Dai Yunqi

    As an international student attending a new school in a different country, I found adapting to my new surroundings was much like a game of chess.

    I had to work out what was important to focus on, which is the queen in chess, and how to “move” socially among a large group of my peers, which is kind of like finding out all the different moves for pieces on a chessboard.

    During my year playing chess, I learned a lot from others and I definitely improved a lot. More importantly, it gave me a chance to make friends. Dan and Bill are my best friends at school, and we don’t only spend time on chess together.

    When I am frustrated, they cheer me up. When I first came to the United States with horrible listening skills and an accent, they gave me a list of common words and pronounced them one by one.

    Because of chess, I met new friends and, with their help, I overcame great difficulties in my first year in America. The victories of the chess game made me confident in life. I hope in future I can spread the confidence and communication through chess. I want to give them to everyone I play with and even everyone I meet.