New Life----Qianmin Li

 New Life 

When I found out I needed to move to Chicago with my family, a new life came to my mind. This made me realize that I needed to adapt to this new American culture. I was looking forward to my new life, but I was also afraid. I knew everything could be different like the environment, living habits, and culture. Right now, sometimes I feel comfortable, but sometimes I feel like I still need to adapt and accept the new things. 

I came to Chicago about three years ago, and one thing I feel comfortable about is learning the language. Learning English makes me feel like fitting in Chicago. The first day that I arrived in Chicago, I walked around the streets and tried to blend into Chicago with my mother. However, that day was memorable for me because an embarrassing thing happened. The reason was that we saw the McDonald’s and wanted to buy a hamburger, so we walked inside to the counter. The service staff asked what we wanted to order. We were shocked and embarrassed at that moment because we didn’t understand what the woman said. After that, I decided to apply to school and learn English. Right now, I appreciate that I was determined to learn English. Even though my English is not very good yet, I can go shopping and go to foreign restaurants by myself. Moreover, I feel comfortable because I can understand what people say and answer them. I believe that something as embarrassing as my first day will never happen again. 

However, one thing I still try to adapt to is that many restaurants in Chicago close early, and the city nightlife is different than China. If some people are hungry at night, they can cook at home or go out, but they need to think about some neighborhood if they’re going out. I went to the Jakson Wang concert last year. After the performance, my boyfriend and I were hungry. Therefore, we wanted to go to a restaurant. I used Google Maps and tried to find a restaurant nearby, but everything was closed. Consequently, we could only cook noodles at home. This is also one of the reasons that I miss my country. In Guangdong, every commercial street is busy, so people can go out to eat or order food online no matter how late it is. They don’t worry about waiting for a long time. Because a lot of restaurants are open twenty-four hours. After ordering, it usually only takes thirty minutes to deliver. 

There are many new and different things that will appear in my Chicago life, and I will try to find some interesting ways to adapt to them. For example, If I change my mind, and I think that I cannot go out to eat at night, I know this also is a good way to help me save money and keep my body in shape. Regardless of any new environment I will face, I believe that I can adapt to the new things in life, and I will certainly achieve our dream life someday.