The day was finally here. It was November 11, 1990, the day that our family was to go to ¡®Land Of Liberty.¡¯ I heard so many different things about this country called United States of America and I was warned that it would be nothing you¡¯ve expected. The plane ride did not seem as long as it was; partly because I was lost in my own thoughts with hopes and anxiety. I thought about what I will become in this massive country I was headed and how soon I will adapt to this new culture and people.
             Every bits of hope I had faded as we drove to our new house after the plane landed. All I saw was open space and emptiness; something I did not expect or was prepared for. I lived in urban part of Korea all my 9 years of life and I was never aware that there could be any place as empty as I was now. I was a bit relieved when we reached our 2 floors, 6 rooms house in Northbrook. It was like a castle to me. My father told me that this house cost as much as the little 1 bathroom, 3 rooms apartment we had in Korea. As I was getting used to the castle we have just bought, the emptiness filled my heart again. I looked outside and saw houses across the street. For a week, I thought those houses were stores. Living in Korea, everywhere you look out, there are myriad number of stores everywhere. I could not get used to this suburban life that nobody ever warned me about.
             My next cultural shock came when I attended my uncle¡¯s Thanksgiving dinner. For the first time, I encountered what seemed like a gigantic chicken: turkey. There were many other foods besides the turkey, but overall, I was overwhelmed by the abundance of food at such low price. I began to understand why there are so many cases of obesity in America. I couldn¡¯t escape the abundance of food either. I gained so much weight as I got used to American food. I got so chubby to a point where my relatives did not recognize me when they came to visit us f...