My dad’s name is Jie Xing. We currently live in Cary, but my family was originally from China. My father was from Beijing, China and at first, he really hated the idea of coming to the to the United States. His parents were not rich but they had enough to support my dad and his two sisters to get an education. After high school, he went to Shanghai Jiao Tong University to get a degree in mathematics. My dad got his master’s degree easily and wanted to continue his studies and get a doctor’s degree. He applied to Chinese colleges and one college in the United States which was NC State. At first, my dad despised the idea of applying to NC State but my mom, who already applied to NC State, talked him to applying and then talked him into going to NC State. One of the main reason’s my dad did not want to come to the United States was that he did not like English. However, after accepting the invitation to NC State my dad practiced his English until he was fluent. Unfortunately for him, he practiced British English instead of the English spoken in the United States. He also adopted a British accent from watching videos and from his teacher in China. On the first day, my dad walked into class with a startling realization that everyone sounded very different from what he heard on the videos. He also realized that the professor had a very confusing accent. Not only did my dad learn a different type of English, but his professor also had an accent which made comprehending seem almost impossible. His grades dropped, and he thought about dropping out and going back to China but with the help of his friends and my mom he persevered and slowly learned regular English. He became friends with the professor and talked to him during lunch. My dad is still friends with his old professor and they still eat lunch together sometimes. After four long and difficult years, he finally got his doctor’s degree and became what he is today.
