During the summer vacation I took a course at a high school in America. I did not participate in a so-called “study tour,” but was admitted as student in the school by my own effort. The summer course lasted five weeks. During my stay there, I had an unforgettable holiday with 266 students from 37 countries and 26 states of the United States. Besides studying, I also spent my spare time traveling around the country. I noticed many differences in school life between America and China.

    First, the homework that my teachers assigned to me was not the same as the homework I had in China. I was adept at doing bookwork such as memorizing words and reading comprehension before I went to America. However, I found that the teachers there were more likely to assign creative homework. For example, my teacher often asked me to write an essay about a novel or an eminent person. Unfortunately, I was not good at such creative writing. Thus I had a hard time doing my homework. After practicing for a while, I finally found a way to improve my works and got a satisfying grade.

    Besides the new kind of homework, there were many activities on campus, such as playing football, basketball, baseball and badminton every afternoon. In addition, students could join a party every Saturday night, which was a surprise to me. I had never joined such a party with my classmates in China so I couldn’t easily get used to it. One of my friends told me that I looked like a nerd during the party. It really made me feel like a different person there.

    In short, American schools are quite different from Chinese schools due to the cultural differences. If you are planning to go to the Unites States to study, I recommend that you learn more about the American campus life before you go.