Candids: Virginia, Korean Dreams & Bubble Teas

“I feel like right now, if I died, I could honestly die happy because I’ve already done everything I wanted to do. Except for travel to Egypt,” said one of the only people I know who’s fulfilled her major life goal by the ripe age of 25.

Virginia is from Lynchburg, Virginia, went to the University of Virginia, and never left her state until she was 19 years old; but from the age of 13, she’d her sights set on a place far beyond, in South Korea.

So much of our life is dependent on the circumstances of it, and so it is for Virginia, who got her first taste of Korea in high school. At the time, her best friend was Rebekah, who also doubled as her culture companion. They shared a mutual love for learning languages, so when they met their Korean friend, Joy, in high school, she easily sparked their interest for Korean. When Joy introduced Rebekah to more Korean friends, from whom they discovered the worlds of K-pop, K-dramas, and more, destiny began to fill in the blanks.

As Virginia was learning the language, Korean culture spoke to her. It was enticing: the food, the respectfulness and kindness of the people, the aesthetic of Korean men and women, the fashion, the music, and (did we mention?) the food. She wanted more, so by majoring in Korean (and Chinese!) at UVA and landing an English-teaching job in Korea, she finally realized her dreams.

Michelle: How has your perspective of the world changed over time? Because you’re a worldly woman now!

Virginia; It’s such a hard question. Growing up, I didn’t know much about the world because we didn’t learn much at school, and there wasn’t much diversity in our hometown. Growing up and getting more exposure to media from other countries, I learned people live differently and that there are different types of entertainment and humor.

I’ve seen people have different values based on where they live. The big one is “east vs. west,” like “independent vs. community.” Ever since traveling, I’ve found out that the world seems smaller and bigger at the same time. It’s so easy to just travel to all the countries, even though for a lot of people, especially Americans, it’s harder because they're far away from other countries. And also, the states are really big areas to travel. But once you travel to one place, it’s easier to go to more than one. The more you go, the more you can understand about different people. And learning different languages helps get an insight into other cultures because you can see how the expressions and grammar can be different. Like, how in Korean, you have different honorifics and levels of politeness. In English, not so much. I don’t really know if that answers the question. It’s a hard question!

Michelle: It does. It is a hard question, but you explain the differences that you see amongst all people, as far as values and the way we express ourselves and communicate. And it also sounds like you’re giving advice about what you would recommend or why people should be more well-traveled.

Virginia: Yeah, you can become more understanding of people if you understand where they’re coming from.

It was fascinating to me that for knowing so many languages and cultures of the world, Virginia had never been outside the country, let alone her home state, until her final teenage year. What influenced her to venture beyond the English language? Her story begins with a teacher.

Señora Guzman was from Texas, where she had met (and later married) her high school sweetheart (un caballero de México). Later, they ended up in Lynchburg, where Virginia took a high school Spanish class with her. Now, they are both good friends, sharing meals and conversations. That’s the sort of impact Señora Guzman had. “She was just so cool and friendly, and because of her I got interested in Spanish and liked it a lot,” Virginia explained.

Rebekah was taking a different Spanish class at the same time. She’d grown up in a bilingual household, as an Indian American. With un pasión for Spanish, they ventured into other languages: French, Chinese, and…

Michelle: And Arabic, too? I didn’t know!

Virginia: Yeah, but the Arabic was senior year, and we didn’t learn anything because the teacher was so terrible, and it was online, so it’s basically like I never learned it. I still don’t know the alphabet.

Michelle: How did you do in that class overall?

Virginia: I still got an “A.”

Michelle: What? Really?

Virginia: Because it was multiple choice. I was just good at guessing.

Michelle: I guess it’s like learning a language vs. learning about the language. So, how many languages do you speak now?

Virginia: Now, probably five, but only four rudimentally.

Michelle: What’s the fifth ghost language?

Virginia: It’s Japanese because I took it for a year in college, and I’m definitely conversational, but I’m not fluent. But it was enough to use it in Japan.

Michelle: How long have you been in Korea now?

Virginia: Three years and two-ish months.

Michelle: Do you feel like you’re connected personally more with American culture or Korean culture?

Virginia: Korean culture. That’s another reason why I moved. I like Korean culture more. It’s more innocent, and I prefer innocent culture.

Michelle: Innocent how?

Virginia: In American TV shows, there’s lots of cursing, and it’s very adult, but in K-dramas, there’s not as much of that. I guess I like that more. And no guns. I really enjoy that. And I enjoy how there’s an emphasis on education and learning more about the world than in America.

Michelle: You’ve been living in Korea for a long time now, and I thought it was interesting when I first came here, I was talking to you and realized that when you would talk about Americans and the USA, you would use the pronoun “they” to talk about Americans. Can you think of a reason why you would think in those terms?

Virginia: Oh, really? I think it’s because some of the things Americans do, I don’t want to be associated with. Kind of like, “They like to do ____.” I wouldn’t really say “we” for Koreans, either.

