Since I came to America …
Do you want to share your adventure in the United States? Post your stories here to share with your friends back in your country. Maybe they are planning to come to America and are eager to know what it’s like here, and what happened to you? Give them some advice before they come.
Hi! I’m from Japan. In my country, almost all places are safe. Even if you went outside at midnight, nothing will happen. On the other hands, in the U.S., we have to pay attention to a lot of things. For example, we have to know those dangerous places. When I went to downtown LA with my friend last time, I felt very scary because I heard it was a very dangerous place. We didn’t know about downtown LA until that time. After that, I don’t go there at all. Also, we shouldn’t go outside at midnight. Especially you don’t go outside by yourself at night. I live in Pasadena, where it is usually safe, but sometimes bad things happen, so I don’t go outside by myself at night.
If you came to the US, you have to know about the bad things and good things of the US. Usually most travelers don’t think about bad things. They just think about happy and fun things. So if you don’t know about bad things, you can have fun in the US.
Comment by cuchida — May 20, 2005 @ 20:38
Since I came to America, my life has changed a lot. I need to prepare everything by myself, like cleaning my room, washing my clothes, paying bills of cell phone and credit card, etc. I left all my friends in Taiwan and started a new life here, learning a second language and hearing a second language every day. Now I have my own friends here and also can talk with American people. It is not too hard to have a new life in a different country.
There is one thing I want to remind every Chinese people living in LA. In Los Angeles, there are too many Chinese people on the street. If you are poor in English, you also can use Chinese to ask people for help.
Comment by Ao — May 25, 2005 @ 22:49
You need to be careful with police in the US, if you come from a country where police are nice. You have to remember that some American police are not so kind.
Anyway, I have a very unique experience here, in the US, I was arrested!! It was more than 1 year ago. I found a homeless dog, she was so skinny and i couldn’t stop helping her. Then, I decided to take care of her for a couple months. She feels so lonely, if I leave her in my room. So, I brought her out with me sometimes.
One day, I went to an Insurance company’s office and stayed there for 10 minutes. Of course, I parked my car and keep the windows a little bit open. When I was back to my car, a police man was sitting by that car. I didn’t think that he was waiting for me, but he was waiting for me. Then I was arrested because of cruelty to animals. My dog was brought to a shelter, my car was towed somewhere, I was brought to a jail. It was the first time for me that someone put cuffs on me, arrested me, and I stayed in jail. Anyway, I became innocent one month later at Alhambra court. I ended up spending plenty of money and time for that.
Since then, I don’t trust police here. When I see a police car, i feel it’s just a car to collect money. I often see police cars driving so fast or ignoring traffic signals even they don’t have to.
Please be careful with American police.
* The story, I wrote here is fiction. I believe police persons are doing important jobs for us. They are saving our life. I really appreciate their work.
Comment by eRic:) — May 26, 2005 @ 21:25
Hi, I’m from Thailand. I’ve been living here for 3 years. My first year in America was so bored and I thought that I’m not going to live here for long. I attended high school and I didn’t have many friends. Every day I just went to school and came back home doing some homework. My second year was just got better. Because I got into the soccer team in high school so I practiced every day after school. This let me get more friends and started to think about to live here longer. And at the second year, I graduated from high school. My third year here was so fun because I got a job and I saved money. I bought a lot of things that I wanted such as computer, cell phone, and my dad bought me a car. Now, I feel really like to live here and stop thinking about going back to my country. Because if I were in Thailand, I would not be able to buy these kind of things by myself.
So, this is the thing that I want to tell other people in other countries who’s planning to come here in near future. If you want to have money to invest in something, you come to America and you definitely will not regret it.
Comment by phobkuthong — May 27, 2005 @ 14:19
Since I came to America, I realized that I really like everything in here. Why do I like it in here? First, I can enjoy studying every minute at school and make some friends from different countries. Moreover, I am responsible for everything myself and able to push myself, especially, studying well to get good job and score and then applying for universities in the future. Actually, it is very different from my country and US .You are not be worried about your educational plan for teachers are always concerned about your future and your job even though you are a student of a university. On the other hand, learning and studying is your own business in here. Everything is controlled by yourself if you want to get a good job.
Secondly, I should make time to do some things such as going to supermarkets to buy some food and then I have to deal with my lunch or dinner in my daily life .Furthermore, after going home, I should wash my clothes and clear up everything .So that , I have to plan and have good schedules day to day. On the other hand, you are not able to dependent on your mother or your father. You have to do your part. Thirdly, if you want to go anywhere, you will drive your car, otherwise, you cannot have a good time to enjoying your trip .Therefore, I am so glad and so happy that I can take a trip with my friends by driving the car and explore every place around the US. Finally, there are good environment and conditions that every body likes to have a journey on holiday such as, taking children at the park, claming the mountain, having some parties at home, going to beach to walk or have a sun bath. After your trip, you don’t be worried where you can go to have a dinner or lunch because there are many restaurants form different countries such as Chinese, Mexico, and Indian etc. So that it is a verity of choices, thinking about
Where you want to go and enjoying your meal .Vise versa, most of people like to invite some friends to have a party just like Buffet or BQP. It is so interesting thing to share with friends and have a good relationship during the good time.
I think if you eager and desire to studying or living in here, no doubt to say, it is a good choice and excellent chance to do it.
Comment by vsu — May 30, 2005 @ 15:10
I don’t know how to start about my life since i came here. Life is so great and so sweet!
Comment by Girum — May 21, 2007 @ 13:19
hello i’m originally from France, and I’m surprised at how big everything in America is. I mean high buildings, wide streets… there are almost no sidewalks, while in France people often walk or ride a bike rather than use a car. Also, the food is so different from what I’m used to!..
Comment by creditfille — July 26, 2007 @ 06:23