Personal Narrative: My Experience At D. Roosevelt University
Sister,
I know this was my choice, but that didn’t ease the waves of shock that crashed over me when our plane touched down in Chicago. Of course I knew that English would sound different when natives spoke it, that the land of the free wasn’t exempt from humanity’s self-destructive prejudices. I guess I just wasn’t anticipating the international flight attendant to pretend to misunderstand me , or the thick Texas drawl to first teach me what “y’all” meant in the back of a Taxi cab. Those first few hours here were worrying to say the least.
Arriving on campus felt safer than landing in an airport. Roosevelt University was filled with educated people—people who were as fascinated by my Chinese-ness as I was about their Americanness. But enough about those first few moments, I have been doing well here despite that. …show more content…
But it’s okay, did you know that even the public bathrooms here have plumbing? Electricity? And on warmer nights, sleeping in the park is nothing like sleeping outside at home. People are awake at all hours here, lights are always flashing; you never feel alone. The food here is disgustingly different. I’ve managed to afford a Big Mac a week and every time I force it down I miss even Mom’s cooking .
Another thing about the people here, the students especially. They’re so American. I don’t even bother telling them the name of our town , they’ll just pretend they understand when I say it’s far outside of Shanghai. Their sense of independence here is shockingly selfish too, many of them left home simply because they wanted to. I heard one woman complaining about how she’s forced to support her aging parents. Could you imagine being so selfish? All I’m doing here is studying to someday support Mom and Dad, even if I’m only able to do so financially from afar
I know this was my choice, but that didn’t ease the waves of shock that crashed over me when our plane touched down in Chicago. Of course I knew that English would sound different when natives spoke it, that the land of the free wasn’t exempt from humanity’s self-destructive prejudices. I guess I just wasn’t anticipating the international flight attendant to pretend to misunderstand me , or the thick Texas drawl to first teach me what “y’all” meant in the back of a Taxi cab. Those first few hours here were worrying to say the least.
Arriving on campus felt safer than landing in an airport. Roosevelt University was filled with educated people—people who were as fascinated by my Chinese-ness as I was about their Americanness. But enough about those first few moments, I have been doing well here despite that. …show more content…
But it’s okay, did you know that even the public bathrooms here have plumbing? Electricity? And on warmer nights, sleeping in the park is nothing like sleeping outside at home. People are awake at all hours here, lights are always flashing; you never feel alone. The food here is disgustingly different. I’ve managed to afford a Big Mac a week and every time I force it down I miss even Mom’s cooking .
Another thing about the people here, the students especially. They’re so American. I don’t even bother telling them the name of our town , they’ll just pretend they understand when I say it’s far outside of Shanghai. Their sense of independence here is shockingly selfish too, many of them left home simply because they wanted to. I heard one woman complaining about how she’s forced to support her aging parents. Could you imagine being so selfish? All I’m doing here is studying to someday support Mom and Dad, even if I’m only able to do so financially from afar