Response paper: "RHODE ISLAND"
The United States, a country famous for its diverse ethnicities, is the place where many immigrants are eager to come. According to the Census Bureau's 2010 American Community Survey (ACS), the US immigrant population has reached 40 million. As Jhumpa Lahiri wrote in the passage, she was born in London but actually raised in Rhode Island which is mainly attached to the continental United States. She considered Rhode Island as the place which shaped her identity and formed her values.
Similar to Jhumpa Lahiri, the place I was born is not the city I grew up in either. I would say that my hometown is Hunan when people ask me in China since Chinese consider that the meaning of hometown refers to the place where your father is from. However, when I am in the United State, I always tell people that I come from Shenzhen, a Southern city close to Hong Kong. While Jhumpa Lahiri mentioned that her family came to the new place when she was just three years old, my family moved to Shenzhen when I was only three-month old and I have lived in the city for almost eighteen years. I did not move to another place until I became a student of Emory University.
Compared with other cities in China, Shenzhen is quite young. It was a small fishing town before Deng Xiaoping led the Chinese economic reform in 1978. Since Shenzhen is a coastal city, it was established as one of the four special economic zones which were opened to foreign investment that were relatively free of the bureaucratic interventions. Thanks to the reform policy, Shenzhen has developed rapidly in recent thirty years as well as become a place full of immigrants from other cities in China.
My parents moved to Shenzhen because my father was assigned a new job in Shenzhen from the previous company he worked for. My father soon adapted to the new environment but my mother had a hard time to fit in. As Jhumpa Lahiri mentioned that her mother had no job at first, my mother also became a housewife to look after me. Jhumpa Lahiri said that her mother met some humiliating content such as “many people here do not like to see your face” and “go back to India”. My mother did not receive such painful comments but she had language problem. Local residents in Shenzhen speak Cantonese but my mother did not understand anything in Cantonese at the beginning years. Though mandarin is the first language taught in schools or used in office, Cantonese is always spoken during daily life. Many women who stay at home to look after children are local people and Cantonese is their first language. Since my mother could not speak Cantonese, it was difficult for her to make new friends. She was upset but was encouraged by my father to join more activities. She later did a part-time job and attended a dance group in our district. She has become more outgoing and has learned Cantonese through watching television shows.
I believe that Shenzhen has shaped a part of me just as Rhode Island to Jhumpa Lahiri. Although I could not speak Cantonese fluently like a native speaker, I can understand Cantonese. My parents enjoy having spicy food since their hometown Hunan is a city famous for its spicy dishes. However, I prefer lite food because there is not much piquant seasoning in Shenzhen. People are polite to each other and smiling is always what you can see from me.
Similar to Jhumpa Lahiri, the place I was born is not the city I grew up in either. I would say that my hometown is Hunan when people ask me in China since Chinese consider that the meaning of hometown refers to the place where your father is from. However, when I am in the United State, I always tell people that I come from Shenzhen, a Southern city close to Hong Kong. While Jhumpa Lahiri mentioned that her family came to the new place when she was just three years old, my family moved to Shenzhen when I was only three-month old and I have lived in the city for almost eighteen years. I did not move to another place until I became a student of Emory University.
Compared with other cities in China, Shenzhen is quite young. It was a small fishing town before Deng Xiaoping led the Chinese economic reform in 1978. Since Shenzhen is a coastal city, it was established as one of the four special economic zones which were opened to foreign investment that were relatively free of the bureaucratic interventions. Thanks to the reform policy, Shenzhen has developed rapidly in recent thirty years as well as become a place full of immigrants from other cities in China.
My parents moved to Shenzhen because my father was assigned a new job in Shenzhen from the previous company he worked for. My father soon adapted to the new environment but my mother had a hard time to fit in. As Jhumpa Lahiri mentioned that her mother had no job at first, my mother also became a housewife to look after me. Jhumpa Lahiri said that her mother met some humiliating content such as “many people here do not like to see your face” and “go back to India”. My mother did not receive such painful comments but she had language problem. Local residents in Shenzhen speak Cantonese but my mother did not understand anything in Cantonese at the beginning years. Though mandarin is the first language taught in schools or used in office, Cantonese is always spoken during daily life. Many women who stay at home to look after children are local people and Cantonese is their first language. Since my mother could not speak Cantonese, it was difficult for her to make new friends. She was upset but was encouraged by my father to join more activities. She later did a part-time job and attended a dance group in our district. She has become more outgoing and has learned Cantonese through watching television shows.
I believe that Shenzhen has shaped a part of me just as Rhode Island to Jhumpa Lahiri. Although I could not speak Cantonese fluently like a native speaker, I can understand Cantonese. My parents enjoy having spicy food since their hometown Hunan is a city famous for its spicy dishes. However, I prefer lite food because there is not much piquant seasoning in Shenzhen. People are polite to each other and smiling is always what you can see from me.