To Live in a Foreign Country

I live in a city called Seattle. It is a city of coffee, of fresh seafood, and of tech industry. Living in a foreign country is an interesting experience - everything is different from the world I have known all my life and every moment is a new discovery. The people, the scenery, the way things go are all different. Those who have come to a new place have to be incorporated into that system whether they like it or not.

This is my first time living abroad for more than a month. I have visited the U.S. before and I thought I knew what American culture is like, not that that is saying much. Yet, since the very moment I got off from the plane, my story in this country has been painted in the color of the new world that I was about to plunge into. The big hug that my host mother gave me as soon as she met me, the way she got into her car and threw her bag to the backseat, the broad freeway and the cars that drove past us at a high speed. Everything was different from the world where I was born. From that moment on, each day has been filled continuously with new discoveries and surprises. There were so many things I did not know or had never seen before.

It has already been seven months since I first arrived in Seattle. I don’t get surprised in my daily life as much as I did when I first settled in. Even though I was overwhelmed with strange and unfamiliar things at first, I was going to live in this place for a while. So, I talked to people, tried a lot of new experiences, and carefully observed things. I have sought to find a way to live comfortably here, and gradually, I have been incorporated into its system. It is just like a lazy river - there is a flow of water and a flow of people. Or there is a flow of people and a flow of water. An endless flow that never ceases. You are abruptly thrown into the pool and at first, you can barely stand. The current almost drifts you away, you bump into others, you cannot secure your own space nor keep your own pace. But little by little, you learn how to deal with it and get to swim like others. Though sometimes you run into someone or fall down, you are more relaxed and now a part of the flow.

I enjoyed this process quite a lot. I definitely enjoy it now too. Just imagine the bumpy bus ride where people of different ages and races are getting on and off, the conversation you are eavesdropping on as you are having tea of a new flavor at a cafe, or the view of the water and the city lights on the way back home at dusk. Have you felt them so vividly as if you were in a novel? Do new things keep diving into your life despite living normally? Do you feel so intrigued with everything and want to know and experience more? Of course, not all were good things. I have felt confused, sad, depressed many times. Still, when I think about the reason why I got confused, sad, or depressed and what people there were thinking about, it brought about new discoveries. As you make those new discoveries, you also find the self that changes and never changes.

The thought that there are less than two months left panics me. The time left is not enough for the tons of things I want to learn. I want to see, experience, hear, talk and know more. But at the same time, given it is a “foreign country”, it is impossible to know everything and the learning process is never-ending. I do not know what an elementary school here is like. I did not hear the conservation flying about inside the classroom of a middle school here. I have never experienced prom at high school. I was not brought up in a family here nor have I heard what other adults here talk about. But even so, I want to understand the culture and the people here as much as possible and connect with them. I strongly hope so. Would I feel the same way if I lived here for three more years? I don’t know. But this feeling I have now is true.

The apartment where I live is at the edge of the campus and I can see the view of Seattle from my living room. Sometimes when I go out of my room to cook dinner, other roommates are all gone and the light in the living room is off with only the lights of the city outside the window illuminating. A mundane view that I have seen for so many times. It is not even the prettiest part of Seattle. Yet it takes my breath away every time. It is very beautiful. To me, each small light seems to show what I have seen and felt in this city and represent what I am here for. It makes me feel sentimental to think that I won’t be able to see this view many more times. But the fact remains that this place is now a part of my life.

I would not like to easily say that living in a foreign country is always great. Yet, as contemplating the view from the window, I reflect that it is such a wonderful time in life.