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February 27, 2011 Dear Jeff,How are you and your lovely cat, Ginger? My cat Kylie is doing pretty well. I think cats are smarter than dogs. Cats don't have to be constantly looked after. They can handle most things on their own without needing human help. As you know, I was afraid of any kind of pet. In my homeland, my family always adopted dogs and cats, but I had no interest to pet them or even approach them. My life here has really changed me. I love being with dogs and cats because they offer me a lot of fun. I would like to share something with you, Jeff. I read a research report on the internet that said that approximately 53% of cats and 55% of dogs are overweight or obese in the United States. It is very ridiculous news. In our country, we seldom saw fat dogs or cats. My family fed the pets just diet food without oily meat. My mom taught me that oily meat not only caused dogs to be overweight but also attracted ticks. But I notice most Americans people like to give human food to their pets. My American friend told me her dog loves eating french-fries, hamburger or diverse human food. She doesn't worry about her dog getting ticks because she uses a treatment to control fleas at least once a month. My pets use this treatment as well because it also prevents the development of all kinds of fleas. Also, I am very careful with my pets; otherwise, they will be overweight. My method to help my pets stay healthy is to control their diet and give them regular exercise. After adopting two dogs, I have always gotten up early around 5:30 am. I wear my comfortable clothes and also a jacket with pockets big enough to hold some pooper bags. You know Jeff; the weather in the early morning in winter is very chilly. I hope my dogs can get a healthy weight if l do my hard work and understand what they need. My cat seems is difficult and harder to exercise, so I have to control portions and diet. So far, my cat is doing well. How about your cat? After last month’s conversation and learning that your cat had an accident from a careless driver, I hope everything is ok with you and your cat. The veterinary clinic here is really not cheap. So some pet owners will buy insurance for their dogs or cats. For me, to maintain my pets well, I keep an eye on them, spend time with them, and feed them regularly. I think most cats and dogs here seem like some human beings obsessed with eating. :D The fact is that most dog and cat owners here are very humane; therefore, they like to spend a lot of money on them. Most people know pets' lives are short, under 15 or 20 years, so pet lovers treat them well. Sometimes I feel sorry for my pets because I have to spend more time studying. I have attended a lovely class, in which I am able to improve my poor writing skills. I wish I can improve my exams, too. I understand that my reading comprehension is weak. I will do my best and work hard. I hope in my next letter I can share good news about my improvement from the class. Your loving friend, Izella :)  February 27, 2011 Dear Bobo,How have you been? I arrived in this country almost 10 years ago, and I have still been learning about the United States culture. Here people work hard and they like sharing their leisure day with their families. Also, I notice most women take men’s jobs and they are very professional in many positions. As we know, American people believe everybody has an equal chance and opportunity. I think that’s the reason lots of immigrants come to the United States. In our country, Hong Kong, I rarely saw a woman working in the construction industry in an operator position. I have been employed in my company for 4 years. One day after getting home from work, I saw several women walking out from a construction field. I was surprised when my co-worker told me they work in the company as welders. You know that if a woman works a menial job in our country, I don't think Hong Kong people admit her effort. However, people here value women who are a hard-working. That is why lots of immigrants can survive here. Also, I see men interested in becoming nurses; nevertheless, it happen less in our county. In my view, a nursing job for men in Hong Kong is not common because we expected that it is fully a woman’s job. I remember when my brother was child. My Dad strongly encouraged him to be a doctor. I would like to share my view with you, Bobo. I have met some men who are nurse’s assistants. They are happy to work in their positions. So, they take care of patients and treat them like their family. I notice lots of male students get training to become nurses. People’s culture and how they grow up really defines their actions. Another thing I shall tell you, husbands and wives in the United States are definitely equal in many ways. This is my experience from my co-worker and his wife; they have to work and share their wages for utilities, to pay the children’s tuition, etc. After marrying your husband, you just stay at home and take care of your daughter. Your husband supports the whole family. You might say that wives here have a very hard life because they don't like hire anyone to help, and they don’t depend on their mother-in-law. I think a part of the American culture, called individualism, really makes people her strong. I love my new life! Bobo, I have been learning lots of different things about cultures. Hope to hear from you soon. Love you, Izella :)) February 6, 2011 Hello my dear friend!!How are you doing? I am doing pretty well. I have not written a letter to you for almost a month. How was the New Year? The Lunar New Year in America was very quiet, and l needed to work. Despite its not being an official holiday here, anyway I decorated my windows and doors with red paper cuts-outs with lucky word like "happiness" and "wealth" as you did