Jerry's world
Jerry Wang is The Criterion’s newest columnist. In every issue he will share his perspectives of life in America and his life in China.
October: Fall Festival has many similarities to homecoming
Hello, my name is Jerry Wang, and I am an exchange student from China! I am really excited to study in an American school and with lots of foreign students.
In my first few weeks here, I have had lots of fun with you guys, especially during Homecoming week. We had a parade and spent about 3 hours dancing on Saturday evening. The way we celebrated together reminds me of Mid-Autumn Festival, a celebration we have in China. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, and is usually held in September. On that day, people in China usually have a big dinner and meet relatives and friends. I still remember how before every Mid-Autumn Festival, my father would take me to a shop to buy lots of mooncakes and some food about the moon. For 2008’s Mid-autumn Festival, I remembered my father woke me up at 7 in the morning. I complained to my father but nothing changed. It was Mid-autumn Festival, a small Chinese New Year, and we had to get up early to say some greetings to my families. For lunch, my mom cooked a big meal, and my dad and I went out to buy something to cook. Like other years, we had some chicken and a fish. It was delicious. After enjoying the meal, my parents took me to my grandparents’ house and we went out to eat for dinner. Not only my grandparents, but most of our relatives came too! We celebrated together and cheered until midnight. |
After the dinner, we sat on the balcony and had some Chinese tea and enjoyed the beauty of the moon. At that time, we had some mooncakes and listened to the old people’s stories. One was about a woman. It is said that she lives in the moon. Her name is Chang E, and she lives with a rabbit. I was young at that time, and I asked my grandmother, “Is it cold to live on the moon?” She laughed at me and said the story of Chang E is a myth that ancient Chinese found. This year, I spent Mid-Autumn festival with my host family, Judy and Jon Vanlaanen. They bought me a box of mooncakes! But it tasted not very well.That is because they were made in a factory and didn’t taste like the homemade mooncakes from home. Even though the mooncakes were not delicious, it was still nice of my host parents to try to make me think of my family. At that day, I missed my family members many of my friends in China. Although we can not stay together and watch the moon, I still talked to them for a long time under the Americans’ moon, and I hoped for them to be safe and happy every day in 2016. At last, I want to say happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all teachers and students in Craig High School! (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)
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November: Halloween in america
October is the month for Halloween in America!
This whole month, the people around me all do some things about Halloween. Kids are happy because they can play a traditional American activity named Trick or Treat. Also, they will make pumpkin lanterns and maybe have some pumpkin pies. But, the king of the newspaper, Mr. Holmquist, told me kids just want to eat the candy and chocolate that they collect in the evening. I don’t think I have to explain this because most of my readers are local American students, and I believe you have tried lots of times before I came to Craig. Hahaha… During this month, the memory I will remember is my host parents taking me to a haunted house, the Forest of Freaks. A HAUNTED HOUSE!!!! I am sure most of you guys have been to a haunted house before, but it was the first time for me. It really scared me. When we arrived in the parking place, my host father Jon was parking our car when suddenly, there was a person acting like a zombie! He rushed to our car and hit the windows. At that time, there were hundreds of bad words that I want to say to that zombie. After we bought the tickets, I saw a mysterious and foggy forest in front of us. I was terrified because I also heard lots of girls screaming from in there. As I tried to calm myself down, it became our turn to go into the forest. We walked straight on a small path. I saw a girl with long hair in a white shirt lying on the ground. She stood up at once and tried to catch me! I ran so fast to escape from her hand. I got away from her, but I knew more scary stuff was ahead of me. |
As we kept walking in the forest, we saw a house that had lots of colourful lamps around it. We had nothing to choose because there’s only one way to keep moving.
We opened the door, and I looked around. I saw a clown sitting on a Pandora’s box. Suddenly, he began talking. “Do you want to be my dinner or play with me?” he said in a high-pitched voice. After he asked that, he stuck his bloody tongue out. In his hand he held some people’s fingers and eyes. After I saw that, I had a feeling of nausea, because it was too real. We kept running on the path, and we next saw a little light in the distance--the exit! We thought we could leave this forest full of creepy strangers, but we feared it would not be true. As we ran to the exit, three guys with chainsaws chased us! I closed my eyes and kept running. By that time, I just wanted to go home. I have got to say haunted houses in America are much more fun--and scarier--than those in China. After nearly 40 minutes in this stupid forest, we came out and everything seemed peaceful. I saw there were still some people waiting to enter. I was really tired because I ran too much and was scared a lot. I wanted to tell the creatures, “I am only a little boy. Why scare me?” After reading about my experience and if you want to go a haunted house, I suggest that you go in a group, not only you and me! You could invite me to join you, because after that I didn’t feel afraid anymore. I think it was funny, and I want to try that again. |
December: Thanksgiving gives a taste of what America is about
Thanksgiving! Turkey! Shopping! Black Friday! Yeah!
