Jason Kwok
Home city: Hong Kong, China
Host family: Kwok’s grandparents
Grade: 10
What inspired you to become a foreign exchange student?
“My mom decided for me. She knows a lot and understands what I want, so I’m okay with the decision. [Also,] I came to study here because my parents want me to study outside Hong Kong and since I have [a] U.S. citizenship and my mom studied and worked here before, she suggested I study here. Basically, I’m doing what my mom did when she was young.”
Did you get any say in where you studied?
“No.”
Is there any language barrier?
“Not really. I’ve learned English in Hong Kong. We have to take the course, English is necessary in Hong Kong. So I have some basic grammar, [and] I can talk not bad here.”
What has your transition been like?
“Not that difficult. I have like three or four friends now. Making friends is easy, but I’m not going for many friends, [so] that’s fine for me now.”
Have you ever been to America before now?
“Last time I went here was in 2012 to visit my family in Ballwin. My mom grew up in Hong Kong, but then she went to study and work in [the] U.S., and she went back to Hong Kong at the same time my grandparents moved to [the] U.S. My mom met my dad in Hong Kong after that. My dad had the same experience [of] college and work outside Hong Kong and came back in 1997 in Canada, not [the] U.S., So they both have stayed in Hong Kong since 1997.”
Did you get any culture shock?
“The education system. For example, people don’t need to wear uniforms, people change classrooms for different lessons instead of teachers coming to our own classroom.”
What has been your best experience here so far?
“Algebra. Sign language at school. For sign language, I can learn something new, and it’s fun. For the math, [it] is easy so I can earn good grades, it’s not that hard compared with Hong Kong.”
What has been your most difficult experience here so far?
“Book discussions or book meetings. I don’t know a lot of vocabulary and sometimes people were speaking fast and sometimes I can’t understand the deep meanings of the book, I just know about the text. So that’s a little bit hard for me. Maybe I will do a lot of research before the discussion, or sometimes I have to translate the vocabulary so I can prepare work before the discussion.”
How does school here compare to school in your home country?
“It’s a lot easier [here]. [Specifically,] math and chemistry. Lessons are more fun. For me, U.S. history is maybe a little bit harder. The teachers are chill, and I have more time because the homework is easier for me. I can just finish [it] off during school.”
Is there any specific aspect of home you miss?
“I miss my parents and some of my friends in Hong Kong. We still have contact, sometimes we play games and maybe we chat at weekends, so that’s fine.”