My name is Li Haoran, and I am a Chinese international student. My journey began in Jilin Province, China, and stretched all the way to New Hartford, USA. It was a long journey involving multiple transfers. The moment I arrived, I felt excited and happy.
Jilin Province is a province in Northeast China. China’s provinces are often compared to the states of the United States. In the United States, states, counties, and cities are equivalent to provinces, autonomous counties, and prefecture-level administrative regions in China, respectively. Jilin Province is located in the central part of Northeast China, with a total area of 72,356 square miles. As of the end of 2022, the province had a total population of 23,476,900, of which 14,961,800 were urban residents, accounting for 63.73% of the total population. Changchun is the political, economic, and cultural center of Jilin Province.
I started my journey by plane from Jilin Province. Flights from Jilin to Beijing typically take 2 to 2 hours and 30 minutes. My flight was scheduled for around 7 or 8 pm, but unfortunately it rained heavily that night, causing a delay of five hours. My father and I flew to Beijing, China. We arrived in Beijing around 1 a.m. After arriving in Beijing, I found a place to stay nearby for the night. My next flight was on the morning of the 3rd. My father took me to meet his friend, who then showed us around Beijing. We went out for a hot pot together, then watched a Peking Opera performance. We’ll also visit the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven. We didn’t return to the hotel until evening.
After my father accompanied me to Beijing, I flew to the United States alone. I’m so glad my flight wasn’t delayed that day. I said goodbye to my father and boarded the plane to the United States. My heart was heavy with emotion. At that moment, I hesitated. I didn’t know if going to the United States was the right decision for me because I would be separated from my loved ones. But I still boarded the plane. I waved goodbye to my father, and he gave me some advice.
I departed from Beijing, transited through South Korea for an hour, and then continued my journey from South Korea to the United States.When I arrived at the Korean airport, I felt very nervous because it was my first time traveling to another country without any family members accompanying me. I was unfamiliar with Korean and thankfully the staff helped me find my flight. I took a flight that lasted about 11 hours, and it was extremely difficult because I had to stay on the plane for such a long time. Except for going to the restroom, I sat in my seat the entire time, which left my whole body numb. I didn’t arrive in New York until 9:45 PM. I felt relaxed when I stood on the ground and I found my mother. My mother and I had not seen each other face-to-face for about eight years.The moment we met, we excitedly embraced each other and she drove me for four hours to reach New Hartford.
I felt very unwell when I woke up on the second day .Because I needed to adjust to the time zone and sleep schedule, I forced myself to synchronize with my surroundings. There is a 12-hour time difference between China and the United States, meaning that when it is morning in China, it is afternoon in New Hartford.
My first impression of New Hartford was that the houses here are widely spaced out. Each household has a front yard and a backyard. Transportation here also requires vehicles; every household owns a car. According to Mr.Jierui’s description(He is a Chinese student in New Hartford.), some of China’s major cities are teeming with 30-story skyscrapers. Old buildings are being demolished and replaced by modern structures—a transformation that is concerning. In China, you can take the bus or other public transport anytime, anywhere. Skyscrapers are everywhere in China.
New Hartford High School is completely different from the schools I attended in China. The academic pressure in China is immense, with mountains of homework and exams. In China, as long as you’re in your own classroom, teachers will teach the relevant lessons; you don’t need to go to other classrooms. However, I also really like the New Hartford learning style. In China, when you study in a school, you’re assigned to a fixed class, and the classmates in each class are also fixed. New Hartford can arrange for students to take different courses and make different friends. I think it’s interesting that way
Mr. Jierui commented, “Vegetables! Americans eat relatively few vegetables. It’s almost all fried food.” I think most American food is fried. In China, people tend to cook a variety of delicious dishes with vegetables and meat. China also has street food trucks that are more environmentally friendly.
I came to the United States to continue my studies and get into a good university.At first, I wasn’t used to life here because this is spoken in a language I don’t understand. I started learning English, started going to school, and started getting used to everything here. After three years, I’ve adapted to this place.
