The boy who comes from the other side of the earth

      Everyone calls me Kimi, but most of them don’t know what my real name is. My American friends had been trying to say my name correctly  the whole semester. In the end, they couldn’t remember what my last name and first name are. They don’t know that I was born in Keelung, Taiwan, a city surrounded mostly by ocean, except one side that has hills and mountains, or that the geographical landscape causes Keelung to rain pretty often and is also the reason of the city’s beauty and abundance in seafood, or why I came to the States to study.

     When I was a child, I always liked to look at the world map, starting to dream that I could go to visit other countries and experience different cultures because Taiwan is a little tiny island located in the biggest ocean in the world. There must be a lot of things that I haven’t seen and haven’t known on this giant colorful ball. Becoming a traveler became my dream. So after I started going to school, I did my best on English because I knew that language is most important tool to communicate with other people.

     In the second year of high school, I decided to leave my home to a boarding school that is far away from home and established by a non-profit organization called Tzu-Chi. In school, one of my favorite classes is about what the organization has done and the people who have done great things in the world. I have learned knowledge and theories of life, like giving and helping others and being happy by doing so from this class.

      If I didn’t take this class I probably wouldn’t know there are a lot of people got injured or died because of trains in Djakarta in Indonesia. Most of them are relying on trash to live and living beside the rail road. They are the victims who are under the shadow of capitalism and the colonial economy. They didn’t do anything wrong, the reason why they are poor is their historical background. Tzu-Chi bought some land there and built a few apartments for them. They didn’t have to pay for rent; they just needed to apply for it. Because of this class, I started thinking about studying abroad in order to experience other cultures and gain global perspective.

     One day, an exchange student program agency came to my school to introduce their exchange program and how to apply for being an exchange student in my school. At that time, I thought I got the chance to go to another country and spend a year in another country. I immediately asked my parents  if I could be an exchange student after introduction. After I discussed with my parents, they agreed with my viewpoint, and then I started preparing all the documents for becoming an exchange student. At that time, I felt excited and nervous, and then I questioned myself what the life would be in different culture. When I stepped into the U.S. Customs, all kinds of mixed feelings were flowing in my mind; I was sad, but I still pretended I was brave to not let my parents feel sad, too. 

     Being an exchange student has influenced me a lot. With my parents far away from me, I had to take care of myself and learn how to let things work out. At the school in West Virginia, most teachers and students were friendly, but some of them discriminate against people of other cultures. I didn’t feel comfortable in the beginning. So when I was learning English and American culture, I tried to let the people around me know discrimination isn’t a good thing to interact with people who are from other groups or cultures. Finally, I made a lot of friends and changed their viewpoints. When I was in West Virginia, it was rare to see an Asian or Black person. This might be the reason why they didn’t know what words would make people who came from other group to feel bad. I talked to my friends and other students what my feeling was, and they felt bad about it. Therefore, they knew how to respect the people who are out of the group and different cultures.

     In the end, I decide to stay in the U.S. to continue my education. As a current student in Seattle Central Community College, I am facing more challenge in then ever. Although I don’t really know what major I am interested, I still do my best to accomplish everything. So I can reach my  achievement in the future.