unique

Unique



Some people can tell where a person comes from by looking at their clothing, their actions and their accent. It’s not really because those people are smart, but it’s because different countries have specific culture that’s which deeply affected its people. Seven years ago, my parents decided to grab a chance to bring the whole family to the US. From that time, I entered a phase of being lost in translation as a Chinese American. At home, I followed all my Chinese traditional customs for every important festival, spoke Chinese and used proper table manners with my family. However, in school, I was learning to be an American. These two different cultures have made me become a more confident Chinese American.



“Hong Bao”- Red envelope has a special meaning to every Chinese person. It signifies that Chinese New Year is coming. This is the most important festival in China, and people usually celebrate that with the whole family by greeting each other with good words like “Hung Hei Fat Choy,” which means “wish you happiness and prosperity!” For married couple or elders, they will give a red envelope to those single people and bless them to have good luck in the coming year. I still can remember the first New Year’s Day in Chicago; it was really a tough time for my family. There was an embarrassing story that happened to my family seven years ago. It was our first Chinese New Year in the USA, and we were on the way to a restaurant, when we met our neighbor Mr. & Mrs. Smith and their lovely son Jacky. My father gave a red envelope to Jacky and greeted him by saying “Fai Ko Cheng Tai” which means “wish you to be healthy and grow up faster!” Jacky was really excited as he got $100. He called all his friends visited us in the following two days. The most interesting thing was a fifty year old couple that also came to my home and asked for red envelope. My father almost spent $3,000 for red envelope money that year, and I had received nothing. Poor me? It is really difficult to explain the red envelope giving logic to foreigners even until now.



In addition to greeting and giving red envelopes, we also eat a lot in the Chinese New Year. Chinese food is obviously quite different from western food. It is one of the most delicious and healthy cuisines in the world. Chinese people are concerned about the freshness of the food and the way they cook it. When I invited my schoolmates to our year-end dinner, it was just too heavy for them, and most of the food they were not able to eat. For example, my father cooked pig liver and the ox lungs. It looks awful, but it actually tastes good. You will love it after you try it, but it was just hard to persuade them to even try.



Talking about the Chinese New Year, there is a special calendar used to calculate this holiday. It’s called the lunar calendar. It is a fantastic calendar that may serve multiple purposes. All the Chinese people use this instead of the standard one. It can accurately show us which day starts winter, which day it is going to rain, and it is very important to farmers. The lunar calendar is also a tool for fortune telling. It can tell you which day is a good day to marry and which day is bad for moving. It is highly related to “Fung Shui” – Geomancy. One of the most typical problems for Chinese immigrants is to adapt the new calendar to their new country. In the first year I came to the USA, my schedule was totally messed up; because I forgot my lesson and my date. And it was also difficult to make my friends understand when my birthday is as it is different in standard calendar every year. The lunar calendar is different every year; we cannot tell which day is the New Year day until we look at the calendar. As time goes by, I gave up counting the lunar calendar every year and have began using the standard calendar, so it is easier for my friends to recognize my birthday.



My life in America has taught me how to adapt to and appreciate every unique culture from the world. It cannot be avoided that sometimes we get lost in culture with our new home country. But I believe it can be overcome with time. I am no longer the same person I was in China. In the past, I only knew my home culture. Now, I realize every unique culture and to become a unique person.