Comment on how Michelle views herself when in Seoul compared to how she views herself in the U.S.

How does she deal with being caught between two different cultures?

I got the impression Michelle loved being in Seoul. The noise and hustle-bustle of the city, the crowds, the food of course - and while at times she may have felt a bit of an outsider, I think she immersed herself in it and could feel at home there too. It was also a huge plus that the trip was something only she and her mom did together.

I think she loved being around her mom's family and all the people and places. She was alone when in the US while in Korean there were people everywhere.

When Michelle was in Seoul, she viewed herself as Korean. In the US, as American. She experienced what many biracial children do--a split of culture within themselves. She only felt her Korean ancestry in Korea or among Korean people. I think her trips gave her a broader perspective on her identity. Losing her mother threatened to take that away. Her final trip in the book showed her disconnection and loss with the language barrier and by no longer being seen as Korean with a Korean mother by her side, validating her presence.

As an American, Michelle was lonely. In Korea she felt more alive and she had family there. Her description of life with her mom’s family was vividly described.I felt Her mom’s death made Michelle lose some of her Korean spark. As a biracial child, she was caught between two different cultures. This is not uncommon with most biracial children. As adults, we hope we find a balance but it is not so easy to do so.

I don't know that her sense of family in Korea was any more or less than it would have been if she had had the same family residing in America. Michelle definitely felt in tune with her Korean relatives but they had children her age and as she knew her aunts and grandmother it was probably easier for her to understand her mother.

I think Michelle found herself to be beautiful in Seoul and just another average girl in the US.

That’s what I think, Elizabeth. She felt awkward in the US, but in Korea, her Western eyes and features are very prized. She felt beautiful!

I agree with elise and Elizabeth that Michelle felt beautiful in Korea because she was Western. This created some cognitive dissonance because it contradicted her loneliness that arose from never feeling Korean enough or American enough. She is still young-young to write a memoir. It would be interesting to see how this plays out in the next 40 years.