It is a traditional American festival. On the evening of November 24th, American families celebrate together and have a big big dinner in the evening. This year, my host parents took me to Green Bay that was my host father Jon’s hometown. We spent about 3 hours driving to Jon’s older brother Jim’s house. He lives by himself for a long time. He is lonely but a nice guy. After we visited his house, uncle Jim was really interested in chinese history. I said, “In China, we all know Americans have turkey during thanksgiving, I haven’t had turkey in China before and I just saw some pictures online. I thought turkey looked strange, because it is much bigger than normal chickens, and looks ugly!” When we arrived my host dad’s other brother Jerry’s house, some amazing smells caught my nose. I was attracted by these unreachable smells and I wanted to find out what they were. But I found nothing and I gave up. I just sat on the sofa and thought about what a turkey might look like after it’s cooked. Was that good smelling from turkey? Suddenly, a high pitched voice stopped my thinking, it was grandma screaming, “it’s dinner time!” |
I was quickly running to the kitchen, because I really wanted to see what a turkey looked like.
WOW! I was surprised cause I saw a big roasted turkey! Golden skin, white meat and a sexy body! That made the people around me want to eat the turkey at once. I also ate 1 big turkey leg and lots of turkey breast. I had some pies as deserts after dinner. I have got to say, that Thanksgiving dinner lead me to endless aftertastes. Ok, finished my dinner, then: Black Friday! My host mom took me to the Best Buy to find some big deals on Black Friday. I bought a new watch and a nice speaker, but I didn’t find either of them on discount. I laughed at myself when I saw my bill. In the Best Buy, there were lots of people shopping. Some of them held a lot of stuff in their hands, and some people waited in a very long line to ask some questions about that day. It was a crazy night and lots of shops were full of people. This is a traditional American holiday, and I enjoyed my first Thanksgiving very, very much. I love turkey, I love Black Friday shopping, and I love Thanksgiving! |
January: Christmas made good memories of families and shopping
Merry Christmas everyone! It’s Christmas time now! Christmas, December 25th. It’s the one of the most important festivals for many Americans.
This year, as I am an exchange student from China, I celebrated Christmas with my American family. But my parents from China also visited Janesville during the Christmas holiday. This wonderful time started on December 22th, at O’Hare Airport, Terminal 5. I skipped school one day and just went to the Airport, to meet them right when they came out of the plane. My parents were the same as 3 months before. I am just surprised they would come here to see me. To tell you the truth, I actually do not want them to visit me. Everything is good here and my host parents are really nice to me. Here is like my second home, so I do not miss them so much. LOL! My father is a traditional Chinese old man, but he can understand English. My mom does not know English, but she said she downloaded a smart translator, and it would not be too hard for her to communicate with Americans. On Dec 25th, I opened my presents. But it took a long time to find my presents. I had to look closely at each, one by one, because there are 5 kids in my host parents’ house. |
My host mom Judy is a really nice mom. She treats every kid equally, even me. I really appreciate her.
Then I spent 2 days out and about in Janesville, ate different kinds of American food, etc. On Dec 28th, it was time to visit Chicago! My father rented a car so we wouldn’t have to ask my host parents help. We spent nearly 3 hours driving, then we arrived at our hotel on Michigan Avenue. We finished all our usual stuff, put all the bags in our room, and then went shopping. Lots of brands, people, traffic, and noise. I have got to say, Chicago is really similar to one city in China: Shanghai. We all know that Chicago is famous, modern, colorful, fantastic. I like Chicago, the windy city, and I also love Shanghai, too. Shanghai has more people than the windy city, more crazy traffic, and pollution. The air in China is dirty, unhealthy. If you stand outside for a while, your nose will feel uncomfortable and if you keep being outside: BE CAREFUL!! These days in China, lots of people need to work outside, and they get breathing problems. So if anyone wants to visit China, bring a respirator with you. Ok, that’s all the stuff that I did during Christmas break. I was tired but happy, spent a lot, but gained a new, good memory. My parents have been gone for some days. I miss them a little now. |
February: Dating in china has different traditions than in the u.s.
Today, I want to talk about dating.
