On November 28, 2004, my family and I left Incheon International Airport in Korea and arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Upon observing such a different environment, I knew my life would be very different. I did not fully grasp the differences until I attended my first American school.
I started going to school in January. In the midst of people foreign to me, there I was, waiting in a line to be served with my first lunch in an American school. Not knowing how lunch would turn out to be, I was fluttered and anxious to eat my first meal. I had read many books about schools in the United States, written by international students studying in United States. As a result, I had a vague idea about how my first lunch in American school would be like. And yet, when the time came, I was still somewhat nervous.
‘Hmmmm, I would love to have some pizza, chicken fingers, or hamburger. Oh, wait! What is that smell? It does not smell familiar to me. I doubt that I will be served with this food. What can it be?’
The rich, cheesy smell of nachos assailed my nostrils. I did not know what was producing this funky smell. The smell was not familiar to me. Having never experienced nachos, the unrecognizable smell aroused my curiosity and made me become eager to be served. When it became my turn, I received my food realizing it to be very different from what I had expected. The lunch menu of the day was hard-shell tacos with nachos. In Korea, people generally consume much less cheese than people here do, because it is too oily for them. My mother, a typical Korean housewife, refuses to use the suggested amount of butter and oil whenever she bakes or cooks, but on the other hand, she adds extra garlic or peppers. It did not take me long to discover that the big yellow dollops on the chips were cheese did not take me long, but it sure did take me by surprise. As a typical boy from Korea, I also disliked the excess amount of cheese poured onto salty chips. I was not sure if I would try it.
‘I do not think I will ever be able to eat this food. No matter how long I stay in United States, I do not think I will ever like this food. Richness of cheese and its funky smell will never appetite me!’
I had a Korean friend named Ji-Yong who was helping me survive my first day of American school. He led me to the table where his friends were gobbling down their lunch. At the table, there was a girl named Kayla. With blonde hair and blue eyes, she was so different from the people that I used to see in Korea. However, her appearance was not the only factor in which she differed from me. Reaching out her hand for nachos again and again, she clearly displayed her love for nachos. I tried the taco but I did not even look at the nachos. When she was finished with her nachos, she licked the cheese that had gotten on her fingers. My mother used to tell me never to lick something off my fingers because the fingers are one of the dirtiest parts of the body. After listening to her, I began to believe it unsanitary for one to lick something off one’s fingers.
‘Yuck! She is licking cheese off from her fingers! If my mother had seen her, she would have lectured her about how bad it is for her to do that!’
Honestly, I could not even stand the cheesy, oily smell of nachos. Not knowing this, my friend Ji-Yong and Kayla wanted me to try some of the nachos. Just as I expected, the taste of nachos was not satisfying. I regretted listening to them. After having tried some, I thought,
‘If I live in the United States for long enough, would I be able to enjoy nachos?’
Sitting at a table, surrounded by friends that looked so different from me and spoke a language that I was not used to, I felt very awkward. Just watching them having a great time finishing off their lunch, sucking on some cheese that had gotten on their fingers, further distanced me.
‘Would I be able to be a part of them? Even though we are so different?’
Now I have lived in United States for about 5 years; I have no fear of eating nachos. The taste and smell that was once unbearable to me are starting to become satisfying to me. My nostrils are no longer assailed by the smell, but instead gets tickled softly; my taste buds no longer recognize nachos as something that is too oily or tasteless but, instead, recognize it as something that is appetizing. Just like my nostrils and taste buds have adapted to the unexplored taste; I have adapted to the new life in United States. I have become friends with English-speaking people of other cultures. Also, I no longer freak out whenever someone licks food off his fingers. My roommate has blonde hair and green eyes, and I have black hair and brown eyes. However, my roommate and I are like brothers, no cultural differences bring any conflict between us. This weekend when I have nachos with my roommate, I am going to tell him about my little story behind nachos.
Nachos have taught me that, as an immigrant from Korea, there are going to be many cultural differences to be experienced and that I need to know how to overcome; most importantly, nachos taught me that the cultural difference can be overcome.
Photographs:
Image 1: “nachos” from thepost-itplace.com
http://thepost-itplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/nachos.jpg
Image 2: “nachos” from hairyalien.com
http://www.hairyalien.com/nachos.jpg
Image 3: “nachos23” from irvineretail.freedomblogging.com
http://irvineretail.freedomblogging.com/files/2009/02/nachos23.jpg
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