Lifelet assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lifelet assignment - Essay Example I am currently working in the physics lab at Stanford University as part of my graduate school studies. I am so very pleased that I was able to land this position as it took ten days (at ten letters per day) worth of e-mailing just to get the professor’s attention regarding my desire to participate in Stanford lab activities. The university staff was very helpful in writing the necessary recommendation letters so that I could succeed in America and I will be forever grateful for their assistance. I came to the United States on May 22, 2005, arriving in San Francisco. At first, I have to admit that I was quite overwhelmed by the architecture and the vast variety of food available on market shelves. People always seemed to be rushing around which was quite different than the culture in Korea who are more laid back in terms of managing personal and business-related priorities. I have to admit that I, at first, expected that America would have similar cultural values and beliefs, however this personal misconception gave me somewhat of a rude awakening. For instance, Koreans are generally more open about expressing their personal feelings because of the collectivist culture which exists overseas. Most everyone in Korea shares similar beliefs and values, making it easy for most everyone to relate to one another. Americans are very individualistic and are more reserved when it comes to self-expression and generally work on their own, unique life agendas. When I first began working in the Stanford lab environment, I was taken aback by Americans’ reservations about discussing personal issues and did not find the highly collaborative environment I was expecting. In Korea, people who work together generally become very close and share their life stories, such as birthdays, family issues, and their areas of personal interest. During the first portion of my lab work at the university, I really did