I did not grow up in the United States. My very first time speaking English was on July 25, 2005, the first day I arrived San Francisco. It was not my decision to come to the U.S. because I knew that living in a foreign country would be far out of my comfort zone although I had never been to the U.S. Therefore, coming and living in a foreign country was not something I desired. Although I also had been to different places other than my home town in China when I was little, it was always under my parents' protection. And, I was able to communicate with others no matter where I went in China as everyone was able to speak Mandarin. However on my first day of school in San Francisco, I realized that I was on my own. My mother could not come to
