I am a newbie to American culture, to American life. As an international student, life in the United States manages to give me both a hard time and teach me hard lessons. For a student who has come from across the Pacific, everything is different. 

My world, as I knew it, was filled with Koreans, Koreans, Koreans. It was my Earth, except for when I was in Canada from 2006 to 2008, but I was too young to know anything then. My experience with the United States was through vacations, when I’d travel around the coasts of the country with my family. 

From the smallest things, such as the food, to the largest things, like the culture, what must be natural for most of the U.S.-born students at the University is refreshingly foreign for most international students. And there are many things a newbie like me sees in his new world.

Back in Korea, I’d read books about the United States, so I had a preestablished belief that freedom was important to Americans. And I wasn’t wrong; for the short time I’ve been here, I’ve seen the little aspects of life that show Americans’ love for liberty. Every person has the right to do what he or she wants, although of course within the parameters of the law. Meaning, people don’t seem to worry as much about others watching them, quite unlike back in my home country, where people are always aware of one another.

To me, this principle of freedom seems to be the foundation of American culture, with peoples’ mindsets also focused on freedom. Even University life is freer than I had expected. Class attendance isn’t as strictly mandated as in high school. Although such characteristics may not be the domain of only universities in the U.S., I couldn’t help but notice the vastly liberated yet controlled environment here that students in South Korea could not experience. 

These weren’t the only differences I noticed.

Unlike where I’m from, people with disabilities find it much easier to move around on this campus, with automatic doors and kneeling buses. Unlike where I’m from, bike paths are much more organized here. And unlike where I’m from, people do not need to rely on traffic lights at every single junction to prevent car accidents. 

So I was impressed with American culture. With an emphasis on was.

Now, I am not so sure. I’m beginning to think what had impressed me so much was actually just what is natural in the culture. Maybe there is nothing to be impressed by here in the United States; this is essentially just another culture in just another part of the world. Feeling so awestruck at what is normal for the more than 300 million people living in the United States is more characteristic of a tourist than a student.

Up until now, I’d been living in a country where only a small portion of public transportation was equipped with facilities for people with disabilities, and where people worried more about how they might look to others. And I was perfectly happy, completely ignorant to how such a system could limit freedom. 

I had failed to see the deeper meaning of the shirtless joggers and automatic doors on virtually every building on campus. It was something unseen in South Korea. Everybody there is expected to walk easily and wear a shirt when going outside, and I’d never thought those things could be the shackles limiting our own freedom. 

These things are different from laws; laws are meant to keep people’s freedom from stretching too far and hindering others’ freedom. But the culture of South Korea is such that citizens limit their own freedom in a way, but not necessarily in a bad way. It is just different.

My experience in the U.S. is no longer all about being impressed by the new culture; it’s more about learning lessons from everyday aspects of life. 

Of course, I’m not saying that my country is a land of boring idiots. I’m proud of my country, and there are many things the U.S. could learn from South Korea. But I am here to learn, and I am learning from the everyday, humdrum lives of Americans.

I’ll get used to this life of what I saw to be based on freedom and respect, of caring for the minorities. But stop signs, buses and bike paths are not all that touch my perspectives. I could go on and on about the differences.

Yes, I think of myself as a newbie. Everything I’d considered natural isn’t necessarily natural in this place, and I’m learning over again what people here consider obvious. And though the differences are overwhelming, I could get used to them. 

Yunjo is a freshman in Engineering. He can be reached at opinions@dailyillini.com.