Journal 10: Advice

  One of my best friends went to Sydney before I left for the U.S. Her experience in Sydney help me prepare for the unknown life well. That was exactly a tough time for her living there. She experienced many things sad and unexpected. I can't imagine how sad they are and how depressed she would be. We always encourage each other.
  I always tell myself "Be brave". When I knew she had such a tough time, I give her my suggestion, "Plz be brave. Nobody will be brave for you but yourself, especially when you are far away from home. You can't lean on anybody except for yourself." Meanwhile I learned perseverance is much more important than anything else. That's her motto. She has been inspiring herself with it since she studied in the university. Now she gives her beloved words to me.
  Thanks to her advice, my life is full of sunshine.

Journal 9: American Food

  Definitely, hamburgers, chips, hotdogs, sandwiches, pizza, and other foods with ham, cheese, or butter are stereotypes connected with American food. As a matter of fact, it's true. In the first two weeks I just arrived here, I can't stand the smell coming out from fast-food restaurant. It smells so greasy. In China, there are millions fast-food restaurants, too. I don't know why I can't get used to it any more. In those days, I hardly went out for food. Inevitably,I need to hang out with my friends. After hanging out with friends for many times, I got used to the smell eventually. But the taste is ... still pending. Comparing with Chinese food, American food is much greasier, saltier, sweeter and sourer. 

  But they are just a portion of American food. Nowadays, more and more Americans pay more attention to their health and body figure. Thanks to them, many restaurants and food producers adapt themselves to meet consumers' demands. For instance, we can see lots of products in supermarkets divided into several categories by their content of sugar and fat. We always see "low sugar", "sugar-free", "low fat" , and "nonfat" on their pack. That's a good thing. In China, it's not easy to find a label written with how much calorie you are going to take in.