A Homesick Person

    Many countries have their own festival, and some festival are a main character in many people's lives. In china, the Mid-Autumn festival is a very famous festival. People who live or work in remote areas usually go back to their hometown to see their family. In the Chinese language, we call that 'tuantuanyuanyuan', which means it is the time of reunion with family. However, I has lost this family reunion festival since i moved to Chicago.

    First of all When I lived in China, I used to see my family and friends during the Mid-Autumn festival. We could come together, and share our experiences from the year. We would talk about our dreams and goals for the next year like coming to a good college to study. In Chicago, i don't have any family members or friends living here. Therefore, it is impossible to celebrate. In addition, because of the pandemic, it has been so hard to return to China. If I were in China, I would be different. I could share my experiences or my worries with my friends and family and that would make me feel better. We would eat moon cakes, and look at the moon to wish for what we really want. However, I don;t have any chance to meet my family or friends in Chicago. It not only makes me feel sad that I can't share my worries, it is also so hard to have a good atmosphere to look at moon and wish something.

    In addition, also used to eat a lot of delicious food during the Mid-Autumn festival. In China, when people prepare it, they not only have moon cake, but there is a big cooking show in this festival, which means anyone will cook a kind of Chinese dish. Sometimes, some people are not good at it, but they can help others. For example, they can cut some  meat or vegetable. In addition, 'saoer' and 'gantofu' are very important dishes in the Mid-Autumn festival. ' saoer' is made from roasted goose meat with many Chinese spices like anise. 'gantofu' is made by thin tofu slices with Chinese food and spices and cook some Chinese dishes, it is so hard to get goose meat in the US because it is not common meat in the US. I can't experience Mid-Autumn festival in Chicago, I lost something. 

                             

    Furthermore, since I moved to Chicago, I lost the Chance to play 'bobing' in the Mid-Autumn Festival. 'bobing' means people will buy some things put on the table, and, they put six dice in the bowl. They will make list of the different value of thongs, and give them different level. They give people one piece of paper about the 'bobing' in Mid-Autumn Festival.'bobing' rules. This paper shows what means for six dice in the bowl. In the Chinese language, it would relate luck, and tell people how to use six dice to win prizes. For example, 'yixiu' is very lowest level prizes that everyone can get. They usually use toothpaste, snakes. and drinks in this level. 'zhuangyuan' is highest level prizes, which means people can get some very expensive things like computer or television. In Chicago, American don't have Mid-Autumn Festival, so it is impossible to play the game. In addition, it also hard to find someone who is interested in' bobing'. On the other hand, 'bobing' is a easy game to win the prizes, it also had a good wish in this game because many old men believed when people put these six dice would make their bad luck disappear. Therefore, it is also very important entertainment for me in Mid-Autumn Festival.

    In conclusion, I have not been able to see my family or friends, or eat some delicious Chinese dishes since I moved to Chicago. Even though I still can but some Chinese food from Chinatown, and meet some people who come from China too, it is not the same as when I used to. I can't see a lot of people enjoy to play 'bobing', I really miss the atmosphere in Mid-Autumn Festival when I lived in China. Someday, I would find a balance between Chinese culture and American culture in my Chicago life.

 

Moustapha Tchadjobo ESL 100 ESSAY

 

 

The Happiness

Tabaski is the most wonderful holiday of the year. It’s a special holiday that all Muslims enjoy with their family and friends because it’s the time when many people buy cows and goats. Those animals are use to make sacrifices to God and pray for a long life. During the holiday, I always had a good time with my family and friends until the day I was given the opportunity to become a US citizen. I was so excited about traveling to the U.S. because I thought things would be better there. However, life became different when I moved to the U.S because I have lost the joy that I used to have in Togo. Due to this transition, I have lost the ambiance of preparation before Eid, the happiness people have on the day of Tabaski, and the fun I always had after that day.

Weeks before Eid, there were wonderful vibes all around my hometown. Everyone focused on the preparation, children were so excited because Tabaski day is a special day. Everyone would forgot all their problems and enjoyed the moment. During the preparation, I was also excited about making new clothes, buying new shoes, and cutting my hair. Everywhere I passed, there was the sound of happiness because it’s the most important holiday for Muslims. However, since I immigrated to the U.S, things have changed. I have lost that happiness and the feeling I used to have before  Eid. In addition, when the days of Eid was approaching, I always called my family to see how they were preparing for the holiday. That call always finished with tears in my eyes because I was sad and lonely. Moreover, it seems as if I had culture shocked because everything was quiet around Chicago. Muslims know that they will go back to work after Eid. In addition, in Togo, when Eid is three days away, children do not go to sleep early because they are busy playing small games and making noise by singing songs.

