Everyone has a story about their life, and I am no exception. My life has changed for the better since I moved to America to study. In here, I had a chance to experience so many things that I have not ever done before, especially English and American culture. Therefore, a new world was opened to me which created a new story about my life in America. I never forget the first day I step on American soil; I was surprised and scared because everyone spoke English very fast. On the day I arrived to the airport in Los Angeles, I did not know where I should go.
I was lost for one hour, and I cried a lot because I did not know what I should do at that time. Fortunately, there was a Vietnamese man who wore blue shirt and black jeans looking very elegant helped me find the right way. After that day, I spent almost one month just staying at home because I was afraid of communicating with others. Therefore, speaking English became my huge problem when I moved to the US. Whenever my sister invited me go out with her, I always refused immediately and sometimes, I was even angry at her.
Then, my friend, Vy, said to me that “staying at home just makes you more scared, and you cannot have any chance to improve English. Moreover, you will gradually become more stupid if you continue to lock yourself in the house. ” Therefore, I started to change my mind because of her suggestion. After that, I chatted to Andy on Facebook, another friend who studies in the US like me. He said with his cheerful face, “Hey Thuy, I travelled to San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Miami with my American friends, these places are very wonderful.
So, have you travelled to there yet? ” I just responded to him with a halt because I did not go to anywhere yet, so how can I talk to him that I just stayed at home for whole month. That was ridiculous and embarrassed! However, after he asked me this question, I was woken up. I recognized that avoiding speaking English was not healthy; it will let me down and I will lose my chances to discover beautiful places in America. Moreover, we both went to America to study but he is more courageous than me, so I become more disappointed about myself.
Then, I spent my remaining break time going out and trying to communicate with everyone and watch American shows before going to school. I remember on one day, I went to McDonalds to order food. I told to an assistant that “Hi, can I get one Mc chicken and large fried? ” However, I was still timid, so my volume was very small. Therefore, she did not understand me and her face winced when listening to me because of my wrong pronunciation. This thing made me a little bit confused and shy. However, I did not give up and tried many times to fix my pronunciation for many times.
Finally, she understood what I said. I smiled all the time when I went home because I overcame this difficulty and now, I felt very confident when going out and talking to others. Moreover, this is my first time in a different country without my family, so it was very difficult to me to do everything by myself. However, all problems will be resolved if we take the time to ask for help. Thus, I had an opportunity to learn how to live independently in America, such as how to creating an account bank, how to take a bus, and how to take a driving exam.
After that time, I took American Language Program which is abbreviated as ALP in Cal State Fullerton before studying in the university. This course was wonderful because it not only helped me improve my English skills but also provided to me with a lot of knowledge about America. I remembered that on one day, ALP had an exciting activity about exchanging culture with American students. They often created so many jokes to make us laugh. Moreover, whenever I asked them, they always smiled and answered questions immediately.
Therefore, they made me more comfortable when communicating with them and removed any worries about my English skills. In addition, they taught me so many things about American culture that I have never known before. For example, they said that “tipping is a common habit in the US, so you need to remember to pay tip for waiters when eating in restaurants because this action is showing respect for staffs.
Moreover, asking someone about their age or weight is very impolite in this country, so you should not ask them about these questions because they can be angry with you. However, I unintentionally asked my American friend about her age and weight because these questions are very normal in my country and now, I knew the reason why she did not answer me, and her face was a little bit angry with my question. After this lesson, I learned not asking others about these questions anymore. Therefore, exchanging culture with American students helped me expand my knowledge, and I gradually adapted to life in America. This is a story about my new life when I have lived in the US.
This country is very great and wonderful because it gave to me opportunities to experience and discover. In spite of having difficulties about the language and culture, I can still adapt to this life and I am more and more mature when living here. Now, I understood that giving up challenges is one of the worst ways to resolve problems; instead of acting this way, we need to overcome them by turning from challenges into opportunities to help us learn new things and open a new world.
