ABSTRACT
“When I was in China, going to the United States was almost like winning the lottery. My family had been waiting for this chance for such a long time. We were living quite well in China, so at first we did not put much hope in moving to the U.S. So I only told a couple of my friends about our emigration. After I left school for a few days, my friends told me that the teacher announced the news to the whole class—Ling was going to America. I started receiving phone calls from my classmates. They congratulated me and asked some curious questions: Will I change into another person after living in the U.S.? Will I speak to them in English when I come back to visit China? I had an odd feeling at that moment. I had no idea whether I would become Americanized or not in the future.”
