Pay It Forward

This weekend, Juliet introduced me to her young friend who she said I would have a lot in common with. She goes by the English name Jessica, and I did indeed get along with her quite well. She is extremely sweet and outgoing. She is 23 in "Korean" years, but she was born in 1988, making her 21 in "American" years. I will explain this whole age discrepancy some other time. She is still in college--or university as they call it here. When we got to talking, she explained to me that she studied for a year in Orange County, in California, at a small college. I prodded her with questions about her experience in the US, curious to see how her observations and culture shock compared to my own in coming here. Some of the things she pointed out:

"Food is so expensive! You have to tip and tax?! And you barely even get any food!"

"Everyone talks so fast and uses lots of words I don't know the meaning of (aka slang)." She congratulated me on my annunciation and slow pace several times.

"You are actually kind of slim. Most of my American friends are fat"

And finally, she talked about how cruel and impatient so many Americans were toward her. She told me that after that experience, she vowed to wholeheartedly help any foreigner she came across, as she had been in their shoes at one point. I am, in a way, benefitting from the fact that she was treated poorly by some asshole Californians because she now is proverbially taking me under her wing, planning all sorts of things to do together. However, I am not in the same position as she was when living in California. First of all, she spoke English, whereas I am worthless; I do not speak Korean. Secondly, the majority of Koreans I have interacted with have been nothing but genuinely kind. It's really kind of pathetic how unwilling we are to welcome foreigners into our circle unless they speak perfect English and are totally acclimated with western culture and norms. So now that Jessica has pointed out her mission after returning from California, I, following the guidelines of Haley Joel Osment, have no choice but to pay it forward when I return to the states.