Melting Pot?

This week in class we read an article about a German journalist's first visit to America.
He delineated the differences between globalized Germany and America.
For example, much of our food in grocery stores are already made or cut while in Germany
most food are natural.

America has always been known to be a melting pot.
Most likely because of the variety of culture that America contains.

I've always thought that I contribute to this melting pot.

As an Asian, I always felt different. Although I never lived in Korea, I always introduced myself as a Korean.
However, in class this week I learned that I relate more with American values.

The idea of equality struck me the hardest. Americans value equality in just about everything we do.

In Asian countries, it's common to look up to people who are older than you. We even have a different way of addressing girls and guys that are older than us--it's considered rude to address them by their name, just because they're older. This also goes with the idea of informality. In America, it is normal to see children address their parents, or their friends' parents by first name. However, in most Asian countries it is extremly rude to do that. In Korea, we have a formal way of speaking to adults.

Although our school and my church is filled with FOBS (fresh off the boat) I never find myself completly following that "rule". As an American, I find it unfair to call someone in a respective matter just because of their age or occupation. Thus, I call people however I want to til they earn my respect. (: