My Chinese Host Family

ACC arranges for students to have a Chinese host family. It is a good way for us to learn about Chinese culture and practice our Chinese. My Chinese host mother called me and my "sibling" (a fellow ACC student) to come over for lunch on Saturday. Saturday afternoon I met with my Chinese family and we went to their house. They were so sweet. They had made two gift bags, one for me and one for Rita (the other ACC student in our family). It included bookmarks, a pretty green shirt, a small tapestry thing, and a decorative comb. I thought it was so thoughtful of them. In China it is extremely important to be a good host. As soon as we arrived they asked us if we wanted water or fruit. They have a 23 year old daughter, so while the "parents" cooked the dumplings, we talked with her. She went to school in Shanghai and now works in Beijing and lives at home. Because housing is so expensive in Beijing, many young people live at home, even if they have good jobs. Unlike in America that is accepted, even encouraged. The lunch was really nice, 5 cold dishes and then the dumplings. They were really polite and pushed food on us (which is considered the polite thing to do as a host in China), but they weren't aggressive about forcing you to keep plowing through dishes like I heard some host families can be. The atmosphere was really relaxed. We talked about our homes in America, studying in Beijing, American politics, the 2008 Olympics, and many other things. It was nice to be able to speak Chinese well enough to not just have to talk about the weather and other simpler things. This kind of experience makes learning Chinese worth all the while.

Students that stay at ACC for the fall semester have the option of moving off campus and living with a Chinese student and one other ACC student or staying on campus. Even though I am only here for the summer, I thought about what I would choose. At first I thought I would stay on campus, because the facilities are so modern, a maid cleans your room every day and the classrooms are in the same building. But then I thought about it some more and realized I would probably move off campus. If you lived with a Chinese student your Chinese would improve so quickly. Not only that, but it would give you an opportunity to make friends with actual Chinese citizens.