A nation affected

Brazil is well known for the beauty of nature, the affectionate people and the lack of effectiveness. Since 2014, Brazil has suffered one of the most devastating economic crises. The first reason is because of the corruption. The old government that was leading Brazil stole a lot of money from public coffers. The second reason is the decline in values of products that Brazil exports, such as grains, orange juice and oil. A few years ago, the oil was really expensive and now its price is low. The last reason is because of China. China was the biggest buyer of merchandise coming from Brazil, and if China does not buy Brazilian products, it affects their economy. There are many consequences when all of these negative events occur together. Principally for the political and economic factors. This new Brazilian economy has forced me to live in another country and it has changed not only my family’s life, but also the entire population of Brazil because of the poor salary and unemployment.

Unemployment is the principal consequence of the crises. A lot of companies have gone bankrupt. Consequently, the number of unemployed people increased. If a company does not have enough work, in many cases, they have to fire employees, because they do not have enough money to pay them. Another reason of the unemployment is the company does not have work, but they still need the employee to do the work. Most of the time the salary of this employee is too high. For this reason, the owners of the company decide to replace the person and they hire people less qualified with less salary.

Poor salary is also a result of the crisis. Big companies have been reducing the salary of workers. A good example is the company that my father used to work for. He used to work in one of the most important companies that manufactures polyethylene. Polyethylene is the most common plastic. It is used to make plastic bags, plastic films and containers like bottles. He was a truck driver, so he carried the merchandise principally to the northern part of the country. With the crisis the company began to pay less my father and sometimes delayed the payment. Not only did this happen with my father’s company, but also with a lot of other companies. It was almost a “rule”. First, the companies reduce the salary. Second, they don’t pay, because they don’t have enough money. The last option that the owners have is to close the company.

After all of these effects of the crisis, I decided to move to the United States. I never thought of moving to another country to have a better future for my family and I until my father lost his job and my mother had to find one to help with the house expenses. These changes have meant that I am much stronger than I seem to be. Like that famous phrase “You are your only limit”. I learned to take care of myself and to be proud of this. I know that I will never be the same girl that I used to be, and I will never be the same person when I return to Brazil. My thoughts changed a lot. I still have a long journey, but I know I am in the right direction. My family is the only reason that I decided to stay here even if sometimes I just want to give up and go back to Brazil.

Some economists say that Brazil might recover from the crisis in 2020. It is terrible to see the whole country suffering because of the same thing, money. Everybody had to change their life. I completely changed my life, and it has been a painful decision. Brazilians just have to adapt to this new economy. Maybe the crises brought one good thing. The changes in people’s live promote strengthening as a nation. It has not been easy living with all these changes but they brought new innovations, new ideas and ideals. With all of these problems, the president of Brazil changed. Brazilians were protesting against the old president. After the impeachment, I hope that this new president can try to change the economic problems. When I return to Brazil, I think the situation will be better, but if this does not happen I will do my best to work hard for my own future.

What did your ancestors give you?

      In about 1100 BCE, Shang Jiang was raised to the king of Qi which located in the Shan Don province in China. It is because he helped the kings Wen and Wu of Zhou fought battle against the Shang in the past. Some of his children kept his given name, Shang, as their family name instead. That is where I got my family name from, so I will keep my family name for good. My family name is so unique that it is easy to remember. Although it is one of the important key for others to recognize me, my family name has had little effect on my family and me. I think the establishment of modern China have made greater effects on three generation of my family already.

For a start, both my grandparents migrated to the same city because of the Chinese government. Which means that none of my grandparents lived in the city Fushun, where I was born. On my father’s side, the migration started in 1912. To develop the economy of Northeast, farmers like my grandparents were encouraged to move their residence to Northeast provinces from the middle part of China. My father’s family chose Fushun to relocate, because it was built as an industrial city. Right after the factories were built, more and more people migrated there. Unlike my father, my mother’s family has been farming in North for a long time. However, they decided to move to Fushun for the same reason in 1953, a larger working opportunity.

Instead of migrating encouragement, my parents’ lives were influenced by the wars later. During the war, my parents’ life is much harder than how I live now. Most of citizens like my parents were struggling for their next meal. It was impossible for two parents take care four teens by their salary at that time. Which means that both my parents and their siblings must take care themselves as soon as they could. My mother always tells me the story when she was a teenager. I couldn’t even count how many times she has told me the stories about she taking care some businesses in her house, such as cleaning, cooking, and washing. Thirteen-year-old male like my father started to looking for a job. He worked so hard because he knows his responsibility. Almost all my relatives consider my father a hard-working man, and so do I.

