This is my very first time visiting the United States. Miles and miles away from my homeland, I’m sitting here, writing this short article for you.

   This summer I’ve been involved in a research program at the University of California, Irvine. The city of Irvine, where I am currently residing, is a tranquil, small city located in a metropolitan area. Here you can meet different people from all over the world with different cultural backgrounds. While the city isn’t as modernized, the absence of skyscrapers, reduced pollution, and the overall less crowded environment can influence one’s academic research and multicultural experiences.

   The area I’m living in, as shown in Fig.1(a) and Fig.1(b), is called Arroyo Vista. It might appear to you that life here would be halcyon, but honestly, it’s not as quiet as one would imagine. Literally every morning since I’ve arrived, I’ve been woken up by the noises of the numerous crows nearby. Nonetheless, it is not at all surprising for you to speculate that the ecological systems here are well-preserved. As shown in Fig.1(c), Fig.1(d) and Fig1.(e), you can find bunnies, squirrels, raccoons and lizards everywhere.

Fig.1

   Life here in the United States is sometimes challenging, and this is also my first time living independently away from home. One of the biggest challenges has of course been cooking. Fig.2(a) and Fig.2(b) show some of the dishes I have learned to cook while living here.

Fig.2

   In the meantime, the people of Irvine are very nice, particularly the students from UCI. Fig.3 shows a multilingual night I spent with my house’s RA (residence adviser) and other UCInspire students. That night, we shared our knowledge of different languages and dialects and taught each other some phrases. It was legit exciting.

Fig.3

  There are so many things that I want to share with you, however, due to the limitation of the words, I have to stop right here.

   Best wishes for anybody who is reading this!