As everyone in America is drinking beers and barbecuing in what appears to be blazingly hot weather, I am sitting at a desk in Korea dreaming about boating and fireworks. Now, I may not be the most gung ho American out there, but nothing gets me thinking about my home country more than an all out red, white, and blue holiday.
About halfway through college I became disillusioned with my country of birth. When I left the first time I felt happy to be fleeing the country I viewed as hypocritical and obsessed with all the wrong things. Now that I’ve been gone for a while, I’ve realized that there are a lot of things about the United States that are truly fabulous.
So, on this Independence Day, I present you with a list of things that I miss about my country (outside of family and friends, which is a given), and also a list of things I’m glad to be far, far away from.
What I Miss
1. Summer
I feel like summer is the quintessential American season and I miss the traditional, typical summers I had growing up. In Korea summer means rain. And lots of it. For me, summer is about grilling outside, days spent on the lake, drinking expensive beers at baseball games, spending the weekend “up north”, and being tan, which is heavily frowned upon here.
What summer should look like. Courtesy of Flickr user richevenhouse
2. Food
I love Korean food but I really crave the diversity of cuisines back home. Immigration has made the United States a breeding ground for good cooking from around the world. For example, I’ve realized that it’s hard to find good Mexican in other counties because, well, there aren’t many Mexicans. In addition to variety, no one has the US beat when it comes to quality and creativity in the kitchen.
3. Target
I miss one stop shopping. I miss being able to buy cheap clothes and shoes in my size. I miss wandering down the aisles buying things I don’t need. I miss cheap Amy’s frozen meals. Target is my happy place.
Home Sweet Home. Courtesy of Flickr user noise64
4. Sports
Yes, there are sports in Korea. And yes, it is possible to view American sports in Korea. But it is hard. The time difference usually means waking up in the middle of the night to catch a game live and Facebook is ripe with spoilers if you try to wait until a more normal hour to watch a replay. The most homesick I’ve ever felt was during college football season last fall (Go Blue!) and I’m always sad during Masters weekend and the NFL season. Plus, the United States has a much better time zone for catching European soccer matches.
The Big House is the happiest place on Earth.
What I Don’t Miss
1. Politics
I like to be well informed. I’ve always liked politics (I once dreamed of being the President), but the constant barrage of mindless political commentary is absolutely horrifying. I also can’t stand the political state of the country right now, and view most Americans stance on issues important to me as hypocritical and sometimes disgusting. In Korea, especially during an election year, it’s nice and easy to separate myself from the mudslinging and endless ads.
2. Car Culture
I hate driving, I’m a terrible driver, and I have little patience for other terrible drivers (because underneath even though I know I’m not a good driver, I think I am the best). The lack of decent public transportation in most American cities is frustrating on both personal and environmental fronts. In addition, for long distance travel, your only options are car or plane. The US really needs some high speed rail infrastructure similar to Europe.
At this point I’d be vehemently cursing. Courtesy of Flickr user nicpic
3. Unbridled Patriotism
Yes, the United States is a great country, but it’s not the only great country. And it certainly isn’t THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. A couple years ago I got called a communist (not jokingly) because I was cheering for Italy in the World Cup and wouldn’t wear an American flag bikini on the 4th of July. Many times this fervent passion for the United Satates goes hand in hand with ignorance about the rest of the world. Sometimes it’s just plain American arrogance. Whatever it is, tone it down a few notches, people.
4. 9-5, 2 Weeks Off Cubicle Life
This isn’t a solely American concept, but Americans sure seem to believe that you aren’t an adult until you’re spending 40 hours a week in a cubicle. Don’t get me started on the standard two weeks of vacation which leaves little time to actually travel if you don’t live close to family. Increased working hours and time spent at the office does not necessarily lead to increased happiness OR productivity. There’s life outside an office and ten days of vacation!
My version of hell. Courtesy of Flickr user Michael Lokner
To all of my American readers, I hope you have a safe and happy Independence Day. I’ll be eating a mediocre burger in a stuffy restaurant later in honor of the Stars and Stripes.
What things do you miss about your home country while abroad? What things could you live without?
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Ahem you mean “American football” – sorry, I’m just being a pedantic Brit. No other country calls it “soccer”
And I just CANNOT agree with your comment about the US and its cuisine – Europe has America beat when it comes to food!
OK I’ll stop raining on your parade though. American summer sounds heavenly. I’m not even sure that summer exists in the UK…it can get to the end of August and people are like, “oh, so that week and a half of sunshine in April was summer?”
I don’t miss politics from home, either – but from what my Korean friends inform me, it’s just as bad here. People always seem to be voting for the lesser of two evils.
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No, no, no, Tom! Canadians and South Africans call it soccer! And so do a lot of Aussies and Kiwis because of that weird rugby union/AFL thing they have going on down there. I agree that Europe has great food, but I don’t think it has the US beat. So many chefs have come here from Europe that you can get traditional cuisine that is as good as what you’d find in Italy, France, etc. You will see soon enough how great the eats are across the pond
(I hope you realize this is all in good fun. I don’t want to seem overly defensive of the US and my Americanisms. I’m really not.)
And yeah…politics probably suck everywhere. Not knowing Korean and not owning a television are two of the greatest blessings I have here in regards to that.
Great summary of the good and the bad! Nothing is quite like summer in the U.S., especially if you live in an area where winter seems to last half the year! America IS a wonderful country and has a lot of great things going. But I do agree that politics is one of the most frustrating aspects of the country. I think it’s actually making people more divided and unhappy.
As for the sports…I’m more of red and white girl. So, GO BADGERS!!!
Yes, the divisiveness of politics lately is a large part of my frustrations. It seems that a lot of people will fight for their “side” without even thinking about the issue at hand.
I may not be a fan of (or, erm, like) Wisconsin, but it’s always nice to see a fellow Big Ten person around
I feel like you read my mind with this post!! LOL
In particular, the food one (MEXICAN FOOD OMG, I miss real Mexican food in Korea so much; I’ve had some decent stuff but it’s just NOT the same) and Target, and ALL the dislikes.
Yeah, there’s some decent stuff but nothing near what you can get in the US. It’s sad. I also really miss good Italian food. Korea fails miserably at Italian…
Totally agree with these! Although it’s probably a good thing I don’t have Target around anymore. I always ended up walking out with $50 worth of stuff I didn’t even know I wanted.
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Same. I used to work in an office about 500 feet from Target and would use it as my place to go during lunch to get away. It was bad news for bank account.
TARGET.
All of the women in my family are basically Target whores and I’m not ashamed to admit it. If you can’t get it at Target, you probably don’t really want it anyway.
And yes to missing summer…I’m so envious of all of these bikini-and-boat photos that keep popping up on facebook. Good beers, hot dogs, day drinking – the Midwest never looked so good!
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Midwestern summers are magical. I don’t think I realized how great they were until I left.