Welcome You, a New Friend

Are you ready to stay in the United State? There are a very big difference between America and your country. You may have already learned a lot information from the American government website before you immigrated here. I would just tell you some tips from my experience.  

1. Make more friends

In the beginning of you moving here, you will definitely feel so alone. This is the first challenge you would face. The best way to solve the issue is to make more friends. When you know some friends, you can get many living guides from them quickly. You know, immigrants can help each other.

2. Go to RTC to learn

After you settled down, you can go to RTC to study English. English is the basics survival condition here, like water and air. There you could get unimaginable achievement. You would know a lot of students from all over the countries and meet the friendly and professional English teachers.  You would not only learn English grammar, but also learn writing, reading and pronunciation. The teachers also teach you some skills - how to write resume and how to job interview.  

3. Join clubs

In America, there are many clubs for the people who have the same interests, such as fitness club, chess club, golf club, singing club, tour club and so on. They often get together to have various activities.  You will surely enjoy meeting people in these clubs.

The most important things are friend and English for new immigrants. Making friend is very helpful. I can be your friend and I can help you when you needed. You can reach me at my cell phone, 123-456-7890. 

Thank you, my friends

I agree strongly this point of view: there is no greater loss than the loss of one's homeland. Only people who have had this kind of experience can really understand its meaning.
I really like my home cooked meal which I have been eating for decades. America people can't image how delicious Chinese food is! My husband is an America born and raised, and he does not like Chinese food. Therefore, I seldom cook and eat Chinese food in home. I told my friend that I actually often miss Chinese food. One day in the college, she passed me a plastic box without any words. When I opened it, I was moved to tears. It is Chinese sauced beef! She just cooked it for me in the morning! How nice it is! She is a new immigrant, just arrived here a little bit earlier than me. We never knew each other in China before. She is Dingmei - my good classmate. Thank you, my friend.
For my first driver's test, I was very nervous; even though I had more than thirteen years of driving experience in my country. My instructor commended me strictly, “hand signal”. Unbelievably, I did not understand the simple words!  She instantly became very mad at me. She jumped out of my car and slammed the door. She yelled at me in front of everyone: “She does not know hand signal, she does not know hand signal”! I was scared out of my wits. Oh, I was so embarrassed! At this point one Chinese man came over and carefully explained something to her. Then my test went on. Apparently, I failed the driver's test that day. However, I really appreciated him to stopping the ridiculous scene. Thank you, my friend.

It is hard to change life. Luckily, we can help each other to overcome its difficulties.  

My feeling of watching the film of The Joy Luck Club

I was watching the film of The Joy Luck Club with deep sympathy. Amy Tan describes some conflicts between the four mothers and the four daughters. The four mothers grew up under the old Chinese regime; they suffered from the miserable life-like poor ducks.  They struggled against their fate and escaped from China toAmerica. They hoped their daughters would have a bright life in the US -like beautyful swans. Unfortunately, a lot of misunderstandings between the two generations were often caused by the different culture background and experience. Through the mothers and daughters’ painful efforts, they began to understand each other and adjusted the relationship from conflicts to blending.

I can understand the meaning of the film as a Chinese daugher and a Chinese mother. I am familiar with the situation of the middle of the last century. I would like to try to summarize the two points of the Chinese culture that Amy expressed in the film.

1.    The marriage in the old China

About 50 years ago, Chinese women’s marriage was managed by match makers when they were little girls in poor families. A girl could not choose her husband by herself, women were not even able to meet their future husband before marriage. In the wedding ceremony, a lady’s head was covered by a piece of red cloth. After wedding, her cloth would be lifted and could see her man, no matter whether he was a boy or a block of wood -like the daughter Lindo Jong in the film. Generally, the lady needed to live with him or its for her whole life, and they never got divorced. It was said it was her destiny.

2.      Parents hope the children will be dragon and phoenix

Dragon and Phoenix in Chinese means the best boy and the best girl in the world. In order to train the children to be a dragon or a phoenix, parents make a great efforts to save the money on the food and the expenses. They force their children to learn some skills professionally, in spite of whether the children like it or hate it. If the children finally got the top 1 in some field, the parents would be very proud of them. Parents would like to display the children’s achievement in public. Otherwise, the parents would not hold their head high in public. However, the children did not want them to do that. This is called the generation gap. Amy Tan delivered the issue in the film clearly.

I like this film. Some things have changed, and some things remain the same.