As for myself, I am trapped by the One-Child Policy. Since there was no such policy when my parents were born in the 1960, both my parents have three siblings. My parents’ responsibility of caring the elders is divided with their siblings. Also, my parents could gain help from their siblings if they need to. In the contrast, the burden of caring my parents is on me. Since the Two-Child Policy effected from 2016, the burden is heaver for my generation. In this case, not only must I take care both my parents without any help, but I must also take care two children in the future. Though I am trapped by the One-Child Policy in certain ways, I am still benefit from it. My parents and I always say that finding a suitable job in China could be harder for me.

Altogether, my family’s life and mine as Chinese citizens have been fully influenced by my homeland. China is a country with a unique history. The modernization of China appears to affect every Chinese and the world. With no doubt that China have already influenced three generation of my family. Its effect to my family in the future remains unknown, because I came to the United States. Regardless how China will affect me and my children, there is one thing for sure. The only thing their ancestor Shang Jiang left my children is their family name. For that reason, they probably won’t remember their ancestor, Shang Jiang, but they will remember China as their homeland. 

Rashidi

Cause and Effect 3

11/12/2016

Scholarship’s Effects

        I could have never have imagined that I would be one day studying in Chicago and have a scholarship from SACM (Saudi Arabia Culture Mission). SACM is an organization that was created by King Abdullah for the benefit of Saudi students to get a better education in American universities. I felt extremely honored and appreciative for receiving this significant award which will help my confidence and inspire me to realize my dreams in develop skills.

        The first effect of me having a scholarship is that I dramatically improved my English language. Because when I arrived here first time, my English was very limited and I had a hard time understanding people for the first two months. For example, I remember one-day I was invited to watch one of the Cubs ‘game with my fellow Americans. Once the game was over, one person asked me, what I thought about the game: I replied by saying “good” I felt so embarrassed that I did not explain more information due to the lake of my understanding. Additionally, people sometimes come to me and start to talk to me fast, and I all I do is just pretend that I understand them by shaking my head so that people can see that I got everything was being said but I was not.

      

       Another effect scholarship had on me that I got to changed my career goals and look for different one. Before I received the scholarship, I was working as a surgical technician in a huge private hospital which was very far away from my home. But I wasn’t getting enough money even though. Plus, I wasn’t enjoying my work. I felt like I wanted to complete my education and run away from the operation rooms. However, Things have gotten to the point where I had quit my job and came to Chicago to study more and more. When I got to Chicago, I said to myself this is the chance that I should try and prove to myself that life doesn’t end when you lose a job, because there is always a way and hope.

    

Last effect scholarship also gave me was that I changed my view on the US. When I was in Saudi, I thought that racism has completely gone from the united. But I found that my expectations were in fact wrong. For example, my first year in the US was indeed horrific black people were unjustly brutal by the police. Another incident was the death of Eric Garner which took place in New York, he was unarmed when a police man dragged him to the floor and stepped up on his chest and Eric was saying “I can’t breathe”.  Not only that but, white people recently just voted to Donald Trump who is an absolute professional racist. On the other hand, the great Americans whom I love and respect are trying very hard to treat everybody equally respectful to all races and cultures regard what Trump’s supporters might say.

       At the end, this scholarship has enabled to blend and adapt to a new culture. Indeed, I am so thankful that this chance which has opened an enormous door for me to discover the diversity of this country. Again, I should give credit where is due which to my friends who provided me with a lot of information about Chicago, so that I could study in this incredible city.

Selected Daughter

      Filial piety is a term of praise in China. It means the child would take care of their parents very well when they got old. In traditional China, the daughters would get married to compose a new family and the sons have the responsibility to take care of their parents when they get older. On the other hand, who can take care their parents when they only have daughter? My second aunt's name is Xiao, the Chinese meaning is happy but her name does not match her life. When she was only sixteen years old, she was selected by my grandparents to take care of them for the rest of their life. Sometimes, filial piety is double edged weapon. However, these words for Xiao are more like the responsibility and pressure to that changed her life.

     As a selected daughter, Xiao has never had choices for her own life, even her marriage or dreams. Xiao was an intelligent student in school and she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. However, my grandmother thought there wasn't any benefit for girls to study. When Xiao was in high school, she was forced to give up studies and went out to work to support her home. In addition, she had no choice to choose her marriage. When Xiao was twenty-five, she had a boyfriend, and they had been together for several years. Unfortunately, my grandmother was against their marriage because Xiao's boyfriend's family was poor. My grandmother wanted Xiao to marry a rich man. These are Xiao's greatest regrets of her life.

