Wang

=Yuli Wang=

Podcast
media type="custom" key="12081389"

BIOGRAPHICAL/GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Miss Wang is originally from China. She came to Indiana in 2005 to study for her Master’s degree in Linguistics and TESOL, moving to Ohio to teach Chinese at the Dayton Regional STEM School. She has had a relatively easy immigration experience, not describing very many issues about her travels. China is a Communist/Nationalist country in South-East Asia. It is the 4th largest country in the world, yet has the largest population. Children are expected to do well in school, or they are looked down upon in Chinese culture. For many years, China wanted to stay mostly to itself, but it is now one of the world’s largest exporters. There are not very many Chinese immigrants per year, despite the ever-growing population.

=Creative Writing=

By: Celeste Kuba
Coming to America, Leaving behind everything I know, Not knowing what to expect. Leaving behind my parents, My country, China, Even my continent, to go to study. I will miss them so much, And I know they will miss me, But I would not do this if I didn’t think it would be best. Coming to America, My schooling paid for, Studying about language while learning a new one. A full scholarship, Ball State University in Indiana, Practically paying me to go to their school. Me, an immigrant, Why do they choose me, Out of everyone else? In America, The environment is so much better, Millions and millions less people, the effect is nice. The air is so clean Compared to China’s smog, And here there are not people everywhere you look.

Here there are trees, Living and abundant, Giving off more fresh air for us to enjoy. In America, I still miss my family, So far away in China. They are in Asia, On almost the other side of the world, Yet still so heavy in my heart. Maybe I will go back, After I get my diploma, And visit them, visit home. Now it is over, My American college experience, Time to graduate. My parents are coming here to see me, They have missed me too, But are happy to see my success in America. They stay and help me move, Not a big move, Indiana to Ohio, Moving for a job, a teacher at a new school. Now it is over, The moving, the college, my parents, I am settled here, watching the seeds of knowledge grow.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Kuba: So, why did you leave China?

Wang: I left China because I came here for my graduate’s study, so, for my Master’s degree.

Kuba: Well, that’s good that you did something for school. What did you study?

Wang: I came here first for my Master’s degree in Linguistics and Teacher, but then in 2008, I think, or 2009, I started Master in Accounting. So, yeah, but I came here in 2005 for Linguistics and TESOL.

Kuba: So, accounting. Do you like math?

Wang: Well, I’m okay with math. I’m not really very good, but accounting is, it doesn’t have very high requirement for math, actually.

Kuba: Good, because I’m terrible. (laughter)

Wang: That’s fine, because if you’re an accountant you can just use calculator all the time and it’s just simple math, it’s not very hard math, okay.

Kuba: Okay. Did you leave any family behind?

Wang: Yeah, I came here alone.

Kuba: Do you regret coming to America?

Wang: No! No, I don’t. Yeah, I like living here. I like the environment. Although I miss my family, in China, I miss the food, but I don’t regret it.

Kuba: What was the best part about coming here?

Wang: Has less people here. Much less people here. So the environment, I mean the air quality is much better. It’s much less crowded, so that’s a very big part. That’s something I like, I really like, here.

Kuba: Because America is slightly larger and has fewer people.

Wang: Fewer people. Actually, the two countries almost the same size. But China has such a huge population so you see people everywhere. Because of the population, the air pollution, not just the air pollution, actually, the pollution is very serious problem in China, and also there are a lot of social problems due to the population. That’s why I like living here, the environment. You see a lot of trees, not so many people, it’s much better.

Kuba: Do you like teaching?

Wang: Yeah, I do like teaching; although sometimes it’s really frustrating (laughs) but for the most part I like teaching.

Kuba: What’s your favorite food in America?

Wang: American food? Steak. I love meat.

Kuba: Me too. (Wang laughs) Have you changed customs much?

Wang: My living customs? Not very much, actually. So if I cook at home, I still cook Chinese food. I still celebrate Chinese holidays, because I have some Chinese friends here. We still follow the Chinese customs a lot. Like the Thanksgiving, we do not eat turkey. We have the traditional Chinese hotpot. We did the Chinese style karaoke, so that’s how we spend Thanksgiving.

Kuba: What’s in the hotpot?

Wang: Well, it’s very spicy, so we put a lot of the peppers in the hot soup and after the soup is boiling so we put in vegetable and meat, so, you know, basically you can throw in anything and after they are cooked you just pick them up to eat.

Kuba: I know American Chinese food isn’t very traditional.

Wang: No. (laughter) It’s not so easy to find authentic Chinese food here. Most of the restaurants, especially the small restaurants, the food pretty much Americanized. But I still enjoy… There are a couple of restaurants pretty good here in Dayton area. The China Cottage on Far Hill. That’s a really good one.

Kuba: So you left in the early 2000s?

Wang: 2005. I was in Indiana before last year. I was in Indiana for five years because I was at Ball State University for my Masters and then 2010, the summer of 2010, I graduated and moved here because of this job.

