Clanging pots and honking cars invade the soundtrack of my dreams. The blaring alarm gives my little brother signal to run screaming into my room, “Foreigner, wake up!” My older brother sits at the kitchen table, one hand frantically tapping on his iPhone screen, perfecting his Hearthstone technique, the other hand shoveling steamy porridge into his mouth with crooked chopsticks. Calling goodbye to my host mom, I grab a pork bun and stroll out the door. Thick droplets of sweat slide down my neck as I scurry across the busy street, finding relief in the cool, sleek subway station. I ride line 1 towards Lindun Lu, just in time to catch my morning Chinese classes.
In the summer of 2017 I was awarded the scholarship sponsored by the U.S. State Department. I spent six weeks in China with 20 other American high school students. We all lived with host families and learned Mandarin every day at Suzhou Number 1 High School.
Despite my mixed heritage, I always considered myself as first and foremost an American. My Chinese identity, while familiar, was foreign to me. I saw China through the lens of global issues and politics: the country was our adversary, an enemy we were in an elongated struggle with over power and influence. I was detached from my other half - my Chinese-ness was there, but it wasn’t me. I found no reason to believe my life in China would have any similarities to my life in the U.S.
During my first few weeks in Suzhou, homesick and buckling under the workload, I took heavy note of all the differences. In China, I showered at night. In China, I, the pedestrian, yielded to cars. Carrying toilet paper everywhere became both a hassle and a blessing as the extra space taken up in my bag was justified by my hygienic standards. I longed for home, for the normalcy of suburbia, for America.
As the weeks flew by and I set into a routine, I began to find luxury in crossing walks and corner convenience stores. I also became enamored with comparing my new and old lives. In China, I played mahjong with my host dad, snacked on spicy duck tongue, and crossed kids up on the basketball court and in the U.S. I beat my dad in chess, gorged on chili cheese dogs, and also crossed kids up on the basketball court.
For six weeks, I lived life as a student in a country halfway across the world. The language, the city, the people were all different, but in a way, it was all the same. The connections I made, borne from a shared language, were deep and unwavering; in both countries, my parents supported me from help with homework to moral dilemmas, my friends laughed at my jokes and lent me their hands, my siblings annoyed me but I loved them nonetheless. The humanity we shared was raw and unfiltered; it carried the weight of our collective experiences as human beings, blind to any country or culture of origin.
I am an American, and I love football, burgers and barbecues. I’m also Chinese, adept at using chopsticks, bargaining for cheap knick-knacks on the street, and winning money at the mahjong table. My preconceived notions of my mother’s culture were overturned by my experiences living within and immersing myself into my heritage. Where once I was bashful of my mother’s country and its relationship with my father’s, I now became aware of the evident similarities in lifestyles, people, and humanity between the two. Both my American-ness and Chinese-ness are a part of me, a part of my identity, whether I accept it or not. No longer is there a struggle to determine which is better, which I like more, which I should be. American or Chinese, I don’t have to choose, I’m proud to be both.
姐弟俩是不是很像？-：）
小儿要离巢远飞了（图）
17岁的小儿明天就要启程去大学报到了。
为了能有一个酷酷的黑肤色去校园“小秀”，这个周末老板带小儿和姐姐妮妮来他们奶奶居住的海滨城市海滩晒太阳，晚上去一家老店吃海鲜大餐：生蚝， 蟹肉饼等...
