Week 11

Something I was very excited about was my ability to obtain a United States drivers license. This was easy for me to do because I have a Chinese drivers license. To get a United States license I had to contact the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and set up an appointment. This had to be done within the first thirty days that I was in Ohio. On the day of my appointment I had to go and take both a written and a driving test. I had to show my Chinese drivers license and my passport, as well. Since I passed both of the tests I was able to obtain a US drivers license. I felt it was important for me to have a license because I wanted to have the experience of driving to the grocery store, going to the mall, going out to dinner, and taking trips while I was studying. Though I do not have my own car, my roommate allows me to drive her car. We go out to dinner once a week and we also go grocery shopping together. It is very fun to drive around Ohio. I enjoy the days we take trips to different areas of Ohio. This allows me an opportunity to look at the landscape. On Saturday evenings, my roommate makes dinner for me so I can try foods that she eats with her family. On Sunday evenings, I make her some of the Chinese food that my family frequently makes. My favorite meal that she has made me is a taco salad. Her favorite was the sesame chicken that we had last weekend. I've really enjoyed being able to experience all the foods that she and her family eat.

Week 10

I have recently been thinking about home and beginning to have a feeling of homesickness. Coming to America to study is the first time I've been out of the country and living in another country. I dream about my family and my home quiet frequently. It was difficult to find my way around campus and the city, when I first arrived. This also added to my homesickness. Studying and taking all my course work in a foreign language was difficult for me. Also, there were many times I was unable to join in conversations with fellow students because I was unable to follow the jokes or understand their humor. However, now that I have been in America a while I am becoming better acquainted with the campus, city, and students. I am finding it easier to follow their conversations and my friends are very good at explaining the parts of their jokes to me that I do not understand. To communicate with my family I have been able to use a program called QQ. It is similar to Skype but it allows me to do more. I have the ability to talk with my family but I can also set up a blog and post pictures. I am an only child, due to the one-child policy in China, so my parents miss me a lot. They were very nervous about me being away for so long and studying in another country. However, QQ helps me to keep them updated on my life and the experiences I am having, which helps them to be less worried.

Week 9

The University of Akron had Spring Break a few weeks ago. This was a new experience for me. For an entire week the University held no classes and many of the students left campus and went home. In China, we do not have a Spring Break from classes. We are on a semester system but it is set up a little differently than the American semester system. I was pretty excited to have a break in the middle of the semester. It gave me a chance to get ahead on some work. I was also able to spend some time with some friends and we were able to take some time and travel. In China, most of our universities have a fall and a spring semester. There are typically no summer semesters. We also have a month long winter holiday, which occurs at the end of the fall semester. This break is fairly equivalent to the break we experienced at the end of fall semester here at Akron. This break occurs during Chinese New Year celebration. This year our New Year was celebrated on February 3rd. The New Year celebration is similar to the Christmas celebration in America, full of many stories and traditions. It was very difficult for me to be away from home this year, during the New Year celebration. After spring semester we typically have a two month long summer holiday, which is equivalent to the summer break at Akron. Unlike Akron, however, we typically do not offer classes for students to take during this break.

Week 8

As an international student studying in America I have experienced many situations that are vastly different from those I experienced back home in China. The Office of International Programs (OIP) has been very beneficial to these experiences. They provided me with an international orientation in the summer to help me learn about America, Ohio, and Akron. They also helped me learn how an American classroom culture, immigration regulations and how to find my way around the Akron campus. Throughout the semester OIP provides seminars to help international students adjust to life at Akron. These seminars helped me to meet other international students on campus. We also have a University of Akron Facebook page, that students in China can join to help them meet other Chinese students studying at Akron. The writing center, in Bierce library, is also a very important tool for me. My program requires a great deal of writing and the writing center allows me to get help with my English grammar, wording and even APA format.