My First CWS Blog Spot!

Sometimes, people asked me how I like America, or what America is about in my mind? My answer is that America is a wonderful place. I said that not because my life or anyone's life in this country is wonderful, because American's history, lifestyle, and belief have made this country great and made a change inside me.

In fact, I have been so far on the half way of freshman year in college. The first semester was very busy but successful with everything: school work, college life, and new friendship. Most importantly, I feel myself different from who came to here 5 months ago.

I miss home a lot. I know it's been my second time being away from the family. Some Vietnamese friends told me that they no longer have homesick anymore, still I think everybody does. Nevertheless, studying abroad, especially in America, has brought a lot of good experiences to me. It, first of all, taught me how to live independently. During the first months, I have not managed my daily time well that always made me frustrated. Then, I got used to it little by little although I still have some problems managing my time occasionally.

The study environment is actually very satisfying. Although Juniata College is located in a pretty isolated area, I have more time to focus on studying. In the liberal arts environment, I can take different classes coming from different areas: natural science, humanities, foreign language, social science, and fine arts. The interaction with classes, friends, and professors shapes my ideas about who I want to be after graduating college.

I also become like a world traveler. Even though it is very expensive to go around now, every trips I have been were always worth it. I spent time traveling in the east coast with some friends at the beginning. Amazingly, I felt I was so lucky to see big cities like New York City, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Fort Worth besides Hanoi, where I grew up. I wish my family could come to enjoy cultures, people, languages, food, and especially history here like I did. New York City was one of my favorite cities. Having lived here for a short time, I have experienced with the chill of East Coast, the hotness of Mid-west, and the comfort of West Coast. Different meals, different friends, and different nationalities are really awesome.

For the rest, I just want to say that I learned a lot of things from you. All the advices have helped me understand and improved my English a lot. Thanks!