Trisha CP #1

I found it difficult to know what to talk about because I didn't know what kind of person he was; if he was sporty or an intellectual. Since we met through Skype, and not naturally in a certain context, I didn't know what to expect. I began by just asking him what he likes to do for fun. I was very nervous when talking to Do-jun because I had never had a pen pal, if you will. In talking with Do-jun on Skype, I realized some things about my perceptions about cultural differences. The main thing that stands out to me is when I asked him how Koreans feel about Americans and westerners coming to Korea physically and how Koreans felt about western culture becoming a part of South Korea. His response was that they accept it because it is inevitable with our globalization and how connected we are with the internet and such, so it wasn't that you could ask like or dislike, it just was the way things were. I really liked how easily he embraced cultural change. We spoke more and I asked him where he was from and what Seoul and his home town was like. He described his home town as beautiful and Seoul as a big city, but with bad air. I liked that he brought it up because I care about the environment so it was nice to have something to talk about; a shared concern, if you will. There were times when I tried to be funny and was relieved when he laughed. Overall, it's daunting to talk to someone who has a completely different culture than me. I feel glad to open my perspective and find similarities and differences in people.