Now, I am studying in Janesville, Wisconsin, the USA. Teachers look different, students look different, beautiful girls are really different from those in a Chinese high school. To have a compare, girls in China are much smaller than girls in America, and girls in China have black hair, black eyes, and also the most important point is most Chinese girls do not have a really attractive body line. But compare those to American girls, they are much different! I am not saying both kinds of girls are bad, just different. In China, I still remember when I was a freshman. If saw a beautiful girl walk around me, I can not just stand behind her or next her. I would go straight to her and say “Hi, can I have your phone number?”Usually, the girl would think I am weird, and she would not answer me back. They always give me a contempt eyes and just leave me there. At that time, I said to myself, maybe Chinese girls are more like conservatism. You can not see a boy and a girl kissing in the school, or hands and hands go to have lunch. |
But in Craig, the first day I went to Craig, I saw lots of couples just used 5 minutes break, standing in one of the area at aisle, hugging each other, and kissing!
Omg, I remembered the first time see that kind of romantic picture, I was surprised and I just stopped there and watched them kissed! I never see that when I in China, and I thought American students are so outgoing! You know, only five minutes break, I think we should hurry to get in our class and prepare, but they just stand there and show how much they love each other! And if some teachers see that pictures, they just keep walking! It’s too crazy! Too many differences, too many stuff makes me surprised, too much romantic I have seen these days. I think it is good to date a girl during your high school years, and dating a girl can make a boy be more responsible, be more like a real man. So Cougars, go find your true love now! Don’t be afraid, if you love someone, just go for it! |
March: Finding American football
Today I want to talk about sports.
Since I have been here for nearly 6 months, I have tried to see many kinds of sports in America like basketball, football, baseball, and ice-hockey. I think football is one of the most exciting sports. In China, I only heard there was a sport named football, I never saw it on my TV or see anyone play it on the ground. I remember one day, during school time, my teacher showed us a movie. It was called The Blind Side. Michael Oher is the main character. He is a tall and big black guy, but he is homeless and his family has lots of problems. That gives him a big influence. Michael is shy and talks little, but on a rainy day, he meets a new family. This family is really kind and nice. They help Michael to get into school and change his life for the better. The family suggests Michael play football, and that was the first time I saw a real, but not full, football game. Then, I came to America. Me and my friends cannot wait to see a real football game. I remember the first week we came here we went to see our school’s football team game. When I arrived at the field, lots of students had already sat together, making a big square in the sitting area. When the game started, everyone stood up and cheered for our school team loudly and excitedly. I was surprised because I did not know football was so famous here. Our school’s students sat together and made a large group for cheering. Although most of them were not cheerleaders, they still tried their best to cheer. They have a really good sports spirit. |
The game had nearly started, and the players on the court were all very strong and looked powerful. The picture they made putting half of their bodies down, waited the referee to start the game, was really like a war! The players, like soldiers, waited for the signal to begin this ruthless fight.
The game started, I saw the football was in one player’s hand, and he threw the ball to the player in front him. When that guy caught the ball, all the players on the other team just jumped on him, hit him, and tried to push him down. There were hundreds of bad words in my stomach, but I could not say them, cause we sat in wrong area by the parents and teachers. That was so rude to play like that. I just asked my host father why they did that. It was so mean and rude! He said because they were defending our attacks, defending their last area. If we put the ball in the left end of the field, we would get points. So they must try their best to defend, and they used the rude, dirty way. After that game I wanted to try to play football, but when I thought about how lots of players try to get the player who has ball down, and in a really rude and hurt way, I was afraid. Haha, although football, in my heart, is a rude sport, I still like it, I still like this amazing and exciting game. I want to try to play it now, but the season is ending, and also the weather in Wisconsin is too cold! Snowing, freezing! So, if I have the chance, I would like to try American football - a true man’s sport. |
APril/May: A Wonderful Trip To Florida
This month I want to talk about the trip I took to a state that is in the America South: Florida!
Specifically, Florida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It’s close to the sea, and I saw some golden beaches with beautiful sunshine. I tried some Florida seafood too. That was a good choice. Orlando has one of the biggest seafood markets in US. I couldn’t wait to go there, couldn’t wait to see the sunset and enjoy the nature away from school. The trip began with me, my friend Tyler, and my host mother Judy. We woke up at 3 in the morning to catch an early bus to O'Hare Airport. I was kept awake by the pictures of Florida’s beautiful food and nature that were bouncing around in my brain. I really could not wait to see them. After 3 hours on the plane, we arrived at Orlando. When I came out of the airport, I felt a little hot. The sun seemed to want to burn everybody’s skin. I took off my jacket, because if I had kept wearing it any longer people would’ve started to look at me funny. The weather in Florida is very different from that in Wisconsin. It’s hot here sometimes, but this month is not that hot. I feel comfortable here. Maybe we don’t always have the warmest sun, but I still like it here. |
When I got in the car, driving away from the airport, I rolled the window down and saw the sea right in front of me! The sky was so beautiful. Even with the heat, I still preferred to keep the window open and enjoy Florida’s weather.
