The Other Side of the Globe
My name is Xiong Lue, a student of Hunan University, China. My English name is Matthew. In June of 2019 I took my curiosity to the other side of the globe to see the real America. As soon as I got off the plane, my host family gave me a warm reception. They were Spanish and they taught me a lot of Spanish during the month of being together. They did give me a lot of help as a guarantee of my life in the United States.
On my first day, my project manager, Eva, and her daughter showed me around Lawrence. This is an old industrial city with a high latitude. Now industry is gone, leaving only the high latitudes with their high saturation of sunlight. It’s a small city with a warm climate. It’s very close to Boston.
My job is to help people with Asperger’s get ready for work. Before my volunteer work at Asperger Works, I knew nothing about Asperger’s Syndrome. In the daily conversations with Eva, I not only exercised my English listening and speaking ability, but also developed a deeper understanding of Asperger’s Syndrome. Part of my job was also to educate people about Asperger’s. I designed posters and updated Facebook and Twitter. We’re starting to get people’s attention. I met many good colleagues here and we had a good time together.
I work only five hours a day, four days a week. So I have a much time to travel. In the process of traveling, I saw the most real America. I visited many museums and saw many genuine works of art. It makes me linger. I also made a lot of friends on the road, from all over the world, in very different occupations. There are always many interesting things to come across in the communication between different cultures.
This trip to the United States has benefited me a lot, which will certainly have a positive impact on my future studies and life.
