Lunch at campus

We, Koreans, go everywhere in a group, not alone. I would say we are apt to be collectivism. Being alone is what is called "Wang- tta", being alienated from my co-workers or friends. Lunch? Needless to say, eating lunch alone is something miserable /pathetic or awkward in Korea. In addition, we don't bring lunch boxes to school or work. We always go out for lunch. At lunch time, we've got to think a moment to explore nice restaurants or new opened one around our work place. Back in my college, I would hop around campus to eat lunch at the restaurant with my friends. If I have to eat alone, I would skip it rather than eat by myself.

One thing that I wondered was that much more students than I thought eat alone in the United States. What is more worse, they just eat a little snack sitting on grass/at classroom, NOT a restaurant or a cafeteria. To me, they looked pitiful. Oh my god! They are eating a potato/sun chip as their lunch. It must be embarrassing if I eat that kind of snack at lunch time at my office. Chips can't be our lunch menu at all. How about fresh vegetable? My answer would be "Huh?", not "Wow!". It might be at the Sea World in San Diego when I first saw a woman eating a carrot as a snack. I could not resist temptation of taking a picture of her. I felt like posting that picture at my blog to say to my Korean friends, "Look! She is eating carrots. How funny is that?" Carrot is one of ingredients to Korean people for cooking not one of snacks that we could eat outside without cooking.

After two year and half residence in the United States, I so often found myself adapting to new circumstance. I buy cereal bars or some individual packed vegetables for my whole week lunch. I know eating lunch at the cafeteria doesn't get my account to the balance, and it isn't bad to eat some light lunch alone at the computer lab between classes. I can't skip lunch as I did in Korea.