My family moved to the United States five years ago when I was a freshman in high school. Last summer I went back to China for a two month vacation. I looked forward to seeing my family and friends. I especially looked forward to having “real Chinese food!”
Getting to China was so exciting. This is the first time I traveled by myself. Once I got through security I was on my own. I took care of my luggage on my own. When I got to Beijing I had to change planes all by myself. Finally I met my Aunt in my hometown. (I’m not telling you its name because you probably couldn’t say it.) I felt so proud of myself for getting there on my own.
I found my city had changed a lot. There were better and fancier shopping malls, like South Coast Plaza. I had a lot of fun with my friends going to the shopping mall. Another thing that had changed was my middle school. They had totally rebuilt my school and now it looks really different. I couldn’t go visit because it was summertime and the school was closed.
I spent a good time with my family when I was in China. I really enjoyed my grandma’s cooking. That’s the flavors I remembered from my childhood. She is a really good cook. Now that I’m back in the United States, I really miss the food. Also, my mom came back to China too, after I got there. It was fun having her with me.
I really liked visiting my friend Behing Lin. We have been friends since we were nine years old. I met him whenever we could find time. When we hung out together, we talked a lot and shared food. It made me really happy to spend time with him. One thing he did was to help me out with my mom’s birthday. He delivered flowers to her for me that made my mom so happy. Something else I did was to visit my former singing teacher. I took lessons with her when I was younger in China. It was fun when we sang together at her house again.
During my vacation I learned a surprising skill. I went swimming with my friends and they teased me about looking like a turtle when I was swimming. My head was always out of the water. So I took swimming lessons to learn how to swim right. Now I am helping my friend become better. I really enjoy swimming now and I am so proud of myself.
by Michelle Wang
Literacy Volunteers-HBPL 