Jilin University of Finance and Economics - Hanyang Song

In August, besides the heat and laziness, there were many unknown adventures belonged to this summer.

Part 1 - the First challenge of the foreign country (Spiritual Growth)

In fact, nothing in life that you can't do alone.

On the first day of arriving in Boston, I got a bad cold because of the cold air conditioner. It was strange that I felt not so good, and the surroundings did not match my imagination about exotic life, but I still enjoyed the feeling of fighting alone.

Part 2 - the Concept of family (Host Family)

After recovery, I started to communicate with my family. My spoken English was not very good, but I was an outgoing girl, and we didn’t meet any difficulty in communication.

I stayed in a big family with more than 20 members from China, Croatia, Japan, South Korea, Chile, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and Belgium. Except for the friends from Kazakhstan and Belgium who were graduates, the rest had worked in Boston for a long time. Aunt Vicki and Patti were two housekeepers of this family. When I walked into the house for the first time, I felt warm and cozy.

Our topics changed every day. At beginning, we talked about the differences between different cultures including history, education system, employment competition, future plans such as job intention and emotional problems, etc.

People living in this house had different skin colors, nationalities and languages. However, everybody knew that we were a big family, and we helped each other in this strange city. In fact, what made a family was not blood relationship legally, but patience, devotion and understanding.

Part 3 - Education and future (Internship)

I was really touched when I accompanied the children to class for the first time. They were generally mature and did not need any attention in life. My duty was more likely to share daily life with them. In music class, the children followed the teacher to play African drum, which was not an easy work with so much knowledge of music theory.

On Thursday of my first week, I went to the theater with the children and watched the comedy show called "Blue man group". Honestly, I didn’t know much about this kind of American humor, but I appreciated the attitude of the audience, as well as the atmosphere during the show. They were invited to cooperate with the actors on the stage, screaming, laughing and cheering. Everybody was immersed in the atmosphere of comedy and really enjoyed it.

Part 4 - A trip on my own (New York trip)

On the second weekend, I went to New York alone. It took me four hours by bus from Boston to New York. I never thought this legendary city could be the destination of my first trip. After half a month of exotic life, it became easy to travel alone without fear or worry since my independence and English level were greatly improved.

Americans were good at praising. I heard “pretty” more than ten times. And “lady first” always worked wherever I went, and gentlemen usually let the lady behind them came first if they were not in a hurry.

The trip went well with no problems about language or schedule. I went to the Empire State Building to watch night scene of New York, and the words of Trump constantly flashed in my mind: "New York, My City."

To Youth (the End)

One should go far away to see the world at a young age. Actually, my nostalgia for this land was not only because of the attraction of different culture and life, but also appreciation for myself. I never thought I could battle with high fever of more than 40 degrees bravely. I never thought I could made so delicious meals. The girl who went to a foreign land without fear and anxiety was me.

A good friend of the host family asked me: "What’s your dream?" "Every day could be a new adventure”, I said, which was not only a summary of my experience in the USA, but also my expectation of future.