Culture Shock.. Korea -> USA

Man.. I have been in US for 16 years now.. I even clearly remember the date when I left Korea, July 23rd 1993 that is. Even till this day, I still think that has been the biggest day of my life that turned my life upside down, in a good way. (damn it.. but i still speak like I only have been in this country for couple years... -_-)..

Yesterday during spontaneous tweetup among @djteknokid @mikechapman and @mlfnow, I had chance to talk about the culture shocks. What have been the biggest culture shocks in my 16 yrs of experience in US? Because I indirectly experienced US culture, like everyone else, through Hollywood movies, fast foods, and other popular brands such as Nike and Coca Cola, I was able to have sneak peek at the US culture that I was going to experience for the rest of my life. Because of the US pop culture, I did not get to experience the same level of culture shock that the Americans have when they visit other part of the world outside of US. But there is no way the pop culture alone can portray the entire US culture, and of course I had culture shocks of my own.

My top 10

1. 7.11 Big Gulp... when I first saw the size of this drink, I first though it was to feed the entire family.
2. Size of regular soda can... it's almost half the size in Korea ( post picture here!)
3. Amount of Food in 1 serving.. food again!
4. Kindness.. ppl were saying hello and good morning to a complete stranger!
5. Make up and Short skirt to school.. unthinkable in HS back in Korea
6. HS Kids driving.. impossible in Korea!
7. Math classes being a joke.. This was probably the hardest subject for me in Korea, but it became my favorite subject in US.
8. Tip & Tax.. what is this again?
9. Commercial breaks during a show.. There is no commercial interruption during a show in Korea. But the commercial breaks are much longer in between shows.
10. Street Fighter 2.. I was being called cheap and dirty in US because I was doing "jab jab throw. jab jab throw"... that was perfectly fine in Korea Share