Through the Years

                                                                  Through the Years 

My grandmother was separated from the family by just fifty kilometers, they were unable to meet for over forty years. This was a true story about the pain of my grandmother and her sister. For more than one hundred and fifty years, Hong Kong and Mainland China was separated by history and politics. Before 1997, Hong Kong was under British rule, and there was a strict border control between Hong Kong and Mainland China. Many families couldn't see each other. This created a sharp contrast between the two places, which is culture, lifestyle and travel policies. However, after Hong Kong returned to China, there was a big change in people’s lives. The border became more open, travel became easier, and Hong Kong maintained its unique system under the “One country, Two systems” policy, which allows Hong Kong to maintain a high degree of autonomy while being part of China. The return of Hong Kong to China had a big impact on my family, bringing us closer together and opening up new opportunities for growth and connection. 

When the British gave back Hong Kong to China, my grandmother saw her sister again. Before 1997, my grandmother’s sister moved to Hong Kong for work and a better life, while my grandmother stayed in Shenzhen, which it is the closest city to Hong Kong on the Mainland China, just only fifty kilometers away. At that time, people from Mainland China needed special permits to visit, and the process was difficult. Many ordinary people could not get approval, so my grandmother didn’t have a chance to meet her sister. For more than forty years, they could only communicate through letters. However, after Hong Kong returned, the border was open. My grandmother was finally able to meet her sister. I can still remember the tears in my grandmother’s eyes when she first told me how she reunited with her sister. She also took me with her to visit her sister, and I met some of the cousins I had never met. It is miraculous to me that I had relatives I had never met. This event made me realize that family is very important. Seeing my grandma crying for joy made me think I should cherish my family too. 

Hong Kong’s return also influenced my education. The Hong Kong education system is followed the British style because Hong Kong was a British colony for over one hundred and fifty years. The British introduced English languages schools, Western teaching methods and a different exam system. Ever after 1997, Hong Kong kept many of these education traditions. The education systems in Hong Kong and Mainland China were very different. After Hong Kong’s return, there were more connections between them. My high school is called China-Hong Kong English school, which is a combination of Chinese and Western ways of education. Thus, it helped me develop better English skills and a global mindset. In addition, my school have more English classes than normal Mainland schools, and many of our teachers have the experience of studying abroad which give us better guidance. Attending this school was good for me by providing me more academic opportunities due to the exam system. My school followed the A-Level system, which is recognized by universities around the world. This also gave me a chance to apply to universities in different countries, not just China.  

Hong Kong’s return made travel easier, and people from the mainland can go there easily. Before 1997, it was very difficult for people from Mainland China to go to Hong Kong. They needed special travel documents, and the process was slow and complex. However, after 1997, the new travel policies allowed people to visit more freely. Now, every Mainland China resident can visit Hong Kong twice every three months. They just need to have a simple visa. I have visited Hong Kong many times, and I am familiar with the streets of Hong Kong because I live in Zhongshan, which is very close to Hong Kong. One of my favorite parts of Hong Kong is Disneyland. Disneyland is a part of my childhood memory. When I was little, I often watched Disney movies and dreamed of meeting the characters in the park. Because of this, my parents often took me to the Hong Kong Disneyland. I will never forget those joyful moments. Besides Disneyland, Hong Kong has many other attractions, like Victoria Harbour, Ocean Park, and many international shopping malls. Moreover, Hong Kong has a mix of Eastern and Western cultures. The food, the buildings, and the lifestyle there all show this mix of culture. I have a lot of memories of Hong Kong, and I enjoyed the atmosphere of Hong Kong.  

 Hong Kong’s return to China changed my life in many ways, and it also deepened my understanding of history. It helped my family reunite, improved my education and made travel easier. Without this historical event, my grandmother might never have seen her sister again, I might not have been able to visit Disneyland, and I might not have a chance to study in U.S. The return of Hong Kong was not just a change on the map, but a change that deeply influenced many families, including mine. This event will always be meaningful to me and to all people across the vast country. 