Michelle: Do you want to get citizenship here?

Virginia: I would if you could have dual citizenship here, but you can’t have dual, so I think unless they change the law, I’ll probably just get the permanent residency for 10 years and keep the American citizenship.

Michelle: What’s your favorite Korean food?

Virginia: Sundubu jjigae. It’s like soft tofu stew. It’s delicious. But I like all Korean food, except for beondegi or san-nakji.

Michelle: Have you tried sundae [“soon-dae”]?

Virginia: I tried it once, and I didn’t like it because it’s fatty. I don’t like fatty things.

Michelle: I don’t like blood.

Virginia: I also don’t like gopchang. It doesn’t look like blood, though. It’s purple – like, blackish purplish. But I don’t like blood, so it just wasn’t something I enjoyed. I tried one bite, and I was like, “No. Not for me.”

Michelle: At least you tried it.

Virginia: Yeah, I did try it. I haven’t tried beondegi or san-nakji.

Michelle: What’s san-nakji?

Virginia: That’s the moving octopus.

Michelle: Oh, the live one? That’s a little scary.

Virginia: Yeah.

Michelle: And you like octopus, right? You like the animal?

Virginia: Yeah, and I don’t like eating cooked octopus because it’s chewy. Squid, too. I don’t really enjoy that too much. I don’t really like seafood much.

Michelle: The place to be for that! Haha.

Virginia: At least it’s not Japan. Haha.

Although a city largely lacking diversity, Lynchburg was a springboard for Virginia’s dive into another new world: one of wonderfully sugary bubble tea.

A new restaurant opened in her hometown one day, called Suzaku Café. It was a Japanese-inspired restaurant. Ready to explore a new facet of Asia’s culinary culture, Virginia recruited a high school friend, and they gave it a try.

On the menu, there was something called “bubble tea.” They ordered it, tried it, and loved it. Since then, Virginia has sampled bubble tea in eight countries.

Taiwan is the birthplace of the drink. (Yes, of course, Virginia has had it there, where she says the tapioca pearls have an especially delicious quality and texture.) It’s been a staple of her life since that first taste. When she studied abroad in Shanghai, she discovered a bubble tea paradise; it was cheap (about $1), and it was everywhere. Traditional Chinese bubble tea is like a milk tea, Virginia explained, with tapioca balls/bubbles/pearls/bobas (take your pick of term!) and pudding added.

When asked about the best place to get bubble tea, Virginia recommended CoCo bubble tea, where she especially loves to add pudding into the drink. Gong Cha is a common drink chain in China and Korea, popular for its delicious bubble teas and smoothies, though known for its ubiquity and priciness. (Personally, I love Amasvin, a Korean bubble tea shop that Virginia introduced me to me. The best drink there? The nokcha [green tea] Oreo bubble tea smoothie!)

For those curious about where Virginia has tried bubble tea: USA, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, and Germany!

Virginia has come a long way in her life, literally and metaphorically. She often tends to her natural curiosity and active lifestyle. I wanted to know more about her personal credo.

Michelle: Is there any mantra that you follow?

Virginia: Carpe diem. If you have an opportunity, just do it. Especially with money and value of something, and work, also. I would value taking time off from work and traveling and getting a new experience rather than getting paid for the time. At DYB [our school], you can get paid instead of taking the time off. I think it’s more important or more valuable to travel more, or whatever you’re interested in doing, to be more fulfilled in your life.

I feel like experience can be more valuable than money sometimes. You can’t put a price on an experience. Prioritize things that you care about. I’d rather get experiences, like trying food, rather than drinking or whatever people usually spend money on.

Michelle: Is there an example of a time when you prioritized experience, and it led to a life-changing experience or a favorite memory or something?

Virginia: In the summer after my third year of college, I came to Korea for a month and did a work exchange. I stayed at a hostel and worked for one or two hours a day for six days a week to get free housing. And it was either that or get some sort of job back in Virginia, which would’ve made more money, of course, but instead I chose to come and live here for a month to see if I would love it as much as I thought it would. To test it out, I guess.

And so, if I hadn’t done that, then my time moving here would’ve been more difficult, because I wouldn’t have gotten used to everything as well, and I wouldn’t have any connections. When I came back, I already had friends.

When I’d traveled here before, everyone, even myself, were like, “I love it so much. Maybe it’s not possible. Maybe it won’t live up to my expectations.” But then it exceeded them! It was even cooler than I expected.

Michelle: What was cooler than you’d expected?

Virginia: I just love the public transportation. Well, I’d already lived in Shanghai, so it was actually really similar to that, but I really enjoyed that in Shanghai, too. Everything also just looks like it does in dramas, even just driving on the road. And riding the bus, and the food, and the dramas, and the noraebang. [Note: A “noraebang” is a Korean-style karaoke room.] I love noraebang. Everything was just so fun. It’s nice to see the actors or singers that I like on the advertisements, even though, now, EXO isn’t as big as it once was. It’s just really fun.