The Four Shocking Similarities of Jae Ho and I

Here we go, embarking on the third hour of conversation between Jae Ho and myself.  This officially marks the halfway point of our Union Grounds adventures together.

This conversation focused mainly on similarities between us.  Now you may think that I am referring to broad similarities-- things that transcend culture to bring individuals from completely different backgrounds together in order to understand each other on a deep, intrinsic, human level.  Well if you were thinking those things, you are completely wrong.  These are absolutely not the similarities I am referring to.  Instead, I am referring to the superficial, collegiate, girly, American stereotypes that would be talked about between two female acquaintances over a cup of coffee.  Yes, these are the the similarities between us that we discovered this afternoon.

1. Football.  A shared interest amongst most of the TCU student body, football was the first topic at hand.  We discussed me going to the TCU vs. OU game last weekend, and although he did not know who won, he was still very interested in hearing about my experience there.  We also talked about both of us attending the TCU vs. SMU game.  This time, he very proudly announced that he knew who won, and was quite excited for our team.  Although he said soccer was a much more popular sport to watch and play in Korea, he appreciated being exposed to something so new and exciting.  However, the football experience seemed to be slightly overwhelming for him.  One game fulfilled lifetime football need.  Other games could be watched via TV or heard about later through the grapevine. 

2. Sleep. Duh. I asked him what he did this past weekend, and without skipping a beat, he replied, "sleep."  No explanation or justification or qualification needed.  According to Jae Ho, he did one thing this weekend.  He didn't offer me any further details or any more activities he did while not sleeping.  In fact, he simply stated that he slept for over fourteen hours straight, and planned to repeat that this coming weekend.  I appreciated Jae Ho's honesty.  I mean, who doesn't love to catch up on a few zzz's?

3. Burt's Bees. This is where the plot thickens.  So many questions came into my mind when Jae Ho initiated a conversation about Burt's Bees.  How would someone from Korea know about Burt's Bees? What would a boy need with cosmetics in the first place? What prompted him to ask me, of all people, about it?  Turns out he wanted to buy some chap stick, and his sister told him Burt's Bees was a popular American company.  So low and behold, there's a third interest we share.

4. Music Choices.  Awkward silences are the best, aren't they?  Well, during one of our many awkward silences in between conversation topics, I asked Jae Ho what his favorite type of music was?  He pointed upward, referencing the song that was currently playing in Union Grounds. It was "Roar" by Katy Perry.  I giggled, thinking he was kidding.  A stereotypical girly American pop song couldn't possibly top his list of favorite music, but actually he was being quite serious.  And if you were curious, his other favorites included "Call Me Maybe" and "Clarity." 

So just some advice if you're running out of things to talk to with your conversation partner, you might be surprised the kinds of superficial similarities you share.  Football games, sleeping away the weekend, makeup, and girly pop songs weren't really on my list of topics to ask Jae Ho, but it turns out they were topics of interest to him, so I guess I know a lot less than I thought!