Kuba: What interested you about S.T.E.M.?

Wang: Well first, the Chinese program really interest me, because here all students have to take Chinese, I mean, all the high school students have to take Chinese. That’s really unusual in American schools. In most schools the Spanish is the number one foreign language. That really interest me and STEM is a new school and I feel it’s growing; it’s growing fast so I like being a part of it to see it grow.

Kuba: Have any of your family members taken a trip here to visit you?

Wang: Yeah, actually. Last year, my parents came here because last year I was graduating from Ball State so they came for my graduation ceremony. That was their first time to visit United States. They enjoy it a lot. And also they help me move from Indiana to here. So they stay here for about a month so totally they stay in the States for two and a half months and then went back to China. They enjoyed living here a lot, really enjoyed the life here, although, you know, the don’t speak English at all. I am the translator all the time.

Kuba: Was learning English hard?

Wang: Yeah, you know it’s hard to learn a second language because I started to learn English when I was in grade seven and then continue. I studied English 6 years in high school and in middle school. My college major was English and then I was an English teacher for two years in China. After I moved here, I use English every day so I’m still learning. If you really want to master a language, if you really want to learn a language well, you’re gonna take years. Its just keep learning, keep learning, it’s a lot of memorization. It’s not easy.

Kuba: Do many schools in China teach English?

Wang: It’s mandatory. For most schools, I think, above 99 percent of schools. You have to take English. In China, the middle school and high school so all students have to take it. English is a very important class, a very important subject in China. And also in China we this national college entry exam. All the seniors, they need to take this test to go to college. English is a very important part of this test. That’s why English is a very important subject in China.

Kuba: That’s interesting.

Wang: Chinese students study very hard (in English), even after they go to college, they still need to pass standard English test to get a diploma. We consider English a world language, so if you want to communicate with people outside of China, you need to speak English. Everybody speak English. That’s why.

Kuba: Was school hard for you?

Wang: In China? Yeah. Chinese students, honestly, study much harder. They take much more time on studying. I see a very big difference between the Chinese high school system and the U.S. high school system. In China, the students focus on study. They don’t really have their personal time. They have classes in the day time and even in the evening so a lot of them have to stay in school to do study hall. Even if they don’t do that, they have a lot of homework. They have to spend the whole night to finish all their homework. They have a lot of tests, but they don’t do projects. It’s a very big difference. In China, the education is very much exam-orientated so you have to pass the exams. You have to do well in the exams. Students are very stressed out, just to study very hard on the tests.

Kuba: Were teachers more strict there?

Wang: Ah, yeah, the teachers are very strict, so if you missed assignments, then you will get into trouble. I remember when I was in high school, I rarely missed assignments and if I would leave some assignments at home, I would get so upset. I would feel so upset because I was just so afraid my teacher was gonna scold me, you know, gonna contact my parents on that. Yep, that’s a very big issue; the teachers in China are very strict.

Kuba: So your parents put a lot of emphasis on schoolwork?

Wang: Oh, yeah, yeah, that’s a very big emphasis. Like here, a lot of the students have part time job, right, they can work and they have a lot of extracurricular activities, but in China, if you are in high school, most of your time is just devoted to studying. Most students, they don’t work, they don’t do part time job. They just study. If your grades are good, your parents feel very happy and you are considered a good student, a good kid. But if your grades are bad, then your parents are upset, you’re upset, you feel very stressed for your grades

Kuba: Did your parents give you much freedom outside of school?

Wang: I don’t have much time! In high school, I just studied so much, but I feel fortunate because my grades were pretty good, my grades were very good, in high school. My parents were like, ok, because your grades are goods we will not bother you so much on your grades, I do not check on your grades, because your grades are always good. You can learn by yourself. My teachers don’t contact my parents because my grades are good, but if the other kids, if their grades are bad, if they don’t do well in tests, their parents are really upset. Because if they don’t do well in the tests, maybe they cannot do well later, so eventually they don’t do well in the national college entrance exams and then they cannot go to good college, that’s the point.

Kuba: So you picked to go to college in America?

Wang: I actually finished my college in China. I just came here for my graduate study. I came here because I got assistantship from Ball State University, so I have full tuition waiver, because otherwise it’s very expensive.

Kuba: It’s very expensive here.

Wang: You know if I come here, if I pay it on my own, I have to pay out of state tuition so that’s a lot. (pause) Do you have other questions?

Kuba: I don't think so.

ANALYSIS
America is alluring to people everywhere for many different reasons. For Miss Wang, it was school. For immigrants in the beginning of the country, it was the land and money they wanted. In the times of the World Wars, people came to America to leave behind the Nazi countries and the unsafe living areas. People come here for more freedoms, and more opportunities. Throughout history, we see this. In America, we have so many things we take for granted, like our good education systems. The only people who truly see the difference are those who’ve lived in other countries.