    Since my grandmother and Xiao lived together, they began to quarrel about every little thing in daily life. My grandmother's and Xiao's attitude and options towards everything were completely different. My grandmother always wanted to know everything in the house, and Xiao always tried to hide everything. For example, one day my cousin was fell down in the stairs and went to the hospital for two days. Xiao was afraid my grandmother would worry about it and would make her blood pressure become higher. Therefore, she did not tell my grandmother what happened, but my grandmother suspected my cousin had run away from home and never come back. Furthermore, they often had a lot of debates about food. My grandmother is a frugal person, and she likes to save the leftovers in the refrigerator, but Xiao thinks leftovers are unhealthy. They have argued everyday, Xiao has too much pressure to living with my grandmother.

     My grandmother's decision increased Xiao's burden when my grandmother got Alzheimer 'S disease. When Xiao planned to send my grandmother to a nursing house. My grandmother thought Xiao wanted to abandon her and my grandmother refused to eat anything. Eventually, Xiao decided to lived with my grandmother but Xiao had to spend a lot of time and energy taking care of my grandmother. One day, my grandmother said she wanted go out to buy breakfast. After three hours she did not come back and that made everyone get anxious. My cousin and Xiao stopped their work to look forward to my grandmother. Furthermore, my grandmother usually said something made Xiao feel hurt. She would repeat and repeat Xiao 's mistakes. My grandmother's unreasonable behavior made Xiao 's life become harder and harder.

     Filial piety is the traditional goodness of Chinese people, but some people are burdened by these two words. These traditional ideas have damaged some selected daughter's live. In fact, it is the responsibility for people to take care of their parents 's life. However, responsibility do not mean live together. There are some different ways to make the parents happy in daily life. The first is giving some patience to understand what they want to say. The second is spending more time with them and do not make them feel lonely. More care and respect is more important to living together.

Great Changes

Great Changes

        One’s fate is controlled by oneself. However, during great changes, the fate of each person 
always follows the pace of the times. My father was born in a small village. When he was a child, his greatest dream was to visit in the city because he never left the countryside. At that time, China was a poor and backward country. Many Chinese people did not even have enough food to eat. However, since 1978, great changes have taken place in China. In that year, the Chinese government began to implement Economic Reform and Open Policy, which has affected the lives of countless Chinese families, and our family is one of them. After that, the standard of living in our family become getting better and better. In addition, l had the opportunity to come to the United States.

        One effect of this policy is that our family was able to have our own land. Before 1978, under communism, the Chinese government implemented the collective economy. All of land was owned by the government and collectives. A village was considered a unit,  and everyone was in a collective. People working, eating, and getting off work together. Everyone’s standard of living was the same. This was how communism worked. However, this economic model have many problems. One of the most serious problem was the production efficiency was very low, and people didn’t have enthusiasm to work. Therefore, the new policy was to allocate land to individuals, so everyone could have their own land. My parents and relatives were very excited because as long as they work hard, they could get a better life. 

        Another one important effect of the new Reform was my father left his hometown, and he went to big city to find better job opportunities. Later, our family also moved to a coastal city. After the opening of the economy. In China, job opportunities increased a lot, especially in some coastal cities, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan. As the first open cities, they attracted a lot of foreign investment and business. At that time, my hometown was still an economically backward place, and people’s income was very low. My father wanted to earn more money, and give his family a better life. Therefore, he went to the southern city, Dongguan. This decision completely changed the lives of our family. Since my father went to Dongguan, his income has increased, so our family living conditions have improved a lot. In addition, he bought a new house in Dongguan, so we eventually moved to there.   

       Furthermore, after the opening of the economy, the Chinese government also has opened the door for studying abroad and immigrating, which gave me an opportunity to come to the Uniter States today. Thirty years ago, if Chinese people wanted to go aboard, it was very difficulty. People don't say to go abroad, and even to the other city in China is not easy because the Chinese government implemented a very strict population management system. At that time China was still a closed country, and between China and many countries had no contacts. In order to maintain social stability, the Chinese government did not allow the free movement of people. I think I was born a lucky generation because I was born in an open China. Today more and more Chinese students choose to study and work abroad. This gives the world a better understanding of China, and China also has a better understanding of the world.

        In conclusion, I think my family's change is only a microcosm of China's three decades of change. Over the past 30 years, China has undergone tremendous changes, and people’s standard of living have improved a lot. Today, many Chinese young people cannot imagine the poverty of the past, like my cousins and me. My father often mentions their previous poor life that people did not have enough foods and clothes, and warns us to cherish the food and cherish our present lives. When I was a child, I always disdained to hear these stories, and now I gradually understand him. I am grateful for my present life.

