Zhiling Pan
Prof. Molly
ENG 2150T
19 May. 2023
Narrative Essay
When I immigrated to the United States, I came by plane with my mother and my sister. As soon as I got off the plane, I saw an unfamiliar sight. The scenery was beautiful, but my heart was full of nervousness and apprehension. My grandmother took us to our new home, which was very different from the home I grew up in. I wasn’t comfortable with the wooden floors and the lack of much furniture in the home. This made me feel strange and uneasy because my new home was a constant reminder that I was in a strange environment. I grew up as someone who would only stay in familiar surroundings, and even if I ate, I would only order the food I was familiar with. Perhaps seeing my discomfort, my grandmother and my mother took me around during the month, hoping that I would soon adapt and be relieved of my anxiety. Once I got through the month-long adjustment period, I began to have a new challenge, which was that I needed to go to school. My mom took me to school to report. The teacher who enrolled me asked me some questions, but I never answered them because I was nervous and at the same time didn’t understand what they meant. Although I now understand the meaning of the questions the teacher asked, I can’t answer them anymore.
On the first day of school, my mom woke me up early so I could eat breakfast and pack my school supplies. When I arrived at school, I was very nervous because the school here was very different from my previous school in China in terms of style and construction. When I walked into the school, one of the teachers led me to my class where I met my classmates that I was going to spend time with. My first day was one of confusion as the discussions of the people around me and the lessons in class were all unknown and unfamiliar to me, a situation that left me a bit helpless and woefully unprepared.
The unfamiliar environment and language made me helpless and confused. I didn’t understand what I was learning or what was written in the textbook, and I couldn’t participate in the discussions of my classmates. When I was helpless, one of my classmates reached out to me and became a good friend later on, but we separated in high school. She showed me what I was learning in class and taught me some simple responses and conversations. I was very happy and thankful for her help, and this was the first classmate who reached out to me for a conversation. She also introduced me to more classmates afterwards, so I was able to fit in a little bit and not be as confused and unsure as I was at the beginning.
After the course it was time for lunch and at this time I was also unfamiliar with it because in China we would get out of school at noon and we would go home for lunch, but over here the students eat lunch at school, so this was new and unfamiliar to me. My classmate led me along to get my lunch and also introduced me to the cafeteria, where each class will have a fixed table, and also each student can get a lunch, fruit and milk. Every thing and person here was a new existence for me, and although it was different from the environment I was familiar with before, I would still get to know it because I needed to get familiar and adapt, and I spent most of my days at the school for the next six months. And I also got to know more about my new school with the explanation of my classmates, while such a new and strange experience left me with a deep memory.
The unfamiliarity and discomfort of a new environment may bring me distress and nervousness, but I will try to adapt as quickly as possible. After a week of familiarizing myself with the school, I have adapted well to the new school environment and atmosphere, thanks to the help of my classmates, which has accelerated my understanding of the new environment. Although I was confused and worried at the beginning, as I got used to it, I was more surprised. The new teaching style was new to me, the new classmates and friends made me happy, and I was surprised by the knowledge of the new language.
From unfamiliarity to adaptation and then familiarity is a very difficult and long process. It means starting over and adjusting, re-establishing new relationships and getting to know a new culture and language. It is inevitable that you will be overwhelmed and confused by the unfamiliarity, but in the end, time will solve everything. Some people adjust to a new environment perhaps on their own, but I was fortunate to have my classmates to help me get to know the school, but it also took me a week to adjust and get acquainted at the same time. Although I was not able to learn everything I learned in class in an instant and fit in completely with the people around me, I did my best to learn what I learned and discussed in class.