The Tragedy in Heaven

"Hey, how are you these days?" "Good, you?" "Fine, you know I miss the time when we used to hang out." "That happened a long time ago. However, I still remember that you owe me a dinner." That is the chat I had with one of my friends in China recently. I don't think three years is as long as he thought. I still remember the private high school I left and the busy life there. I wouldn’t call the life I had there heaven at that time, but I was delighted that I could set off for America from China. Since I came here, I have found out that Chicago outshines China in many ways. However, we all know the idiom of “You can’t have your cake and eat it.” Besides all benefits, I found that the joyfulness I had in China with friends lost its existence through the calculation of immigration.

As an important part of my joyfulness, the time I had inside my sch
ool reduced. Most of my time in China was spent inside the school, much longer than six hours per day in Chicago. The majority of high schools in China start at seven thirty in the morning and end at eight thirty in the evening. Unfortunately, I attended a boarding school. On the one hand, I had to spend all my twenty-four hours there. On the other hand, I had a long time to hang out with my friends. Walking and chatting on the ground with them were my daily routines. Even though I did not like playing sports at all, I joined their ball games after lunch. Me and my friends spent most of our time in school together to finish the homework. Even the boring homework did not reduce our joy.

In the same way, the activity with my friends outside of school got divided into pieces. The internet cafés opened for me to stay with many of friends has switched to visiting them separately. The party lost its purpose if there is only one guest invited. Students commonly do not have the chance to finish the homework in China, but my friends and I would gather together and go to the internet café. I have joined several parties with my friends in Chicago, yet they did relieve me from the burdens of studying because the activities are boring. Neither the card game nor the television can provide me the same joy as I had. It seems to me that the activities at parties in the United States have nothing cheerful or supportive from my friends.


Ironically, the only thing I found that got multiplied is the matter of behavior. Whenever I go into a restaurant in Chicago, I remember the one I used to go with my friends. Since it was not popular, it was quite until my friends and I got there. We would sit at a table, order our favorite food, and chat for a few hours. We could stay there as long as we wanted. Nobody cared about what we were talking about or how loud we were. It is totally different here. America is a country full of appropriate manners. Making any sounds in public places is judged as uncivilized. The joy of a dainty dish isn’t the only reason humans eat. The communication during the dinner bonds people together, but now it is ruined by manners.

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." Helen Keller's words tell me the importance of friendship. However, I consider the activities we do with our friends are as important as the friendship itself, and that is why people with similar habits can be friends easily. I can't find a place here that brings me the same fun I had in China. My joyfulness brought by friends is canceled out by the immigration. Nevertheless, I think it is time for me to explore a new way to relax and have fun, in case one of my Chinese friends pay me a visit for dinner regardless of the time. I want him to feel like being in heaven in America the same way he used to, instead of having the same tragedy as I had.