in your house. Have you gone back to work after this New Year's break? Honestly, school and work are keeping me so busy all the time since I arrived in the United States. Why have I returned to school? I should tell you that lots of things have charged in my life, including my point of view. I remember that we applied for the same high school. But you studied hard and graduated at an early age. We had very different values. Your passion was studying, but I liked traveling. As you know, I didn't finish a higher education. I found only a not well-paid job. After being here for a few years, I have become obsessed to learn American customs. So I decided to go back to school and put aside all my hobbies. I will never forget my first day at CCSF. It was a beautiful early morning; the weather was really nice with warm sunshine. After riding the bus, I walked fast steps to find my new class. At that moment, I had very strongly feelings that couldn't wait to attend to the class. Now I am proud of being a student. As we know, adult education in our country is not cheap so it is less universal in our society. I was surprised that adult education in the United Stated is not expensive unless you're an international student. Most schools offer benefits to scholars who are certified as low-income. That why all people here have a chance to get a higher education. I have noticed that most students and other people have books in their backpacks to read anywhere. American people tell me that reading not only helps with vocabulary, spelling and comprehension, but they can also explore different lifestyles. Now I do that, too! In contrast, Hong Kong people rarely value reading unless they are pupils. I think that is another reason I decided to go back to school. I hope I can learn lots of things in my new country. You know, if I had rejected coming to the United States, for sure, I would never have found great pleasure in reading. This is an amazing occurrence. Definitively, we have the same passion for studying!! Love you, Izella :D February 6, 2011 Dear Jeff, Do you imagine a woman at the age of 48 can find a pretty good job in an office? I feel this situation can't easily happen in Hong Kong. Until now, age discrimination there still exists. Young adults who reach forty years and have poor education might only be hired in lower class jobs. Jeff, you know I have been living in a lucky place. The U.S. Congress made a law called The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1967. It really protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older. Also ADEA protection applies to both employees and job applicants. For example, I applied for several kinds of jobs where I was never asked my age on my resume. I have been working at this office for some years. The company has provided lots of chance for each individual employee. This is why I can learn more office skills which aren't taught in school. In addition, the 1990 amendment to the ADEA has strict guidelines for waivers of benefits to older workers. The ADEA can prohibit employers from reducing positions of older workers in this struggling economy. I think this is important to employees. I remember when I arrived in the U.S. in 1996. It was so lucky that I found a job. I worked at a small music store and my boss never criticized my age. This is my experience from my country; I applied for a similar position at a music store, which required that applicants should be under 25. At that time, I felt it was really ridiculous and quite sad. How could I apply when I was far from this age? I appreciated this law in the U.S. when I arrived here. The fact, ADEA prohibits discrimination against a person's age with respect to any term or condition. Therefore, I have worked at the office and my life is still blooming. Love, Izella February 6, 2011 Dear Daisy,How has your mom been? I hope everything is going well with your mother. My mom is doing fine and likes spending her time watching TV programs all the time. I'm OK and still busy with school and work. I have been attending evening class at CCSF in ESL 160. The class is really improving my English skills, which gives me confidence to receive a new position from my company. Let me share some things with you about American culture. When I arrived in this country, on the second day, my sister took me to Market Street in downtown San Francisco. The street was very crowded. Most people were very friendly and polite. But on the other side, something scared me. I was a little bit afraid because some people here were so weird. I saw some young people who had tattoos wrapping almost their whole bodies. As we know, people who wore a tattoo in our country were always considered to be bad people and lower-class. When I lived in my homeland, my view was that American is rich country which must have good people all over the United States. I think the main reason that young people get tattoos is that they want to get attention and not to be out of fashion. They want to be different from their peers. Also, young people wear tattoos as body art or just as a form of self-expression. However, those people who wear tattoos have a strong chance of being barred from some places, especially in jobs. So tattoos are not universally popular at all here. In addition, American people believe that if you get tattoos you risk getting a well-paid job. American is a very free country, isn't it? But in some ways, people still keep a traditional attitude. This is the experience of my classmate who had tattoos: he faced a lot of discrimination in his jobs. Eventually, he covered up his tattoos in public and school and decided to remove them. But this process takes a long time, and removing tattoos might be very difficult or even impossible. I hope you enjoyed reading my letter, and keep in touch. :) Yours truly, Izella |