The Saturday that I spent with my host family was amazing. I learned how to make dumplings from scratch, and after we made them, we got to eat them, and they were delicious. Spending time with my host family was strange in some ways because of their different ways of doing things, but it was never boring, and I really enjoyed my time with them. We talked to our host mother’s daughter most of the time because she could help translate for us. Our host mother wanted to know how education in the U.S. is different from in China and about what careers we wanted to pursue after high school or college. I was kind of nervous to tell my host family I wanted to join the U.S. military because the U.S. military isn’t very well liked in a lot of countries, but when I told them, my host mother was excited about my plans. Our host mother told us she also wanted to join the military when she was younger, but she didn’t have that option so she is happy to know that I want to join the military.
After we ate and told stories, we took a trip to a large tea market where they had tea, tea sets, clay pets, etc. I was able to find high-quality items to help me make better tea. After shopping at the tea market, our host mother took us to a nice restaurant called Jade Cuisine; the food was great, but it wasn’t as good as the food we made at our host family’s place. As soon as we finished our meal, we went to a park where we bought and flew kites. It’s been a long time since I flew a kite, and I had forgotten how much fun it is. I spent so much time flying my kite, but eventually it was time to go. I had so much fun with my host family that I was already missing them when I got on the subway back to the hotel. All I have to say is that I wish I could spend another day with them.
Jayme Hughes
Shanghai 6-Week, 2011
Austin, TX
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