Boundaries

Whenever I wear a chicken suit in the States, I hear the same reaction over and over again—“Hey, it's that chicken from the Family Guy.” And they say it like they're the first one to ever have that thought—even though the tv show is watched by millions.

I used to think Americans were the only ignorant ones. After exploring the world a bit, I have realized that there are ignorant people in every country.

There are definitely more important things in life than being “globally aware.” People have diverse interests. I understand that not everyone travels or is even interested in traveling. Instead, some people watch baseball. Or knit. I hate baseball. So, props to those who have the patience to sit through games and make the players feel valuable.

Anyway, lately I've been a bit puzzled. Even troubled. Everywhere I look I see boundaries. Does anyone move? People are different, of course. Friends usually become friends because of some uniting factor. So, naturally, individuals tend to sift into groups according to common interests. Understandable. But if you zoom out a few clicks to the “culture view,” the borders become thick fast.

In Japan I had to invent a new word once in a while to describe some of my meals. One amazing meal (mostly because it requires minimum effort) is “kimo-gohan”--a mixture of rice, raisins, milk, sugar and cinnamon. The Japanese translates as “disgusting rice.” The facial expressions that it evoked on my Japanese friends' faces often made me second guess what I was actually eating—like double check to make sure I hadn't accidentally mixed in a decomposing dead animal or something. When I'm around people who were raised in the States, I always find their lack of reaction kinda nice when they notice me eating kimo-gohan. The point: it's often relaxing to hang out with people raised in the same culture as oneself. It's effortless.

Groups are inevitable and even beneficial. But why are the boundaries so thick? Does it need to be like that? Are people so obsessed with an effortless lifestyle that it destroys any chance of adventure into learning?

My current life is influenced mostly by Korea. A couple days ago I was at the Korean pub, where I go to fairly often since my roommates work there. It's not uncommon for me to be the only white kid there, but the other day more than a couple people expressed puzzlement over my presence there—“Do you have a Korean girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Is one of your parents Korean?”

“No. Both white like a cracker.”

“You like Korean food?!”

“Yeah, it's good.”

“Why do you know so many Koreans?”

“I don't know.”

Anti-extremism is a virtue. One could make the extreme case that if people were too “culture-friendly,” all the cultures might dissolve into a big ugly gray Super-culture. The other extreme is that people get surprised when an American hangs out at a Korean pub or goes to a party with English language school students.

I guess the question nagging at my mind is “Don't people get tired of their own culture?” I've lived in American culture for over 20 years. That's enough for a lifetime. Don't Americans get tired of talking about football? Don't Koreans get tired of talking about cute actresses? Don't Chinese get tired of talking?

I guess there's a general consensus nowadays that stereotypes are evil. I agree that people should use their brains and not throw individuals they meet into a category; however, stereotypes are funny. As long as people refuse to venture out of their comfortable little lives, stereotypes will remain strong. And Family Guy will continue to be watched by millions.