Struggle to Adaptation

Being a Korean immigrant into the United States was one of the hardest yet beneficial events for Mrs. Gosney. She was born and raised in Korea and had always been very immersed in her culture. When she met her now husband, an American who had been working for Nike overseas in Korea, she was fascinated by American culture. When they decided to get married and he was moved back to work and live in the United States, she began to experience what Mary Louise Pratt calls a “contact zone.” With her Korean culture being the culture she had lived her entire life, yet now she was living in the American society, having to learn an entire new way of life. This was a constant struggle, should she try and adapt to the American ways or stay with her Korean roots?

In the first few months of living in the United States, she tried to be as American as possible, avoiding any potential ridicule or discrimination. Since she knew English from her education in Korea, the language barrier was the very least of her worries. Mrs. Gosney found it difficult to adjust to some of the American customs. Constantly having the fear of being rejected from society, the new society that she had to actively live in. She felt very out of place and constantly was self-conscience of her actions. Not wanting to stand out or make it obvious to others that she was a Korean Immigrant. As time went on, she found it easier to adjust to the American culture and still have her own culture be a part of her life. Trying to maintain a balance of her two opposing lifestyles. She couldn’t simply shut out one of the cultures and live by only one, by living in the United States and being married to an American man, she had to be somewhat active in the cultural aspects of the American Society.

Mrs. Gosney stated in the interview “Americans have the tendency to stereotype people of Asian decent. We are supposedly smart, musically talented, good at tennis, and there are many other unkind stereotypes. I am not a genius and I do not play tennis or any musical instrument.” By having these stereotypes being placed on her constantly, she felt the need to prove that she wasn’t what every American assumed she was. She began taking actions for other people, just to prove them wrong. Her Korean roots were being pushed farther and farther away.

The struggle of trying to push her own culture that had forever been her life was too much for one person to bear. Mrs. Gosney began to feel as though she had lost touch with who she really was; the “contact zone” experience was one that had taken her native culture and clashed it with the American culture which she adjusted only to become “accepted” in society.

Now that Mrs. Gosney has lived in the United States for 16 years, she has developed a balanced way of living with her two distinct cultures. She has certain times when her native Korean culture will be practiced, in addition to her everyday Americanized way of living. She mainly cooks Korean dishes, and will go to a Korean Catholic church every Sunday. By being married to a man who was born and raised in America, she has had to adapt to his customs. “We celebrates his native holidays in the way he was raised to celebrate them, and we celebrate my Korean holidays in the way that I practiced them from living in Korea. It has benefited both of us, and the kids.” By having two cultures, Mrs. Gosney said, “I have three different ways I could be living and could have handled the two cultures, I could be completely absorbed by the American culture and ignore my native Korean roots, I could be completely ignorant to the American culture that surrounds me, or I could find a balance. For me the balance is what I chose and love, having a balance creates a feeling of completion. I have my culture, and I have my adapted culture, both different but equally an important part of me.”

Being of a different nationality and culture is something that I have very little experience with. The only times that I have experienced a “contact zone,” has been on vacations to countries in which I have little to no knowledge of the language or cultural aspects of the country. My experiences have been minor in the sense that they have only been for a maximum of two weeks. Mrs. Gosney has experienced for half of her life, a new culture in which she has to balance with her instinctive culture. Having this life experience has given her the chance to teach her children the Korean part of their native culture and tell them all that she has been through. Although she hasn’t experienced any harsh or excessive acts of discrimination, the internal battles that she faced has taught her so much about how the clashing of cultures can affect someone. She has a clear idea of how she wants to live her life, and the balance that she wants to maintain. Being a part of two cultures and experiencing a “contact zone,” is something that she will value forever, a lifelong lesson.