Seeking Companions

 

                                                                   Seeking Companions 

          Some say that friends are the lights when we are walking in the dark. They play a significant role in our life, but we are only able to realize it when we move to an unfamiliar place. Most people seek companions, especially when we leave our own country, going to a brand-new place. People will feel lonely and surely want to find companions, as friends that they have known for a long time are not being around. I arrived in the United States two months ago, and within merely sixty days, I am already missing my friends in Hong Kong. This has made me feel that I am losing in translation in my new city.

          Language, the most basic element of life, has become a barrier for me to form relationships. Since I am not a native speaker, my first language is better than English for now, and therefore it makes it difficult to communicate with people and get to know them. Whenever I use English to talk with people, there are always pauses. To meet new people, communication is the foundation toward a sustainable friendship, so I must speak in English to let them understand my words. However, it takes time for my brain to translate Cantonese to English, causing a lot of pauses in the conversations. Therefore, it may lead to the end of a chat, as I reduced their desire to talk to me. For like, I do not know how to reply when someone approaches to me, as I lack the recognition to those hard words in English. Besides, the meaning of my speech cannot be fully expressed. Sometimes, I cannot find the vocabulary. I cannot come up with some words in English. For example, last week I wanted to say the bracelet was exquisite, but I could not think of the word instantly when I was talking to others, so I will just say it is beautiful. This means that I cannot express my complements to it precisely. However, when I speak Cantonese, I can express all my thoughts clearly, and people are able to know the exact meaning that I am delivering, so they will get to know about me willingly. 

          The differences of culture make conflicts aroused in relationships easily. Culture is also a crucial element that dominates one’s thoughts, behaviors and habits. However, not everyone can adapt to a new culture quickly. Comparing people here that I know and my friends in Hong Kong, the majority prefer using Facebook than Instagram. On my first day of school, I asked my classmates the Instagram account. Surprisingly, I found out that many of them use Facebook instead of Instagram. Therefore, I noticed a cultural gap. Everyone gets information from different sources, and people has different ideas. Moreover, another differ of culture is the variety of dining choices. I will say food chooses are simple here, compared to Hong Kong. As the United States advocates fast food culture, so there are lots of fast-food restaurants here, they can be seen everywhere. Having lunch with people is also a good way to get to know about others, yet my stomach is not functioning well, so I have to eat healthier meal. Therefore, I rather eating at home then eating outside, reduced the chances to make new friends.

          In addition, with the change of climate, it is easy to lose connection with people. The weather in Chicago is much colder than Hong Kong. I tend to feel cold fast here, so I do not want to hang out with friends. Chicago is also called the ‘Windy City’, so I would rather hang out with friends in summer than in winter. I hanged out with one of my new friends before. While I was searching of the way to a shopping mall, the weather already made my hands turn red and dry, and it was painful. Therefore, I prefer staying at home than going out in the winter. However, Hong Kong is a city with cozy weather in all seasons, it is comfortable to hang out with friends, spending days and nights together. Therefore, it has been hard for me to share moments with my friends under the weather of Chicago. Apart from that, nights of Chicago come early, meaning the time we can spend is short and sunset is early, and most importantly, I am not an early bird. The late arrival of nights in Hong Kong gave me more time to spend with friends. Unfortunately, I am not able to do it in Chicago.

          Due to the differences of language, culture and the climate, it has been hard to make friends in this new city and I feel lost in translation the most. However, I will do my best to make friends with new people from now on by trying to speak English, embracing the US culture and adapting the cold weather. Friends are one of the puzzles that fill up my life. Therefore, I will cherish my friends in Hong Kong ever more and be grateful to have them. I am sure that I can maintain the friendships with my Hong Kong make friends and friends from the United States in the future.