America is known as the home for all immigrants. It is said to be the land of opportunity. It is considered prestigious and almost a bit glamorous to outsiders. This is the perspective of many people from China. They believe that in America, there will be a higher chance of gaining better jobs or better education. Like many Chinese people, Qiaomin and her family decided to immigrate to America, in hope for a better future and life.
Qiaomin Yang is a student at Baruch College. She is from Fuzhou, China and she is currently in the process of getting her American citizenship.
Qiaomin’s father was the first of her family to arrive in America. When Qiaomin was at a young age, her father arrived to New York by boat illegally while she and her mother remained in Fuzhou. Qiaomin’s father wanted to come to America because he believed that there would be more opportunities to make money. After a several years, he was able to apply for Qiaomin and her mother to immigrate to America legally.
“It must have been tough for my father when he came here first. He didn’t know much English.”
Qiaomin didn’t know much English either prior to arriving to New York. She only knew a little English from her education in China. Qiaomin went to elementary and middle school in China. When she heard from her father that she would be immigrating to America, she immediately called her friends. “At the time, I was really excited. I was not really sad about leaving Fuzhou and moving to New York.”
New York, however, wasn’t what QiaoMin imagined it to be like. It didn’t reach her expectations. She, like many people in China, believed that all of New York is modern and new. However when Qiaomin arrived, she saw that there were still many old houses and tenement houses. “It was a bit disappointing,” Qiaomin says.
Qiaomin is lucky and privileged to be able to experience school life in both China and the United States. The schools in China are different from the schools in the states. Qiaomin shares her memories of her academic life back in China and compares it to her academic life since arriving to New York.
“It was really hard,” she says. “Everyday, teachers would send in a list of the homework needed to be done. The student in charge for the time would write the list of homework on the board. The list would cover the entire blackboard. And it wasn’t even the homework itself! It was just a list!”
Indeed, the education system in China greatly contrasts with the education system in America. Chinese education is quite rigorous and has a huge emphasis on memorization and standardized testing. Also, since China is a communist country, communist ideals are taught to school children at a young age. Qiaomin says that students had to learn and memorize Marxist theories. She and many other students hated it.
The education system in America focuses more on critical and abstract thinking. American teachers do not teach students whether a certain theory or system is better than another theory or system of government.
I asked Qiaomin of what she thought about the way communism was taught by teachers. Qiaomin says, “It is a bit obvious that the teachers were trying to brainwash the kids. I was even a bit brainwashed myself. I believed that China was really good until I learned the different perspective of America.”
When Qiaomin arrived to America, she was in for a deep surprise. Things that were mentioned in the history lessons of China were mentioned differently in the history lessons of America. For example, Qiaomin was taught that Taiwan is still a part of China when she was in elementary and middle school. However when Qiaomin entered high school in America, she was taught that Taiwan and China are separate countries!
Qiaomin now currently lives with her father in Delancey, New York. Both Qiaomin and her father have grew accustomed to the culture of New York over time. Though her father still doesn’t speak much English he is still happy. He does not regret his decision of immigrating to America.
Delancey Street intersection
“My dad is currently a chef and he enjoys his job. In 10 years, he hopes to open his own restaurant in New York!,” Qiaomin explains.
Qiaomin, on the other hand, hopes to one day return to Fuzhou, China. With knowledge from China and from America, is able to draw up a conclusion that she likes New York and China equally.
The move to New York has shaped Qiaomin in many ways. Though New York was not completely how Qiaomin expected to be like, she still has learned a lot and has been impacted deeply.
“American education made me think more critically and objectively. I now am more open-minded.”
Qiaomin feels this way because she now has the access to sites that are not widely available to Chinese citizens today. Sites such as YouTube, Google and Facebook, are still censored in China. This is because the Chinese government still desires to keep its citizens away from material that could speaks against communism or alter citizen’s views about the proper way of government.
Currently, Qiaomin will be the first generation of her family to receive a college education. She plans to complete her studies in America but hopes to return to her Fuzhou to see the friends and the food she holds so dear to her heart.
West Lake Park in Fuzhou
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