The first lunch I had in Florida I asked my host mother could she bring me some seafood. In China I could find some if I wanted, but in Wisconsin there’s not a lot. Very little in this cold state. Oysters are one of my favourite seafoods, they look bad but taste fantastic, like cold jelly in your mouth which just slides into your stomach. I ate lots of kinds of oysters that first lunch - fried, fresh and with garlic. Those are fantastic. I can’t forget the feeling of eating them. Beaches make up the other essential component of Florida. We went to a small beach near Orlando to watch the beautiful sunset one night, around 5:30pm. The sun went down slowly, it looked like a child, putting his head in his Mom’s arms slowly. I took lots of pictures to help me remember that wonderful sunset. Then - Disney. Not Disney World, just a Disney themed shopping centre in Orlando. Most of stuff in it was about Disney anyway. I’m not interested in Mickey Mouse or other Disney characters, but I thought if I came all the way here, I might as well buy some souvenirs. I got a Mickey Mouse phone case. It’s…. Ok. Then we visited a museum in the shopping centre. It was fun. So, that was my Spring Break. What did you do? |
June: Thank you for the wonderful experience, Janesville Craig!
I think about the first day I came here, and going from a Chinese boy who knows nothing about this place, to loving Craig High school. Going from a poor English speaker and a bad English writer, to a student that can speak a little english, and can use English to describe his mind in words. Jerry has been Craig for one year, but he grows up in a different country.
So, this is my last time to write Jerry’s World. Firstly, I have got to say thank you to my newspaper teacher, David Holmquist. If I had not met him, I wouldn’t be able to share my stories with everyone monthly, and I couldn’t let everyone in Craig know that there is a Chinese exchange student named Jerry. I appreciate Mr. Holmquist for giving me this chance to build my own column, and I really appreciate when he check my articles and gives valuable editing suggestions for my words and sentences. I did not get similar suggestions when I was in China, let alone with such useful words. I must say thank you to Mr. Holmquist first. Secondly, I want to be grateful to Mark Lajiness. Mr. Lajiness is a really nice teacher. I remember in the first semester, I had three classes he taught. You would never feel bored in his classes because of his humor and compelling projections, especially in Acting class. I had lots of fun with my classmates about acting out some characters from movies or some parts of our lives. I made lots of friends in Mr. Lajiness’s class and I will not forget them, because they were the first foreign friends I made, in my first very year in America. Third, I want to say sorry to my history teacher, Michael Miller. You know my history class is in the first period and I really hate History. Not only American History, but also history about China. |
When I was in China, if there was a history class in next period, most of the time, I would put my head into my hands and sleep. I am a super lazy guy and I don’t always want to wake up in the morning.
Often I will be late to class by like 5 minutes. Sometimes I will go to school at 9:00, because then I’ll just miss history class. Hopefully, Mr. Miller will not be mad at me. I am super quiet in history class because I am a little afraid of Mr. Miller, so usually I don’t want to talk to him. Also, I almost never see him smiling in class. I maybe saw him smile like three or four times in this whole year. Altogether, he is still a good, dedicated, and responsible teacher. There is not enough room for me to say thank you to as many teachers as I want. All the teachers who taught me this year are remarkable, and have been very beneficial to me and my favorite people. I don’t know about other teachers, but I am sure they are just as great. “What’s up?” That’s a phrase Mr. McCormick taught me, in my first Personal Finance class. I was going to ask a question about how to log in to Google Classroom, and Mr. McCormick just said, “What’s up?” I was confused because I had not yet asked anything, and he just said to me, “What is up?” At first, I wondered, “Is there something on my head? Or was it just that my English pronunciation was so bad?” Now I know what that phrase means. I had lots of fun with the students, teachers, and host families here. All of you brought me happiness, and allowed me to really love Janesville. I want to give some additional appreciation to Kevin Miller for guiding my study habits here at Craig. If I had decided to go some place else, I do not believe I could’ve had nearly as fantastic a senior year as I had here. Thank you! |