When I first moved to California from Taiwan…
- I’ve never smelled skunk before. I thought it was some kind of rotten greasy Chinese food.
- I spoke Chinese at school to an Asian girl who did not understand me. We became good friends later.
- I began fastening my seatbelt. I used to never do that in Taiwan. Nobody did.
- I’ve never seen stop signs. It was dizzying when we drove in residential areas & had to come to a stop every 100 feet.
- It was weird to see lawns in front of houses & grassy areas in public.
- People walking their dogs picked up the poop… what!?
- There are no stray dogs or cats?!
- I pretended I know the words to the anthem whenever they sang it before football games.
- The first football game I saw as also the one I cheered at… as a cheerleader…
- Yeah I was a cheerleader in high school. I decided orchestra was more fun & quit cheering after a year.
The Asian American Resource Center 