korean are a Russian couple, a Canadian friend working in Seoul and an American friend who has lived here for 15 years. Otherwise, I have many many good Korean friends who I love very much. I have even met their parents and grandparents. Also, I have eaten meals in their homes. Some of my close friends wish I would marry and settle down here and not leave.
I have other good friends in China, and Vietnam too.
I would never say that Canadian culture is better than Korean as I feel that both cultures have good and bad traits. Furthermore, I find that with time and globalization the differences are getting smaller. The younger generation, 35 and younger, tends to have an outlook similar to me and that is why most of my friends are younger than me. I should add that all of my friends are highly educated so that affects their outlook on the world.
Despite speaking Korean at a high beginner level (or low intermediate) I have found my niche in Korea. Most of the time I love it here even though I miss my family in Canada.
The only thing that does cause stress for me here is public manners. Coming from a society where public manners are very important it is difficult adapting to this part of Korea. Even after ten years! But I will say that over time it is becoming more like Japan or Singapore - but slowly.
Lastly, I had very little culture shock when I came here.
Why? First of all, due to my co-workers at Suncheon National University. They really helped me adapt. They gave me advice on how to live in Suncheon and how to teach in Korea. Second, Vancouver has a large Asian population. I was use to eating Chinese and hearing it as well. Sometimes my culture and the Asian culture would clash in Vancouver. Therefore, I learned to chill out and not get upset too quickly when misunderstandings occurred.
Peace :)
Q1:
ReplyDeleteMy emotional response to playing the "5 tricks" game was almost pure avoidance and shame. In the beginning of the game I was okay with playing with the others, because it seemed like we were learning the rules together and I could argue my point or ask a question about it and people would take time to understand who was the winner.
When we switched, I couldn't articulate why I thought I was putting down the right card and I got two different responses from the people at my table. I didn't know who to go with, because they both seemed to be wrong, but I was also wrong! I just ended up giving up and agreeing with whatever the people who came to my table pointed to being the correct card. I didn't care about winning, I just wanted the game to finish.
When I was passing out the cards one time, Adam came over and said something along the lines of (not exactly, I don't remember exactly) "the amount of cards isn't important, just play", I just stopped dealing and I couldn't explain to the others in my group that I wanted to move the game along because I felt I was told to. I got a little scared about messing up the game and just let others win and let others choose my cards, because I thought I couldn't choose the correct cards to play and didn't know how to argue that I thought they put the wrong ones down.
In the end I just gave up and let others tell me what was correct so I wouldn't make anyone upset or ruin the game.
I had those responses because I felt weird and awkward in the game. I didn't like that feeling of not knowing what to do naturally. At our table I thought that I was wrong, so I just assumed that others knew the rules better. If they knew the rules better, I should just follow them and I would be able to become more naturally assimilated into the game.
This didn't work out, due to the constant changing or partners, but it is what I thought would happen.
I tend to do this in Korea as well. I try not to upset anyone if I am in a new situation. I assume that everyone else has a better understanding and if I watch and listen to them I can eventually understand where I am and what I can do.
I understand how my students feel when they give up in English. They probably don't want to "mess up" the class and feel like if they speak it will be met with a feeling of "oh, you ruined the game".
As a teacher I should remember that students like me exist where we will just take what is said or told to us at face value, if we have no way to question it. (such as not being able to question it in English.)
As a teacher, I could use this game, but as other people have posted it would probably result in fights. I have done charades and that is a very tricky game for them too. "That's not how you fake having a fever! THIS IS!" I would have to find a simpler version for my students. I would have to have a smaller classroom.
For question 2, I believe i am in the stage of acceptance.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am presented with a different situation than I am used to, I try and find the meaning behind it in the culture.
For example:
Me: Why do we have to go out drinking with our co-workers for the meeting?
CT: It's to build a sense of community in our school.
Me: Thank you for explaining. Usually I wouldn't do this back home, so I didn't understand.
When it comes to most things I try to adapt to the culture around me, so that I can better understand it.
I will admit that in some cases I am defensive, but only when the base values I have are in direct opposition. (such as the use of corporal punishment, or the view of mental health issues) In those cases I will be defensive and act against the grain of the culture, but in most other cases I will try to understand why the culture I am in views the situation as they do.
As Kevan has said, I wouldn't view my culture as better than Korean culture. They are simply different. One country may excel at one thing and one will excel in another, but that doesn't make one better in my mind.
When we did the card game, I was surprised that even after two members of another table with different rules were at my table, we still played by my rules. John tried to challenge us and we (Jeff and I) held firm to what was supposed to happen. I did not realize I have become a strong person. Living in Korea has changed me. I now am more assertive. Amy was not taking score so I did it for her. She was completely confused. If we had been able to talk, the conflict would have been immediately evident. Communication is key. This year, I am teaching little ones who speak no English. I have resorted to using Korean when I need to clarify something, like why they should not do something dangerous. The power struggle ceases when I use their language. If I were to play this with my highest level class, I would hope this activity would show them how important body language and non-verbal communication are. Still, I am not sure they could understand the rules if they were in English. Maybe, there should only be a few rules to ensure speedy understanding.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2
ReplyDeleteI would say after eight years in Korea, I'm in the adaptation phase. My grasp on Korean is livable and I can navigate the ins and outs of most situations quite easily. On the other hand, I cried the other day in my language exchange (how embarrassing) because I got so frustrated. I'm studying for the intermediate TOPIK trying to get my F2 visa and my partner told me the grammar point I was practicing wasn't used much. The fact that I spend so much time trying to learn the language and still can't communicate above a certain level makes me feel helpless. Despite the length of my stay, I continue to struggle to tolerate certain behaviors. I get annoyed when walking the streets and people disregard my space. Rationally, I know they do this because it is what is acceptable and how they were raised. At the same time, I know if/when I return to America, I won't fit in there anymore. I feel afraid of the reverse culture shock I know is waiting. Additionally, if I move to Japan with my boyfriend, I'll have to start the process all over again. Korea is home for the foreseeable future.