Host family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Host family - Essay Example This was mainly due to the fact that most of the interactions that I came to experience as well as the culture of the society within which I lived was absolutely different from the one that I was used to. In fact, when one considers my experiences in the United States, one would say that it was a completely opposite from the way of life in China, my home country. When I first learnt that I my application for foreign exchange had been approved and that I was to go to Oregon, United States, I was extremely excited. This was mainly because I had never before left my home country and I was eager to experience another place which was dissimilar from home. I found out that I had been assigned a host family and while I met this news with some apprehension, since I did not know what to expect from these people, I later came to be glad that they had been selected for me. The family that I went to live with were known as the Johnsons, and they were honest and hardworking individuals who were a lso strong in their Christian faith, a fact that I found highly impressive. In my home country, where not many of the people are religious, and the latter is often discouraged, we has often heard rumour that the people in the west only professed the Christian faith yet rarely practiced it. The Johnsons, however, proved this impression to be wrong, and by their taking me into their home and treating me as one of their own, I felt like a real part of their family. Among the things that most impressed me about this family is that they had adopted a girl from China, treating her as if she was their own biological child through their provision of their love and support. Lily, the little girl, had been adopted as a baby when her parents died and she was left an orphan. Despite this tragic beginning of her life, Lily seems to have adjusted well to her new environment, to the extent of not remembering any Chinese, a fact that I learnt from my futile attempts to address her in her native lan guage. In China, I had learnt some English but while this had been the case, when I went for exchange, I could not speak it very well. Despite the language barrier between me and my host family, the latter took in stride and they often encouraged me to express myself the best way that I could through the use of my limited vocabulary. When all attempts at communicating using English failed, and it happened often, we would resort to using signs, a factor of communication that I found to be most interesting. The experience of the Johnsons when raising Lily might have helped a lot in their communication with me since after a fortnight or so; we could communicate with almost no problem at all since we had learnt each other’s speech and sign patterns. Since I went to school with the other two older Johnson children, Josh and Mary, who were close to my age and attended almost the same classes, I found it much easier to adjust to the new school environment than if I had had to go alo ne. These two, who became very close friends and my constant companions, gave me the motivation to learn my English so that I could communicate with them better. My thirst to learn might have also played a role in my wanting to better my English and in all my attempts, the Johnsons often gave me their support. Since I am a fast learner, within a few weeks of living with my host family, I could confidently express