Imagine growing up as an American in South Korea.  “Take everything you know and turn it upside-down,” said Ryan Nagy.  As a “military brat”, Nagy spent his elementary school years immersed in Asian culture.

Although Nagy, now 24, grew up in an American household, many aspects of his daily life were distinctly South Korean.  According to Nagy, even though his house was “Americanized”, it still retained many characteristics of the surrounding area’s culture such as traditional rice-paper screens and pillows to kneel on while eating meals.  “We took our shoes off before entering the house,” Nagy said of observing native customs.  His house had one other interesting feature, heated floors.  “Heated cinder blocks were brought in every week to keep our feet warm,” he said.

While Nagy assimilated himself into South Korean culture, there were still times that he was reminded of his differences.  According to Nagy, shopping trips to the local markets would sometimes be met with anti-American sentiment.  He and his mother would sometimes have rocks and bottles thrown at them.  “I knew what they were doing, I just didn’t know why,” he said.  “I just felt vulnerable.”

Even though adjusting to life in a foreign country was difficult, it was re-adjusting to life in the United States that was the biggest challenge, according to Nagy.  He said that growing up was much more comfortable abroad.  “Coming back was foreign,” said Nagy.  “I had to refresh myself with American culture.”

This re-adjustment to American culture was fueled in part by American materialism.  Nagy said that while he was abroad, everyone had pretty much the same things.  “Everyone here was trying to get the latest pair of Nikes, and I was used to just one brand of shoes in South Korea,” he said.         

In spite of any hardships he may have encountered, Nagy would love to go back again.  The last time he was there, 13 years ago, everything was still underdeveloped but rapidly growing.  “I would love to see how things have changed,” said Nagy.

Living in Asia lit the fire for Nagy love traveling.  “I loved the food, the colors, the culture, the tradition,” said Nagy.  He encourages others to travel and visit different cultures, and to not be afraid of things that seem foreign to us.  For Nagy, travel was an important of growing up.  “It changed me,” he said.