The Online Edition of the Annandale High School Newspaper.

The A-Blast

The Online Edition of the Annandale High School Newspaper.

The A-Blast

The Online Edition of the Annandale High School Newspaper.

The A-Blast

A new chapter and a new life

A+new+chapter+and+a+new+life

My dream is to come to the United States. It helped me to change my life because I will have a new life and get an education. When I still lived in Vietnam, I thought everything in the United States would be the same as my country and I could adapt with the United States quickly. When I came to America, I was really surprised because everything was different from my country. It was not easy for me to adapt to my new life. I can’t speak or understand English very well. I feel sad and bored with my new life, but my mother taught me, “You never say give up. If you can overcome challenges, you will be successful.” So I will make an effort and never say never. The United States was completely different from my country because of the weather, language and school.

The weather here is not like my country’s weather at all. The weather here is always changing, unlike Vietnam where it is always hot. The weather is hot all through summer days, because the temperature in the daytime is 90 – 100 degrees fahrenheit. I really feel uncomfortable about this temperature when I hang out with my friends. My aunt said, “You have to drink lots of water in this weather because, if not, you will die.” Although my country’s weather is very hot all year long, the United States is hotter all year long. The weather gives me a headache. My country’s weather has a lot of rain all through the summer days. In fall days, the weather in the United States is very cold when I walk to school. I always keep warm because my health is very important. If I don’t keep warm, it can make me sick. This is why I really miss the weather in my country.

When I lived in Vietnam, I didn’t know how I would learn the difficult language of English. I feel sad because I can’t understand English. When I went somewhere with my family, someone asked me something but I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. Everyone talked too fast and I couldn’t hear them, so I had to study to improve my English. Sometimes, I make grammar errors, but my friend and my teacher often correct them. I always go to the library on weekends and improve my English by reading books and listening to help my pronunciation. I have English exercises every day. It’s difficult for me to speak English because when I speak it, no one can understand me. So I will read books and listen because it will make me stronger in English. The English language will become easy if I study it every day.

Schools in the United States are very big and I couldn’t find my classes at Annandale on first days and months of school. My school in my country is very small. Here, we begin lessons at 7:20 am and end at 2:00 pm but in my country, we began lesson at 7:20 am and end at 5:00. Sometimes, I had to get more help at school and wouldn’t leave until 7:00 pm. It made me tired. My classes in the United States have about eight to fourteen people each, so I receive more attention. We can draw, sing, watch TV, make projects, do handmade and creative activities. My class in my country has fifty-one people and is very hot and uncomfortable, so I couldn’t receive much attention. We never watched TV, made projects or made creative activities in my country. We have to listen to my teacher and write everything, then memorize it, as if we were parrots. Here, the government provides a school bus if our house is far from school and free lunches for those who can’t afford it. Students in Vietnam have to pay money for school every month and pay money for food. My teacher in my country could hit me if my grade are bad, but the teachers in the United States are very nice. They always help me and everyone if we need help. I really love my school in the United States.

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The weather, language, and school have changed me. The new life is not easy for me. The weather is always abnormal. The English language is difficult to understand and to speak. The school is very great and modern. I really love my new life and I am happy because I realized my dream and learn from my new life. I miss my country so much, but I will go back someday when I am successful.

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A new chapter and a new life