Lost in America

America is a place where a person can find out all kinds of ways to get success, and it is a fair country. If a person works hard, he will be paid off. That is why there are thousands of immigrants who come from all over the world come to America. However, China and the United States are an opposite of the world geographically and culture.  China has five thousand years history, so its culture is a mystery and profound. The United States melt a lot of countries culture, thus its culture is very interesting. In a word, even though they have all kinds of differences, both of them have fantastic culture, but as a new immigrant is very difficult to adjust it, like language, food, and celebration of the holidays.

Language is the most important part of the communication because if I can’t understand others’ language, I will be afraid to talk to them. A new immigrant will feel helpless. I felt extremely uncomfortable in my first week in the United States. Everything was unfamiliar. Everybody spoke English that I couldn’t even understand one word. Even though my father has been in America for ten years, he can’t speak English. Once, my family went to beach together. We had great time until we felt hungry. There was only one grocery market we could find near the beach. However, none of us could speak English. My father asked me to buy some food to feed the whole family, and it ended up a horrible experience that I will never forget. I went into the shop and looked for some bread. Unluckily, I couldn’t find a slice of bread.  I walked listlessly. Suddenly, there were some familiar things in front of me. Yeah! It was instant noodles. I grabbed four boxes of the instant noodles, and checked them out immediately. “How could we eat that without hot water?” I muttered to myself. I needed to ask for some water, but how could I communicate to them without English. I just opened the boxes, and then said “water” to a clerk. He was so nice and smart. He helped me out right away. I ran out the shop as soon as possible. I felt embarrassed, and I promised I would never go into that shop forever. As a new immigrant, the language is their major obstacle.

Moreover, food is very important to people’s life, but since I came to America I felt so sad because it is very hard to find authentic Chinese food. There are thousands of varieties of Chinese cuisine. Some of them lose have taste in America. For example, “shuizhuhuoyu” is my most favorite dish. In China, I often went out with my friends to have it. It is cooked with fresh whole fish in China. However, in America, I can’t find a restaurant prepare it well. They all cook with boneless fish. Although it will be easy to eat, it loses originality. One time, I really wanted to have it, so my mother particularly went to the Chinese grocery shop to buy the fish. Then she went home to cook it by herself. Finally, I had the original “shuizhuhuoyu”.  It tastes awesome. Although there are a lot of Chinese restaurants near my house, I don’t like them. Also, some of the traditional food you can’t find in the Chinese restaurant, like “Zhongzi” which is a food we make it in the “duanwu” festival. Many people call it rice dumpling. It is very delicious, but I can’t find it in Chicago. This year, when the Duanwu festival was coming, my mother wanted to make the zhongzi by herself. However, it was very hard to find the ingredients. In the end, she gave up. It is so sad that the immigrants who come to America experience the same flavors.

In addition, the traditional festivals are disappearing in the United States, like Duanwu Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, and I can’t take part in the America’s traditional festival. In China, they are activities for each festival. In the Duanwu Festival, Chinese eat “Zhongzi” (rice dumpling). Every family makes “zhongzi” by themselves. Then we go to watch the dragon boat competition in the afternoon. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese eat the moon cake, and then the family members sit together and chat. It is a festival like America’s Thanksgiving Day. Spring Festival is a big holiday in China. Everyone prepares abundant food in that day. The seniors will give the children an envelope that signifies have more happiness in next year. However, Chinese people work so hard in America, so they don’t have time to make “zhongzi”, “moon cake”. Nor do they really celebrate the festivals. Most of them just go to the restaurant to have a dinner with their family. Some of them live in other states, so they just call each other to say happy holidays. That’s it. It is so sad. Meanwhile, I don’t know how to celebrate the American’s traditional festival, like Thanksgivings Day. Most of Americans have turkey in that day. I had never seen the turkey before I came in to America. At first, I was so excited, and I bought a smoked turkey wings in a market. When I got home, I couldn’t wait to have it. However, I realized preferred chicken. In a word, I felt so sad because not only I can’t celebrate my traditional Chinese festivals, but also I can’t blend into American’s festivals.

The United States is a wonderful place, and people can do everything we want to do. It is a free place. However, it is hard to be an immigrant. All immigrants need to adapt. They should learn English, and so they can communicate with more Americans. They can acknowledge more the American’s culture. Maybe one day they will melt into the America. They can celebrate the American’s traditional festivals, and they have turkey in the Thanksgivings Day. While all this may be true, I don’t want to lose my Chinese traditional.