A Turning Point

 

Aung Paing Soe Hein

March 19, 2025

ESL 100

A Turning Point

              My life has changed in good and bad ways since 2021. The military coup that changed my life had happened in Myanmar. The military took over the country from the elected government by force. On the first day of February in 2021, the military arrested the president and minister of states. They had been talking about election fraud as a reason, but they haven’t proved it until now. Then, they shut down everything like the internet and schools. It was a hard time for me to think about my future, and I felt like everything was going to stop including my education. I even went to a lot of protests against the military and tried to get my life back. Moreover, I lost my friend because the military used real guns during protests. Finally, I decided to come to the United States to start a new life, and there are a lot of effects that I had to face physically and emotionally since then.

                                                   

              Due to the army takeover, my life took a major turn on the first day February in 2021. After the military took over the country, I couldn’t go to school because a lot of protests had happened, and schools that were shut down because of COVID couldn’t reopen. Besides, the university that I attended also couldn’t reopen because many students, including me, gathered there to protest. Even after the military government tried to reopen the schools, they sent the army to the schools. My family told me that if the army was present in school, that place couldn’t be safe. It was the moment that my family and I started discussing letting me go to a foreign country alone. Coming to the United States became a turning point for me.

              Homesickness is something I never expected to hit me so hard. I still miss the familiar sounds of home, like laughing at family gathering and the smell of my favorite meals that my mother cooks. Even if I knew that it would be a good decision to come to the United States, I had deliberated for a long time. It took me one year to make the decision. When I arrived in the United States, I could feel everything was different. I had to do everything all by myself, including going shopping, doing the laundry and cooking. Every time something inconvenient happens to me in Chicago, I miss my hometown. Although I have tried to adapt, there is emptiness in my heart. However, there are many good experiences that I have seen in the United States.

              Arriving in the United States opened my eyes to see the different ways of the world. From my experience, I can see that the United States is a good place to explore many cultures. I have experienced a lot of culture shocks and aspects of culture that I have experienced since I arrived here, but seeing different concepts of lifestyle helped me change my major. Back in Myanmar, I was focused on computer science, but after I saw other people’s lifestyle, like personal creativity and what they are using and what they need today. I decided to change my major to graphic design because I think it would be better for me. The influence of the United States’ advertising, design culture, and animation film are attractive to me. The amazing animation videos and pictures of advertisement and film of the United States got my heart to follow this major, and Pixar Company has become my dream place to work for. Furthermore, I have gotten the chance to know about other people’s traditions that I have never seen or heard of before. These could be the good effects that I have had after moving here.

              Of course, leaving my country was a difficult decision, yet it was the right choice for my safety and future. Coming to the United States has given me many new experiences. On the other hand, I have to deal with homesickness, but I can also discover new cultures and opportunities. Even though I miss home every day, I have learned a lot about myself. I have been thinking about how my life has changed since I made this important decision. Although the transition has been challenging, I am pretty sure I will look forward to see what the future has in store for me. I believe that this turning point will shape me into a stronger and more independent person in the future.

             

Innocent Burden

Yalda Eslami

March 10, 2025

                                                                     Innocent Burden

        When I was younger, life was more normal for me and my family. We could live comfortably, travel abroad, and buy whatever we wanted, but in the past 5 years, everything changed. Sanctions are rules that one country puts on another to punish or control its actions. The United States and other countries put sanctions on Iran because they believed the Iranian government was doing things they didn’t agree with, specially making nuclear weapons. Thus, they blocked Iran from selling oil, stopped Iranian banks from working with other countries, and made it difficult for people in Iran to do business with other countries. However, average people like my family were not involved. We just wanted to live our lives, but the sanctions have made everything harder. As a result, the price of everything went up and travelling abroad became harder because of visas. Exchange against the dollar worsened, creating many problems for my sister and me.

      One of the biggest effects of the sanctions was on my sister’s life in London. Like my other cousins, my sister decided to go to London for her education. At first, the process was smooth. When she applied, everything went well, and she was accepted. However, after a few years, the value of the British pound increased significantly, which made things much harder for her. My father was sending her money, but when exchanging it into pounds, the value of the money became almost nothing. In addition, sending money became difficult because the sanctions made currency exchange much harder, and sometimes, my father had to try many ways to send her money, which was stressful for both him and my sister.