望着桌子对面，长得极像的姐弟俩人，老妈突然有看不够他们的小伤感：最后一只小鸟也要离巢远飞了。。
小儿天资聪颖，就是懒又爱玩。去年，还在上高中的他就是因为偷懒，只写一篇essay 便早早把自己ED掉（Early Decision）——该essay被他高中的英文老师高度赞扬并收藏，说要给明年的毕业生看及借鉴。老妈也觉得他那essay只用在一个大学申请可惜啦！
去年圣诞节前小儿收到那所大学寄来的提前录取通知时，心欢的那个眉开眼笑啊。。因为从此他可以不再为大学申请劳心劳神，可以一劳永逸地歪躺沙发打他的游戏啦！他打的是那样争分夺秒，连坐直他都觉得太费劲，太浪费时间了。。
有时被我监督，他是直着坐下去，可慢慢的，不知不觉地，他的上半身便歪了，然后整个人就斜下去了。。他就是那样斜歪着，手依然紧握游戏操盘，眼盯前方大屏幕，如火如荼进行中的游戏一点也不受影响啊！
他说他已是大学生了，接下来就是应该放松， 尽情享受上大学前的这段美好时光！老妈当然知道美好时光是应该及时享受的，但，打游戏算美好时光吗？
还有那次他考完SAT后，突然心血来潮，说也想试试ACT， 也像他考SAT那样，一点也不复习地裸考。。
好吧，那就裸试吧。。 -：）
结果那天他照例玩游戏到午夜，第二天睡过头，被我们一喊，他从床上跃起，套上衣裤，揣着二支笔，空肚空手冲进老爸车里直奔考场。。
空手啊？进了考场才发现自己忘了带计算机！！结果数学题他全部得用笔算，最后时间不够，还有3道题来不及做就被收卷了。。。
我替他郁闷了几天，可人家没事，照样天天兴高采烈歪躺打游戏。。 没想到成绩出来居然还不错：33分（满分36）！那如果他把最后那几题完成了，岂不更接近满分？
老妈我是真心可惜他这么好的脑子为什么不肯多用在学习上，而全歪在沙发上浪费掉？！
非常希望他进了大学能懂事些，多花时间在学业上，他这个大学可是以不容易获得好成绩而著称的！
（附小儿申请大学的essay） ：
Clanging pots and honking cars invade the soundtrack of my dreams. The blaring alarm gives my little brother signal to run screaming into my room, “Foreigner, wake up!” My older brother sits at the kitchen table, one hand frantically tapping on his iPhone screen, perfecting his Hearthstone technique, the other hand shoveling steamy porridge into his mouth with crooked chopsticks. Calling goodbye to my host mom, I grab a pork bun and stroll out the door. Thick droplets of sweat slide down my neck as I scurry across the busy street, finding relief in the cool, sleek subway station. I ride line 1 towards Lindun Lu, just in time to catch my morning Chinese classes.
In the summer of 2017 I was awarded the scholarship sponsored by the U.S. State Department. I spent six weeks in China with 20 other American high school students. We all lived with host families and learned Mandarin every day at Suzhou Number 1 High School.
Despite my mixed heritage, I always considered myself as first and foremost an American. My Chinese identity, while familiar, was foreign to me. I saw China through the lens of global issues and politics: the country was our adversary, an enemy we were in an elongated struggle with over power and influence. I was detached from my other half - my Chinese-ness was there, but it wasn’t me. I found no reason to believe my life in China would have any similarities to my life in the U.S.
During my first few weeks in Suzhou, homesick and buckling under the workload, I took heavy note of all the differences. In China, I showered at night. In China, I, the pedestrian, yielded to cars. Carrying toilet paper everywhere became both a hassle and a blessing as the extra space taken up in my bag was justified by my hygienic standards. I longed for home, for the normalcy of suburbia, for America.
As the weeks flew by and I set into a routine, I began to find luxury in crossing walks and corner convenience stores. I also became enamored with comparing my new and old lives. In China, I played mahjong with my host dad, snacked on spicy duck tongue, and crossed kids up on the basketball court and in the U.S. I beat my dad in chess, gorged on chili cheese dogs, and also crossed kids up on the basketball court.
For six weeks, I lived life as a student in a country halfway across the world. The language, the city, the people were all different, but in a way, it was all the same. The connections I made, borne from a shared language, were deep and unwavering; in both countries, my parents supported me from help with homework to moral dilemmas, my friends laughed at my jokes and lent me their hands, my siblings annoyed me but I loved them nonetheless. The humanity we shared was raw and unfiltered; it carried the weight of our collective experiences as human beings, blind to any country or culture of origin.
I am an American, and I love football, burgers and barbecues. I’m also Chinese, adept at using chopsticks, bargaining for cheap knick-knacks on the street, and winning money at the mahjong table. My preconceived notions of my mother’s culture were overturned by my experiences living within and immersing myself into my heritage. Where once I was bashful of my mother’s country and its relationship with my father’s, I now became aware of the evident similarities in lifestyles, people, and humanity between the two. Both my American-ness and Chinese-ness are a part of me, a part of my identity, whether I accept it or not. No longer is there a struggle to determine which is better, which I like more, which I should be. American or Chinese, I don’t have to choose, I’m proud to be both.
图文：版权土笋冻所有
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小儿要离巢远飞了（图） 我的欧洲游12——德国新天鹅城堡(图) 我的欧洲游11——悬崖上的小镇伊兹 (图） 我的欧洲游10——戛纳,尼斯轻松游 (图) 我的欧洲游9——巴塞罗那第二天（图）说是离家的伤感。。毕竟才17岁，还是孩子啊-：）
你的孩子都那么的出色和懂事。 我女儿高中真个都是混过来的， 结果上了大学才知道用功， 但是还是经常party， 上次跟我说上学期好忙， 没怎么party， 一个学期10个礼拜， 就去了6，7次party， 哈哈
泉州唐代有大量的河南人移民。土笋姐姐的美貌和心胸也是汇集南北之精华。
哪个大藤啊？
今天一直是非常忙碌，高兴，又略伤感的一天...
周末愉快！
struggle with over power and influence.”
如果是我的孩子，我会觉得很羞耻的！