Nannan’s father runs an enterprise near the Ming Tombs selling batteries and drills to the Daqing Oilfield. Hoping to get the qualification to help govern it, Nannan made much preparation and then left her motherland with her visa to study in America. Having reached her destination, she settled in an inn recommended by the travel agent.

As far as Nannan was concerned, she always kept it up in China. But she had to acknowledge it was not easy to adjust herself to the new academic requirements, which were not parallel with China’s. Though she was occupied with lectures and seminars day in and day out, the essays she drafted were still contradicted by her tutors. As for her routine life, she felt that it was hard to fit in, too. For example, she found English idioms difficult to understand. And it was out of the question to eat delicious Chinese foods though many optional cafeterias served abundant substitutes. In addition, she had to wait in a queue early for the minibus that took her to school and it was usually so cold that she felt numb. What bothered her most was that she received no apology when her sleeping was disturbed by a barking dog in a shopkeeper’s cage.

Luckily, with her parents comforting her by videophone, she became autonomous soon and eventually got her bachelor’s degree successfully.