By Shirley and
The following speech is given to a group of UFY students preparing to go abroad.
It is by Shirley, she has been an exchange student to the USA. Here she shares her views and experiences with them.And the speech was warmly appreciated by them.
Relationship
(The relationship with classmates and friends)
It is kind of difficult for us to join those Americans as first, because usually they’ve already got their friends. But don’t be frustrated. For me, I had no friends at first. All I did was to be outgoing, try to talk to them and always they would be glad to talk to me. Sometimes I started a conversation like” You look good today” or “I like your outfit”, and these did help when developing new friendship. Take every possible chance to have a nice conversation with them at proper time and always be honest. In this way, you can not only join them soon, but also improve your English incredibly fast. Just remember that never be shy when making new friends. FRIENDSHIP WON’T COME TO YOU UNTIL YOU GO FOR IT.
Independence
To be abroad, the ability of independence can be put in the very top place. Basically it means you have to get everything done yourself, from washing your own laundry to making decisions. For example, how to use the money properly is really a big deal. Every time before you go to supermarket, you should make a shopping list and be clear about what to buy and what is needed to buy. Never waste one cent and bring your coupon with you if you have it. You are not making money, instead you are spending it. Therefore, you should always have a clear idea about using money. To be real independent, the awareness of independence is the most important thing. Remember another thing, ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT IT BEFORE DOING IT.
GPA
GPA is the average score you get during the whole semester. Top students always get high GPA. High GPA does help when applying for top universities. To get high GPA, the first thing you have to do is to be self-discipline.
Leadership
Leadership is the special quality of those top students. It is required when applying for universities and plays an important role in daily life. Usually, those top students set up their own clubs, do the posters themselves to attract students and think about new ways to perfect their clubs. Though they also meet with difficulties sometimes, they find best ways to solve the problems and do their best to manage the clubs well. Also they join the student government. They take charge of possible activities at school and out of school, help to solve the problems for the students and take positive advice to build the student government and the school better. Outside school, they help to do extra work as volunteers to experience life. Those top students take effective ways to show their ability and prove themselves. So please remember the last thing that LEADERSHIP CAN BE DEVELOPED..
Language: Language is the door to communicate with others when we are in a foreign country. Before going to America, I thought my English was so good and I could be able to understand everything, but apparently I was wrong. It took me two months to get used to the Americans’ normal speaking speed.
I remembered the first day of school. In the math class, the teacher told us to do the only even questions, but I didn’t understand it and I did both even and odd questions. In the English III class, I could not found out what the homework was at the end of the class.
During lunchtime, friends sit with friends. I had no friends to sit with. Why? One big problem is LANGUAGE! It was hard to chat with those American students; I could barely understand what they were talking about. But the good thing was, I knew I need to change this and I tried my best to talk to them and practice. So, guys! Get up and work! Don’t be shy and never be afraid to make mistakes. Use your precious time now! Talk to your teachers. The more you practice, the more fluently you will speak.
(2) by
Relationship: I’m going to talk about the relationship with my host family. Usually, oversea students live with home-stays. My host parents, brother and sisters really treat my well and I think I did a good job on getting along with them. I have some advice for you.
1. Do everything you should do. Make up your own beds; clean your room and bathroom regularly. Don’t ever think again that somebody else would do it for you.
2.Ask for the house rules. Every house has rules, such as: what time you should get back home. Ask for the rules and obey it.
3. Help the host to do the housework. You live in the house and you should take responsibility for part of the housework. Wash the dishes after dinner; clean the carpet at the weekend. I’m sure the host will appreciate it.
4.Spend time with the host. Watch TV with the host; help them with the dessert. Oh, I’m sure the girls will love baking and boys will love watch football, basketball and baseball through the year.
5.Be honest with your host. If you break the rules, tell them! Don’t try to hide something. If you did it, admit it. Don’t lie! That’s a real important quality we should have.
Self-discipline: Nobody cares about your GPA. Not your host, not your teachers. They won’t force you to do the work you should do. The future is yours. Not theirs. It’s all about you. Students in America do really have lots of free time. If you use your time wisely, you win you future; if not, you waste most of the time chatting on the Internet, playing games or hanging out, you know what will happen!
Activities: I played volleyball, basketball and track through out my exchange year. It worth to do the sports, because I get some
1. Healthy. As you know, you can stay healthy as you do exercise.
2.Teamwork.
3.Never give up! Coach used to tell us: never give up on the court, even if we are far more behind, even it seems like we would lose the game. We should fight to the last second and then we won’t leave any regret behind.
4.Practice hard: Championship does not come free. We need to pay our work in it.
5.Determination: Once you have a goal, you will make a plan to achieve it. Just like basketball practice: We practice shot on Monday, zig-zag on Tuesday, blocking on Wednesday and one-on-one on Friday! Once you have a play, you will follow it step by step. And finally, you win the game. And get the Championship.
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