Furthermore, in Togo, people enjoy the day of Eid, and everyone is happy. Around seven in the morning, I used to go to my friends’ house to have a beautiful breakfast with all their family.  After the breakfast, we played some music and dance even though I knew the time to go to the mosque was around nine. That little time my friends and I just spent together gave us a good smile. In addition, I have lose the vibe before prayer because I don’t really have Muslin friends in the U.S. Around nine, Muslims go to the biggest mosque in town for prayers in order to thank God for giving them the chance to make it until Eid. In  the US, I miss seeing many people heading to the mosque the day of Eid. I feel discouraged because I am reminded that I am away from home. After the prayer, people take photos with their friends, family, enjoy foods and drinks in my hometown. However, in U.S I have lost that vibe because after the prayer, everyone is busy with their lives or heading to work.

Beside the day of Eid, people in my hometown enjoyed themselves and have fun. They organize games, dance challenges, and other traditional activities. Those games make the activities more enjoyable and interesting. The traditional dance with knives and sticks is popular. Moreover, I stopped enjoying these games in U.S since they are not allowed, and that makes the holiday very quiet. Some people make it to night clubs. Others attend more traditional dance parties in my hometown. Those parties are the one people enjoy the most after the Eid day.

In sum, since I left Togo and moved to U.S, I have forgotten how to enjoy the holidays and I have been depressed. Celebrating holidays in the U.S is quite boring because I do not really feel like myself. I have realized that celebrating holiday in my hometown is more fun and I will make sure to travel back to my country every time the holiday come.  In that way, I will be able to enjoy more the holidays with my family and friends.

Connecting

 

Eva Liang

Fall 2021 ESLINTG 100

 Lost in Translation Essay 2

October 1, 2021

Connecting

         Understanding two cultures can be challenging. When a family has two different cultures, it can be hard for everyone to understand each other. For example, in my family, Chinese culture vs. American culture, it feels like a battle between China and America. I am from China, and I am raising my kids in Chinese ways in the United States. This means that they are growing up with American culture but in my Chinese home. When they were no longer babies, they did not understand and accept my ways.  However, in China when I was going up, I had to respect my parents. Due to this situation, it has been difficult to communicate with my children.

         In China, eating meals together is more than just eating. Most people in my family sit at the same table and wait until everyone comes together.  The younger ones are supposed to serve the older ones, and only when the older people start eating then everybody can start.  While we are eating, everybody usually talks about their day. The grandparents sometimes tell a funny story, and everybody listens.  Sometimes, we laugh at our grandparents’ jokes, and it is a lot of fun.  We don’t do that in my family at Chicago.  Here, in my house, we usually eat buffet style. Everyone grabs their food and sits down to watch TV and eats by themselves.  We don’t talk that much in the United States, especially the children.  I think my parents’ stories are not interesting for them because of the language difference.  I miss the atmosphere of eating family meals in China.

         Moreover, my children’s tastes are different from mine.  Chinese food is very compared to American food.  When I grew up in China, I would always eat my mother’s home dishes.  For instance, my mother always made Hong Shao Rou (红烧肉)，Steamed Fish（清蒸鱼），Chopped Meat Pie（肉饼），Carrot and Soybean Soup（ 红萝卜黄豆汤）, and these are my favorite dishes.  I learned the same foods and served those meals to my children because I knew they are good for them. When they started to grow up and develop a more American taste, they stopped eating my cooking food that much.  Now I cook with a more American style into my foods to make it a Chinese American mixed meal to satisfy them.  I noticed that it is more difficult to make dinner for the family now.  Therefore, I have to learn to cook a variety of food for them.

All these changes mean that I need to learn to adapt to American culture myself.  I know I also must adapt to a new culture.  I have lived in the United States for nearly twenty years, so I cannot expect to keep all the old Chinese traditions.  For example, I know that in the United States, life moves faster than in China, so that is why sit-down family dinners are less common.  People have jobs to work, homework to do, groceries to buy, and people to see.  Therefore, I have tried to fit more into my children’s culture.  For example, it used to be hard to communicate with them because they learned English at school.  This year, I enrolled in English classes because I knew knowing English was important for our communication. I am working hard because I want to communicate with my kids better.  I also try to understand American culture better now.  I watch Netflix, shop at department stores, and sometimes even eat American fast food like McDonalds.  I do this to build up an American social circle so that I can understand my children’s lives better and have an easier time talking to other Americans.

It has been hard to communicate with my kids because of their American culture.  Nevertheless, I try to challenge myself. Constantly, I have to try the bitter things to experience the better things with my children. I have to force myself to learn a new culture in order to communicate with them.  Although sometimes I miss the past, I have to move on and bring myself into a new setting because my family is the most important part of my life. I believe we will understand each other someday!

