5 October 2015
I was so nervous as I waited to be claimed by my host family. It felt as if I was a young child in an orphanage waiting to be adopted. As my family approached me, I was relieved that the mother was there and they looked fairly young. My first impression was that they were very friendly and they seemed wealthy, because their car and clothes looked expensive. They did not speak English very well, and my Chinese was even worse, so I was worried about how we would communicate. As soon as we got home the mother had to go to work which upset me, because I did not know how to talk to the father or two children. I spent a lot of time looking around, because their home was so modern. The apartment building consisted of thirty-seven floors and is surrounded by restaurants, shops, movie theatres, and even karaoke bars.
A few hours had passed and it was dinner time. It was then that I got to meet the whole family. The grandparents cook and clean, the mother Ivy and her husband worked, and the children were very entertaining. Evan, who is 9, usually dances and sings as Didi (who is two) just points and laughs at absolutely everything. It seemed like everyone had a role to play in the family. The food was always very good and usually included rice, some type of meat, a vegetable, and green beans, which are my favorite. I liked everything about the family but I wanted to find a way to connect with them on a deeper level. Days passed and we were not doing much together because of the parents’ work schedule. Finally, the father and children invited me to walk around the garden area outside of the apartment. As we were walking I came to the conclusion that maybe I should change and become more open. When the mother was home, I would try to talk to her until I was ready for bed. She tried to teach me Chinese while I would teach her English.
Going out together was my favorite time. The first place was karaoke with her colleagues which was very fun because there were a lot of American songs for me to sing. Some of her co-workers knew English, so it was great to have a translator. The next time we went to a hot pot restaurant, which was amazing. After hot pot we ended up at a movie theater to see “Mission Impossible 5.” I was excited because I was waiting to see the movie and it was in English which made it ten times better. Next weekend we have plans to get massages with hot rocks and go hiking up a mountain. I am very excited to see what other places we plan to go. I am feeling a lot more comfortable since we are spending more time together. When the time comes to leave, I know I am going to miss them very much. Overall, I like my host family a lot and I am excited to see what the future has in store for us.
– Taeshia Frank
