Lost in Translation - Yanfang Huang

 

My Magic Power

          Many people have an American dream in my hometown, Taishan City, Guangdong, China. After the discovery of gold in the Western United States, many people from Southern China went to the U.S. to mine the gold. The U.S. has a developed economy with rich educational resources, so many Chinese wanted to immigrate to the U.S. The application of immediate family members is one of the key ways for Chinese people to immigrate. My husband and his family came to Chicago like this. I arrived in Chicago about three years ago. After coming to this country, I found some advantages and disadvantages about this country. One of the advantages is that the ability to study is unlimited for people my age, and one of the disadvantages was that I could not communicate with English speakers because of my poor English.

One interesting part of the educational system is that everyone can apply to college in the U.S. regardless of their age. When I was a student growing up in China, I always wanted to go to college. Nevertheless, my parents could not afford to pay my tuition, so I used to think going to college was an unachievable dream. However, I am so excited that I can achieve my goal in the U.S. now. I will never forget the first day when I went to school because I was so proud. I always remind myself to go to school on time every class day, and I always remind myself to do my homework and review what I have learned since studying at Harold Washington College. I have been able to make friends and learn many new things in school. Before I moved to Chicago, I went to work every day and felt like an auto machine that cycled the same things every day. I was listless in my life. Since I have been going to college, I think I am full of energy every day. This feeling is so good, and it is like a magic power.

Despite these positive changes, I have had a hard time communicating with Americans because of my poor English. I will never forget the day I got lost in downtown Chicago. About a month after I came to Chicago, my husband and I went to Navy Pier, and he parked the car in a parking garage. After waiting for the elevator for a long time, we went out through the fire escape. When we returned to get the car, the fire escape was blocked, and we could not find the elevator. I asked many people for help, but they could not understand me. It was getting late, and we were helpless. I felt that I was floating in the middle of the ocean and trying to hold on to something, but I could not catch anything. Fortunately, my brother-in-law gave me a call, and he translated for us. I thought he was my savior at that moment. Finally, we found the entrance to the garage. When I was in China, I could go anywhere by myself. I did not worry about getting lost because I could ask for help, and language was not a problem.

Everything has its two sides, both pros and cons. As an old Chinese saying goes, a thousand days at home are good, but half a day out is difficult. When people go to a new place, in addition to accepting the benefits it brings, they also accept and overcome the difficulties. As an adult, since I decided to immigrate, I have prepared to face all the difficulties and challenges. I think that strengths and weaknesses are like two ends of a scale, and I have been using my magic power to bring it into balance so that it is not leaning to one side. I believe that the scale will be balanced someday in the future.