My Family Experience

I meet my Grandparents and Mexico because of my mom. “Jamie we are going to Mexico and you will your Grandparents” said my mom “What!”. The time had come I had to say bye to my dad and get into the plane. “Bye dad I will miss you so much” “You will come back Jamie, I will miss you too” my dad answer. We got to Mexico City and my Grandpa was at the airport waiting for us. We got to the town I had never seen so many people all my family was there the family of my dad and mom. I didn't know what to do I was barely 5 years old. They had make tamales and don't remember what else. I just wanted to do is go back to the US. The first few weeks were horrible I hated Mexico they didn't have good pizza and hamburgers the food that my grandma did I didn't

And then I acclimated. I made friends. I joined sports. I was in bands. I explored Shanghai and made it my own. It is a wonderful city, and one that I would always be amazed by. And when my cosch finally asked me as a rising senior to coach middle schoolers every Wednesday night, I know I gave a very enthusiastic affirmative. I was happy to impart whatever wisdom my coach thought I had.

I’m an American born Chinese woman who loves an adventure. Exploring new places and learning about my heritage is the reason why I want to go to China, since I’ve never traveled there. Being the first generation in my family born in the United States, it seems like everyone in my family went to China except me. I’ve been exposed to the Chinese culture when I lived in Brooklyn, but lost it after my grandmother passed away. In Brooklyn, I lived in a predominantly Chinese neighborhood, but at age 5 I moved to New Jersey, to a town where there were no Chinese families. After years of reconnecting with Asian families in New Jersey, this sparked my interest in traveling to China.

When I am happy, I know the best restaurant in the city to celebrate. When I am bored, I know my friends are somewhere in the city I can hang out with. When I am tired, I know my home is in the city that welcomes me anytime. Beijing gives me a sense of safety and belonging. Although I do not know its dialect, the city quietly collects all my stories: when now I pass by Zhongguancun Street where my elementary school locates, I can still see the clock tower in front of our classroom building which I used to believe was the slowest clock in the world; when now I go to the Haidian Theatre where I always went with my high school friends during school breaks, I can still smell the caramel popcorn which I used to believe was the best popcorn in the world; when now in the evening I walk in Zizhuyuan Park where our family always took a walk after dinner, I can still see my parents’ figures which I used to believe, believe and will always believe to be the most trusted ones in the world …I am affiliated with the object, the smell, the people, and the city. This is the place where I will naturally miss and call my home when I travel to other places. Here, Beijing, is where I am

It was a Wednesday in the month of December. Our whole family boarded the planed headed to the state of Texas, USA. Overall, that Wednesday was a particularly emotional day from the countless goodbyes, hugs and going-away gifts. Friends and family all gathered in the airport to wave their last goodbyes. I was a confused ten year old, not really able to comprehend the entirety of the situation although I knew everything was going to be different from this point forward. Throughout the flight, my parents and sisters alike were tearing up, whether from joy or sadness or maybe a combination of both. I thought to myself, “Why go through with such a decision that will

My Great grandparents both had suffered great loses at very young ages that would change their lives overnight. James and Miriam fathers who names we do not know were shot on accident during a hunting trip and died. Their fathers were not on the same hunting trip and did not know each other. After the deaths of their fathers, James had to quit school at the age of 15 to help his mother pay bills by delivering newspapers and Miriam and her sisters were split up to live in different homes. The main reason Miriam and her sisters were separated was due her mother not being able to support all the girls on her own. Miriam never saw or heard from her sisters ever again. Both families struggled tremendously during The Great Depression.

Living in China presents different cultural perspective than it us in western cultural setting. This, I realised when I had my friends from college visiting me. And, it was a cultural shock for both my family as well as my friends.

As I approached the front porch, to the right of the porch was a small garden, which was located below a window, and both the front porch and the garden were covered by a big, pointy fence. To my left the garage door would stand, which I’ve never seen open. Finally in between the garden and the garage stood a door. The door lead to my excitement, so I rushed up to the front porch, opening the gate and walking up 2 big steps, to awaiting my grandmother standing by the door, waiting to greed me. My grandparents’ home was the most important thing in my life, this place is all I recognize from the time I lived in Peru.

