What more can I ask for? Life is good and easy. I go to my dream school, I get to drive a car, and I go and I speak “perfect” English as if I was born here.
I wish I could tell you my story was that easy, but it wasn’t. I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I came to the United States of America when I was 16 as a junior in High School. Back then in Hong Kong I have learned English since Kindergarten, but I rarely use that to communicate. Therefore, when I first got here, I was definitely scared (動詞:害怕,恐懼) and I stayed quiet (名詞:安靜,沈默). I would make friends here and there, but since I’m not used to speaking English, I failed to connect with them. These are whom I call Hi-Bye friends I met in the early stage of my junior year.
Not until after I met my first close friend, also my neighbor, I started to speak a lot more English because he is half Chinese and half White (He was the person who introduced me to Christianity.) I would spend significant time with him since we walk home together, and there’s no way I can avoid speaking English when I am with him. I started to open up more in class and talk to people around and I eventually have more friends. I hit roadblocks (名詞:路障) here and there, butchering (動詞:笨拙,糟蹋) words up or having absolutely (副詞:絕對地,斷然地) no clue (名詞:線索) what others are talking about. But one doesn’t learn without making mistakes. It is the failures or embarrassments (名詞:為難,尷尬) that help me to speak English fluently (形容詞:流暢); it is the overcoming of the fear of messing up that propels (動詞:推進,激勵) my improvement. Sometimes I feel dumb (形容詞:啞的,愚蠢的) or embarrassed, but it was sure worth it. Another difficulty I faced was rejections (名詞:拒絕) from various Universities.
When I first came, I thought getting into University was not that hard. However, I was placed in a math level one year behind, I could not take any AP classes in the pivotal (形容詞:關鍵的) junior year, I didn’t have much time to join extracurricular activities (名詞:課外活動) or volunteering and ultimately, I did not have enough English credits. These are certainly the reasons why I did not get a single acceptance from the UC’s I applied. I was frustrated. I was depressed. I thought coming to America was supposed to be easy compared to the competition I had in Hong Kong. I started skipping classes, not doing homework, and not paying attention in class. It is at this time of trial in my life, I turned to God and asked him for help.
During that tough time, I read a verse from Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” I learned that I couldn’t do everything by myself. God carried me through difficult times because He had a plan for me all this time. This really strengthened my faith in Him as I know that my path will be straight if I lean on Him. I ended up going to Pasadena City College for two years and transferred to UCLA to continue my Bachelors in Biochemistry. God has also given me a great community of believers. Brothers and sisters in church really supported me. Also, my Pastor has led me to Christ and taught me how to be a Christ-centered man and helped me a lot assimilating (動詞:使變成一樣,同化) to the American culture by introducing food, activities, and sports.
All in all, my advice for you fellow immigrant students is to open up and try new things. Even though you may not stay here after your education, you should still put in the effort to learn the American culture and speak the language. Break out of your comfort zone and do not doubt yourself! Most importantly, know who God and Jesus.
生活是如此地如意，夫復何求？我進入夢想中的大學，自己開車，說一口流利得跟本地人沒有兩樣的英語。
但願我的生活真的如此一帆風順。我生於香港，長於香港。十六歲那年，來美國唸高中。雖然從幼稚園開始就學英文，但卻很少用英文與人溝通，所以，剛到美國時，我很慌張，也因此變得沈默寡言。由於我不習慣用英語跟人說話，不能跟別人連接，所以我的朋友都是泛泛之交。
直到我遇到我第一個好朋友，我的鄰居，一位只會說英文的中美混血兒，我才敢開口說英語 (是他是帶領我成為基督徒的) 。事實上，和他在一起的時候，我跟本不能不講英文，因為他是我一塊走路回家的夥伴。因著他，在課堂上我不再隱藏起來，而開始跟同學交談，朋友也多了。雖然，我常常踫釘子，用錯字，甚至摸不清別人的意思。但是，沒有犯錯，那會學到功課？是錯誤和尷尬，讓我的英文越來越順暢；是克服怕出錯的心理的過程，讓我的英文越見進步。有時候，我確實覺得自己又笨又難堪，可是，這一切都是值得的。另一個我要面對的難關，就是被不同的大學拒絕。
剛到美國，我以為申請大學是件易如反掌的事。可是，我被編進十年級的數學班，以致在升大學最關鍵的那年，我無法上大學的先修課程，加上我沒時間參加課外活動或當義工，致命傷是沒有足夠的英文課，所以加大系統一家我都進不去。我感到很沮喪、很灰心，原來上美國大學一點不比香港容易。我開始翹課，不做功課，上課也不專心。就是人生的這個試煉，驅使我轉向上帝，尋求衪的幫助。
在困難中，我讀到箴言3章5-6節：「你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，在你一切所行的事上，都要認定他，他必指引你的路。」經文提醒我不要單靠自己，神會帶領我走過逆境，因為在我身上，衪有衪美好的旨意。經文也強化了我對祂的信心，因為我知道，只要倚靠衪，我的道路必會平垣。最後，我進了帕莎迪那社區大學兩年，然後轉入加州大學洛杉磯分校 (UCLA)，主修生化。神也賜給我一個很好的教會，弟兄姐妹真的給了我很多的支持。我的牧師不但帶領我信主，教導我怎樣成為一個以基督為中心的人，也透過飲食、活動，及各樣運動中，幫助我融入美國文化。
和我一樣背景的移民學生們，希望你能打開心懷，嘗試新的東西。也許，完成學業後你不打算留下來，然而，也希望你能努力學習美國文化，學習英語。要勇於走出你安舒的地帶，不要懷疑自己。最重要的是，要認識上帝和耶穌。
(註：嘉㯋很願意跟一些剛移民來美的中學生分享他的經驗, 如你有任何問題可透過角聲家庭中心聯絡Kevin, email:[email protected])
◎ Kevin Tsang, 曾嘉㯋 ◎ 翻譯：秦黃業玲