His name is Ethan. He is 15 years old and lives with his mom and dad in a comfortable two-story house in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was born in the United States, took ESL, speaks perfect English and Chinese, and loves Chinese food. This is not your typical immigrant story.
Born in the town of Mountain View, California, Ethan was brought to his new home when he was only one year old. His family’s destination was a country on the other side of the globe: China. Though he didn’t know it at the time, Ethan’s parents had decided to make his home there because they wanted to ensure their son could know and speak the language of their ancestors, as well as the most populated country in the world. Ethan ended up attending elementary school in Dalian, making lots of friends in the process. Life was good in every way.
Then suddenly, around March of Ethan’s third grade year, his parents told him the big news. He was going to move back to the US. Sure enough, the summer before starting fourth grade, eight-year-old Ethan was back in his native country. Arriving in North Carolina, one of the first things he noticed was the number of people. The decrease in crowds compared to his home back in Dalian was staggering. He was pleasantly surprised, however, when he found his milieu very hospitable; sunny afternoons were often spent playing sports with the neighbors’ kids.
Not surprisingly, language was the biggest obstacle for Ethan. Upon starting fourth grade at Mills Park Elementary, he was pulled out of class three times a week for an ESL class. Fortunately, besides occasionally feeling slightly out of place, Ethan adapted quickly in this new world. He found ESL to be fun and made dozens of new friends at school. He even watched YouTube videos in an effort to improve his English. Soon, he became well-versed in the language, cultures, and customs of American society (though he still missed his friends in China – and the food – from time to time).
In hindsight, Ethan believes his parents made the right choice in bringing him back to the US. Now a successful rising sophomore at East Chapel Hill High School, he describes his experience as eye-opening and beneficial to maturity. When asked the question, “What do you love most about America?” Ethan merely smiles and responds, “The people.”