Being born and raised in China, I chose to spend most of my past five years in an Alabaman high school by myself, and interestingly, despite that I am clearly more of a Chinese than an American, every time when I return to China for summer holiday, I found myself flabbergasted by virtually everything (I seem to only realize the cultural differences when I return to where I belong.) However, most of these surprises did not only remind me of the differences between U.S. and China, but also enabled me to keep myself up with the Chinese society and learn how I should adapt to the differences between cultures.

Living in China changed me. I went there with five hundred dollars in my pocket to work for Nantong University teaching English to freshman and sophomore students. I had never taught English before, I was an Education major with a concentration in history, and I had never been out of the country. Most importantly, I had never had to rely on myself. During those first few days at the university, I woke up early to jog around the outdoor track, thinking about how I ended up there. Running around the loop, I saw apartment buildings under construction amidst the haze over the horizon. I was on my own, far from everything that I had known. It took me a while to get used to things, the rhythms and the sounds of the city, the way people spoke and acted around me, the food, I lost over twenty pounds that first year, but I began to see that China offered me something that I did not even know that I wanted. I realized that I needed to break free, that I needed to try something new.

I’m a young woman who’s trying to get her life together and the process of being successful isn’t easy. I currently attend Nassau community colleges, every day, from Monday-Saturday, and it’s no joke, between waking up in the morning, trying to walk to take the bus terminal, is honestly too much for me to handle; I honestly hate it. Sometimes I honestly get depressed and say to myself “why me “I usually wake up in the morning around 6am and get myself ready then star walking toward the terminal, as a I walk seeing the cars pass by, and some drivers would pass by me and stare and I would get so furious because I have to walk while they’re driving and what truly annoys me is that their taking their time to stare at me walking. I hate public transportation. Driving a car is way better then riding on the bus

It was a dark and warm night as the wind was breezing on my face. My parents and I went to the entrance of the airport in Ethiopia. The date was September 15, 2017 and that day was the day that we were leaving Ethiopia. We had stayed there for one month for a vacation and to meet our other family members. We went at 7:30 pm and the flight was at 10:30. We went a bit early because it is better than being late. Also, if a problem insists, we would have time to fix it but that wouldn’t happen,...right? Honestly, I didn't think we would've gotten on the airplane that night because of that horrible incident. It was the most meaningful experience of my life because it made me surprised when I heard that our visa was expired. All this time we did not check that the visa stamp said that September 14 is the day were leaving in the month that we stayed there. We told the people who worked at the Immigration that we were leaving on September 15 but their mistake caused us to be a problem when we were about to leave Ethiopia. We had to be in a rush so we didn’t miss the airplane flight. For that reason, the life lesson that I learned is that managing your time is crucial when it comes for many reasons. We came a little early so would get the process before the flight done and if something happens, then we would have plenty of time to do something about it. If we didn't manage our time and we came later, we would probably miss our flight or we would've gotten really

It was a hot and humid afternoon as my family and I stepped out of the airplane and walked towards the immigration line. A reunion was planned a year in advance for my mother and father’s golden anniversary. Their wish was for the whole family to come together from different parts of the globe to celebrate for a few weeks. As we stood and waited at the long line to enter our homeland, I imagined how much it had changed since I last stepped foot back home. We came home in 1992. I already imagined the food I planned to eat, the places I planned to see, and the people I hadn’t seen for some time. It felt nostalgic. I felt a rush of excitement.

I belong to a family of seven, me being the second oldest. It can be extremely challenging to be an older and younger sibling, especially with so many things to do. My siblings and I have been through alot together. Even though we fight, they are my closest friends. One incident that brought us really close took place about four years ago in June.

Sitting with my aunt Alning and cousin Vincent is a pleasant reprieve from the bustle inside the house. A slight breeze cuts the air as I overlook the balcony. Rice fields stretch out past the horizon. Coconut trees, that my grandfather planted, stand tall with ripe coconuts waiting to be butchered open. Smoke from an outdoor cooking pit thickens the air-- a warning the farewell feast is well on its way.