         One of the most challenging effects of the sanctions was on traveling. My family used to travel abroad two or three times a year, and after my sister moved to London, traveling and flying was the only way we could see her. We wanted to visit her for a few weeks; however, because of the high prices, it was becoming almost impossible, and plane tickets and hotels became too expensive. Many families couldn’t even buy basic things like food or medicine, let alone travel, so the quality of life for everyone got worse. It didn’t matter whether people were rich or poor because sanctions made life harder for everyone. The routines people followed, such as vacations or buying necessities, became difficult, which made people sad and worried, including my family.

        Moreover, one of the hardest effects of the sanctions was on my own education. When I turned eighteen, I wanted to study abroad like my sister. Since the cost of that was too high, I decided to stay in Iran for my bachelor’s degree. My plan was to finish my degree in Iran and then get a scholarship to study abroad. However, things got worse as prices kept increasing while people’s salaries and incomes remained low in contrast to the rising cost of living. This situation put pressure on students and families, so studying abroad felt like a dream. At this age, many dream about having their own place or car in their country. However, because of the economy in Iran, even working an academic job at the age of thirty wouldn’t provide enough money or resources to be independent. People act like they were happy sometimes, but deep down, everyone was stressed about the future.

  

      Now I live in the U.S., but I am still worried about my future in the U.S. because every time I see the news, I check to see if something bad has happened that could affect Iranian people living abroad. Iran is always in the news, and it is scary because my sister is still in London. She says she is always stressed about her visa, and I have a lot of stress about my visa too. These feelings are heavy, like carrying weight all the time. This is the innocent burden that my family, and many others carry. The sanctions were supposed to affect the government, but instead, they made life harder for average people. Hopefully, one day things will get better, but no one knows when.

 Marks of History

            When I was in the sixth grade I learned about modern Brazilian history. The teacher told us about The Cold War. It was a moment when the United States, capitalists, and Soviet Union, socialists, were fighting against each other indirectly. Research, technology improvement and development were happening. However, this period, when the world was “divided” between capitalist and communist system, interfered in the politic system in Brazil as well. Therefore, to fight against communism, the military in Brazil established a dictatorship, which lasted from 1964 to 1985. The dictators benefited people that were involved with the movement, such as the military and their families, yet the dictatorship was mostly based on censorship, repression and torture. Furthermore, Brazilian dictatorship influenced people’s customs, thoughts and values, and it wouldn’t be different with my family. 

            My father’s side of my family was pressured into supporting the military. My great-grandfather was a middle age military officer. He had four teenage daughters and three teenage sons when the dictatorship began in Brazil. In this period, the information about the country situation was limited only to the army, and if they shared it with someone, even with their family, it could be a problem. For that reason, my family members believed that nothing corrupt was happening. In addition, they were living in a military area and going to a military school. My great-grandfather’s children always felt protected and safe. As a result, they still believe the dictatorship in Brazil was not an authoritarian or anti-democratic period. 

            Although one side of my family was in the military, my mother’s side suffered the consequences of the dictatorship. My grandmother was a teenager when everything began. Her family was never involved with politics. However, they were not in a protected area, so everyone was treated as suspects. My grandmother lost years of her adolescence. One day her father sold one part of his electric cables to a military officer, but he didn’t know the guy was involved with the army. Even though my grandmother’s father wasn’t involved with politics, the military denounced my great-grandfather because he was selling cables that people should have been buying from the government. After that, my great-grandparents didn’t let their children go out alone. My grandmother couldn’t go out with friends or leave the house to go somewhere else beside school. The tension lasted for a long time. 

             Consequently, having a family on both sides of the dictatorship has always influenced how my family members think and communicate. My father’s side thinks that it was a good period for the country, but they never really talk about that. On the other hand, I always try to share information about the dictatorship with the younger generation, because I think it is important to know about our country and the historical process. There are documentaries, movies and music that capture the real scenario of Brazil, between 1964 and 1985. In fact, this year a movie called “I’m still here” won the best international movie performance. The movie shows an important part of the dictatorship and how this period influenced people’s life. In addition, I always try to show my siblings and cousins and be open to talk about the authoritarianism in Brazil. 

            A country’s historical process always influences people’s values and customs, as such the dictatorship influenced my family daily life. The event divided the country, as well my family, but it also thought me how to respect and hear people. Each experience is unique, and sometimes people just reproduce what they learn or replicate what they see and hear. For that reason, I always try to show to my sibling and cousins sources that they will have the right information. I learned that it is important to learn from more experienced people, but it is also important to search and have my own thoughts.