ESL100
Ziqing Liao
February 5, 2025
New start
My life is facing a big change now that I live in Chicago. Before I left China, every day I woke up by my mom’s yelling or school morning music. The daily routine was structured and familiar. Now, I wake up by myself, and every day is a rush because I’m scared of being late for school. This change is because I am in the U.S. now. I lived in China before, and everything was familiar to me. I was surrounded by my native language, and I spoke Mandarin. I could join the conversation if I was interested without caring about any grammar mistakes. But now, I need to speak a totally different language: English. Sometimes, I fear to speak to others because they don’t understand what I mean, and I need to consider use which word before I talk. I always think about my accent is not great and I can’t speak fluently, so I usually keep silent in class. However, I can’t always be that way, and I feel like I should melt into this society. Despite that all the things there are new to me, I am adapting to this new environment by myself.
These six months I think I have grown up a lot. I can do everything by myself, and I am exploring this big city. When I have time, I go for a walk by the river, go to different streets and find some restaurants to enjoy a meal. For me, finding authentic Chinese food is hard. The Chinese fast food here is totally different from China. One time, I went to eat Panda Express which is a famous Chinese fast-food restaurant. When I ate the first bite of orange chicken, I felt something kicking my tongue. That is what they call Chinese food! You’ve got to be kidding. It was so sweet! I think that someone might have misinterpreted real Chinese food, because I never heard of this cuisine before in China. I also tried other dishes, but all of them had heavy sauce. That is not the true Chinese food, but there still many Americans that love to eat. I think that is because the cuisine has changed according to people’s preferences. Now, If I want to eat Chinese food, I won’t go to Panda Express and I will cook by myself instead. I also recommend it to those who want to try real Chinese food. You can go to Chinatown because most of the chefs in the restaurants there are from China, and the taste is more authentic.
However, Chicago is amazing, especially in winter. In this city, I met new friends, refreshed myself and tried new things. I like the snowy weather here because it is romantic. What I found most interesting is Christmas. It is never snowy in Zhongshan where I used to live, and we don’t celebrate Christmas. Sometimes, there are just have some decorations in the shopping mall. This year is the first year I celebrated Christmas in the United state, and I have fallen in love with this heavy atmosphere. There are lights and Christmas trees everywhere, and many people decorate their houses. It makes the street full of warmth. The part I like the most is the Christkindlmarket and the exchange of gifts. I went to the Christkindlmarket with my friend, and we shared food together. It’s full of street food from other countries and decorations for sale, and I had never seen these things before. That is a new experience for me, and I love the process of giving and opening gifts.
The new environment is pushing me to be a better person because I can’t stay in the past. Although I often feel lonely and homesick, I still like this change in my life. My mom told me that when I feeling lonely means I am growing up. At first, I didn’t fully understand what she meant, but now I realize that loneliness is not just an empty feeling. This is a sign that I am stepping out of my comfort zone and learning to be independent. Every day, I am learning how to adapt and build a life for myself in this new place. Hopefully, with time, I will not only fit in but also thrive.
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I think food is one of the most easily inducing factors for homesickness. Therefore, I have the same feeling with you. I never want to try Orange Chicken, because I never heard this dished in China. Chicago also has many countries cusine, have you tried them?
ReplyDeleteThe same thing happened to me when I went to a Colombian restaurant. The taste was very different and did not have the ingredients they usually have.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried any other Chinese restaurant?
I think you are totally right when you say Panda Express meals are not very good because I also tested and I did not like it, but I thought it was because I had never tasted Chinese food.So I totally relate to what you are saying. Over all the cuisines you have tasted which one do you think is the best?
ReplyDeleteNow I understand 100% why you don't talk too much. The first time I heard you, I directly thought that you are cute. When I moved to Kenya, I was like you, fear to do mistakes while talking. But today I can say that we will only learn with courage, confidence and by making mistakes. What is your favorite place at China Town?
ReplyDeleteThat part where you said you were used to waking up with your mom's voice or other family members really hit me! It was so sweet and brought back memories for me.
ReplyDeleteIt was the good feeling ever to wake up when mom was yelling. I am also miss those time. Even though I am not a Chinese, I am also notice that Chinese foods in American are not real Chinese because our country are closed. Sometimes, I try to make Chinese food by myself like Mala Xiang Guo.
ReplyDeleteI too love the winter. All my life I have lived in hot and humid climate so I’m in love with winter and snow. Last year was also my first time experiencing snow it was really nice almost magical until it got into my shoes, soaked my socks and I caught a cold. I didn’t have boots yet lol
ReplyDelete