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My
Memoir
By:
Zhuo Quan Li
"Life
will not be the same as it is in China," grandma told me when I was ready
to come to America. As I had already known, it would not be same since I am
moving to a new country and getting in to a new high school. However, what
else can be different?
Before I came to the United States, with my limited knowledge, I thought that
everybody from around the world was all the same, For me, moving in to a new
country is just like moving to another house from the next block, quite simple.
However, once I arrived in America, I started to realize that it is not simple
at all.
Yes, I moved in to a new house, but the house is very different from the one
that I was living in China. The walls are made of wood and sheetrock, compared
to the brick house in China, which was just like an egg and a stone. I do
not feel secure living in this house. And in the United States, people live
independently. I could not even see some of my relatives once a year since
they are living so far away. In China, many members of my family were living
nearby and we saw each other all the time. I never felt alone in China.
And yes, I got in to a new high school, but the way they taught and the classmates
were totally different from my old school. Many of my teachers are kind or
maybe too kind and that makes their students not listen to them and do all
kings of violent activities. My classmates are multicultural, and in each
class I have different classmates, so maybe because of this, many people do
not have long and real friendships in school. Each of them is isolated from
the word "Culture". They only stick with those who are just like
them. For the first time I have actually learned the meaning of "diversity".
One of the major causes for this word is the language barrier since people
speak different languages, and there is no way for them to communicate. In
contrast, in China, I can actually find friendships in school that last longer
than in the United States. Although the teachers are strict and sometimes
they even beat their students, that kept everything in order and every student
would learn something in class. No one would be left behind.
It took me a while to learn English. In the beginning, I couldn't even read
a sentence without checking the dictionary. I took out a book for 3rd grade
from the library, opened it, and I felt so bad that I couldn't understand
any of those words. Even though, it is hard to overcome the language barrier,
I kept telling myself not to give up because this is something that I had
to do in order to live in the United States.
As the time went by, I worked hard to get rid of the language barrier and
my English improved. I gradually got used to this diverse society. Now, I
am feeling more comfortable with the way the teachers teach and I enjoy the
class activities. I like the discussions over the novels or stories, and arguments
about different answers, I actually learned more from those friendly argues
than just reading the book alone. And I found out that some students are friendly
too, they love to talk and help the other. I love to be friends with them
even if I know that this kind of friendship will be gone when we all graduate
high school. I enjoy the times we have and will never forget that they are
my friends from high school. Furthermore, I always learn something by interacting
with people from different social backgrounds.