The Lost Feeling

               Everyone has an American dream because people want to earn more money and get more freedom. That’s why so many people immigrate to the U.S. In 2013, my family and I moved to the United States because we wanted to have a better life in the future. Chicago was a strange city for me. Since I had never been to other countries, I felt scared. People were talking in different languages, there was English everywhere, and only a few Chinese people walking in the street. Day by day, I went to high school to study and made a lot of friends. Now, I am not feeling strange any more. However, since my parents and I have moved to Chicago, I feel disconnected from my parents sometimes.  

Since my parents need to work, we do not have too much time to talk. In China, my mother did not go to work because she needed to take care of me. My father was working nine hours every day. Therefore, we would have a good meal together and share things that happened that during the day. For Chicago, however, my parents need to work twelve hours every day. They usually come back at night. If I have something to let them know, I need to wait until the next day. For example, we usually pay bills online, so my father would give me money and deposit to my bank account for the bills. If I receive the payment, I usually wait until midnight to ask for the money. Therefore, I think we do not have a lot of chances to talk except about money.  

In addition, although my parents have a day off, they still have many things to do. In China, I used to go to the market to buy food with my father in the morning since we would prepare for lunch. Sometimes, after we finished eating dinner, we would walk around in the park or go to the supermarket such as Parknshop and Carrefour to go shopping. Moreover, during Spring Festival, I used to have a good meal with my family at night. This is an important day for Chinese people, since it is time for reunion. However, this habit doesn’t not happen in the United States. Now, their day off is on Tuesday, but I do not think they have time to take a break. In twenty-four hours, they need to prepare lunch and dinner. Moreover, my mother and my aunt usually go to supermarket to buy different kinds of food such as beef, bread, and cake to save in the refrigerator, so they do not need to prepare breakfast for me in the morning. During the Spring Festival, their day off will be canceled because there are so many people that go out for dinner. They still need to work during that time.  

Furthermore, my parents and I lack our habit which is drinking tea. Drinking tea in the morning is a Cantonese tradition. My family and I used to wake up early in the morning, so we could go to the restaurant and order different kinds of Dim sum such as sticky rice dumping, chicken feet, and egg tart. Sometimes, my family and my relatives would get together to drink tea. The purpose is not only to drink tea and try different kinds of food, but also as a gathering party, get their friends or relatives together. Nowadays, my family would not go to drink tea anymore since the custom is different. Many people are busy in the morning, so they do not have too much time for breakfast. On their day off, they rather spent more time sleeping, even my parents. I used to drink tea because I could feel relaxed and free in the morning.  

Overall, because I have been living in Chicago for five years, my family and I have almost forgotten our habit. In addition, we have lack of communication in our daily life. Although we realized that it is Spring Festival, we do not have time to celebrate it. In the United States, I see many people are working every day, so they may careless their children. For me, I feel lonely and strange in Chicago because I am disconnected from my parents. Therefore, I wish I can find a change and go to drink tea with my parents and talk with them, so we can learn more about each other.