 

 

 

           

           

           

           

           

           

 

 

 Yaboh Donaldia Emmanuella Koumassou 

ESL 100 CE  

September 19, 2021  

Draft 2 

Lost in the Desert 

I feel like I am lost in the Sahara without any GPS. I get annoyed each time I think about my daily life in the United States. If I were rich, I would travel to my country, Benin, every three months just to go spend time with my parents and my brothers. I come from Dandji, which is a small town in Benin. The weather is always beautiful, so everybody is outside all the time. Since I moved to the U.S, I have missed my free weekends, the way I used to catch up with my neighbors and sing or discuss with my brothers while doing my laundry or cooking. I always enjoyed my Sundays by doing things that I like to do, but I don’t enjoy it anymore. I mean there is no free day for me in my schedule in Chicago. Chicago is a big city compared to small Dandji, but I really miss the things that people do in the small town. It is hard for me to familiarize myself with this new lifestyle. 

One of my favorite things to do is to sit outside and chat with people passing by or with friends. It is quite common in my hometown to be outside just to catch up with people, family, or to invite people over, so everyone will hear the current information. In Chicago, there is nothing like that because many people are busy most of the time. The only people available are old people who, annoyed to stay inside, come out to get some fresh air. On Sundays, when I try to look outside just to check if our neighbors would surprise me, I just felt a quiet wind blowing in my ears. It is just unbelievable how social activities are minimized in the street where I live in Chicago. In my hometown, talking with people or with my brothers helps me to lose stress, but in my house in Chicago, my family members and I only meet at night after work to exchange some words. It does not satisfy me that much. Also, in  Dandji, when I walk to the store to get something, I almost know everybody that is passing, and I can ask about them, how they are doing. In the morning, I used to go buy bread down the street and it is the opportunity to ask the vendor if she is doing well. However, I need some privacy sometimes, so I just sit at the door with my air pods in my ears, listening to music and just waving my hand at people passing by. It helps to have some time for oneself. 

In addition, I used to love singing in the church choir. Every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon, the church choir has rehearsal, and it is the moment for my friends and I to see each other after school. There are many choirs at the church, yet I belonged to the youth choir. I also taught songs because I was one of the heads of the choir. On working days, I focused on my studies, and the house stuff that I have to do, so I did not missed going to the rehearsal to do what I love, sing. I am incredibly sad to notice that in the Catholic Church that I frequent in Chicago, only adults and old people belong to the choir. The first Sunday I went to that church, I was impatient to meet with their choir, but I was discouraged when I saw only old ladies singing. The songs were also slow. I immediately knew that there was no more choir for me to think about, so I must forget about it for now. In addition, the church is twenty-five minutes from my house, and I am not used to taking the bus. I always follow my grandmother, so if she decides not to go this Sunday, I must forget it too, because she is the one that drives the car. However, in Dandji, my house is four minutes from the community church, and there is Catholic church at almost every two intersections. I can just walk to church anytime I want, and the church is always open. I understand that every church has its own rules. 

Moreover, in my hometown, finding something to eat is not a problem at all. There are plenty of food vendors everywhere and they are close to people's houses. Africans like to cook a lot, and there are many house-women in  Dandji. Many of them choose selling food as their activities, so they can care for those activities, and at the same time take care of their houses. In Chicago, there are many places like restaurants, Starbucks, Dominos everywhere, but sometimes far from houses, and African foods are hard to find. In my hometown, I used to eat corn dough with okra sauce and there is a vendor just in front of my house, so when I don’t feel like cooking, I just go there to buy it. It is not even expensive, but here in Chicago, I must cook for myself if I want African food, and I must order and pay for the delivery if I want something else. I realized that many people living in Chicago eat a lot of food from restaurants. However, I usually go to restaurants only for occasional situations like birthdays or anniversaries. One day, in Benin, I went to an international restaurant in the city with my mum and my brothers, and on our way back, I brought a takeaway for my father. He was angry because the food did not taste as well as what he usually buys from the street vendors, and it was a little be expensive. I understood his feelings, so I still long for my hometown street foods. 

Chicago is a wonderful place, but my hometown allowed me to get to know people in my town, to do church activities and to buy any food I want. However, I am missing the community activities of my hometown. I have also forgotten how to manage my time and my schedule between work and relaxing. I feel like I am under pressure. I have tried before to do things the way I used to, but it does not work. I don’t have any more free weekends or choir rehearsals to sing. I believe that I will continue to miss all these things because they are so wonderful, but I cannot do them in this new country and big city. I have lived here in Chicago for two years already, and I hope that step by step, I will familiarize myself with those changes, and things will become much better in the future.