My Grandmother's 1942

Bo Jin

Cause and Effect essay

Final essay

11/8/2016

My Grandmother’s 1942

         Famine was like a group of wolves. When hunger came, it would devour the last drops of tears from human beings. Between the summer of 1942 and the spring of 1943, Henan province suffered the severest drought in history. After the drought, they suffered again with a plague of locusts. Famine spread across the one hundred counties in the province. There were ten million people in Henan province during that time, and it was estimated that three million people died from starvation and diseases. My grandmother’s family was one of the seven million refugees who had to walk to Shaanxi seeking the last hope of her life. A countless number refugees died along the way. They ate all the food that could be eaten even including dead people in order to stay alive. My grandmother’s family eventually arrived in Xi’an, Shaanxi, but only my grandmother and my great grandfather were alive. During that year, my grandmother was only five years old, and she had the worst experience in her life, the death of her mother, brothers, and sisters. That period of almost unforgettable history not only influenced the entire life of my grandmother, but also affected her next generations. 

This period of bitter history not only influenced my grandmother’s childhood, but also affected her marriage. My great grandfather got remarried after his wife died when my grandma was only five years old. It had left her with an empty heart for her entire childhood. After my grandmother and my great grandfather arrived in Xi’an, they received financial help from the government, but the financial help could only maintain their daily necessities. My grandmother had to beg on the streets every day. A broken bowl for begging became her favorite toy. One day, my great grandfather came back in the evening, and not only brought back food, but also brought back a woman who later became my grandmother’s stepmother. Within a year, my grandmother’s stepmother gave birth to a boy. This “gift” made my grandmother’s life more miserable than it already was. In the patriarchal age, my grandmother’s status at home was like her “toy” – the broken bowl she used for begging. When my grandmother was sixteen years old, her family faced more financial difficulties, so they forced her to marry someone she did not know or have any feelings for, and she did not have a ring or wedding. He was ten years older than her. My grandfather was also a refugee who came to Xi’an to survive, but unfortunately, he was the only one in his family that survived the famine. He was a very poor railroad worker. He only gave my great grandfather a carton of cigarettes and a bottle of wine to take away my grandmother. My grandmother later gave birth to three daughters and two sons, and my father was the youngest among his sibling. The children brought sunshine to her life again, just like the spring had come and left the coldness behind.

This period of unforgettable history not only influenced my grandmother but also affected the choice of my father’s major in university and the choice of his career path. My father used to say, “I am very lucky because I did not experience the famine, and I have had the best education among all the siblings.” By the time my father was born, his family’s financial condition had improved gradually; thus, his family lived frugally for his tuition. Of course, my father was very smart and was later accepted by Northwest University. Even though the family was very happy about his acceptance, they did not expect that my father would choose to study agriculture. Four years later, my father’s family was surprised again that he gave up at job of the Agricultural Bureau, and that he went to the countryside to teach the farmers how to grow crops. when the family planned how to celebrate my father’s college graduation, he suddenly disappeared. My father only left a letter on the dining table, saying his dream was to help farmers improve production of crops and reduce the likelihood of drought. My grandmother finally realized he wanted to help the farmers was because she used to tell him the stories she had experienced in her childhood, and he was afraid there would be another famine in the future.

 This period of heavy history not only influenced my grandmother and my father, but also affected my personality and values. My grandmother always taught me that I would encounter all kinds of difficulties in life, and that I need to be brave to face them. When I was a little boy, my grandmother used to share the stories of her childhood with me. Her stories would always make me think that my grandmother was very brave and strong; she became a hero in my heart. My grandmother always gave me support, and it made me feel confident and fearless. No matter what difficulties I have met, I know I could overcome them. In addition, my grandmother’s story made me realize that family was more important than anything else. My grandmother once told me the most painful thing in her entire life was that she witnessed the death of her mother and her siblings, but she could not do anything about it. After my grandmother shared the story with me, I always wanted to spend a lot of time with my family, and I hoped my parents could be happy every day.

My grandmother’s 1942 was like an epitaph that buried my grandmother’s youth, recorded my father’s dream, and guided my way. Today, this period of real history has been produced in a movie called “Back to 1942”. After I saw the movie with my grandmother, I asked her, “Did you cry every day just like the actress in the movie?” She answered softly, “At that time, I was so hungry that I did not even have the strength to cry.”  And then, I asked her again: “Did you have a different feeling of life after you had experienced your 1942?” I stared at her. She tried to fake a smile, and then told me: “live every day as if it is your last.” I later realized the meaning of the saying. If I live each day as if it is my last, I will treasure everything.