In 1966 President Zhe-Dong Mao of China made a huge forceful action of revolution (1966-1976). Three years later, the communist President gave an order to every student. He said that students needed to go to the farms, students should learn from farmers. During the hard time, I decided to go to a farm. My brother had gone to a farm in a northern state a few months earlier. I knew my brother didn’t want my parents to get more problems or hurt, and neither did I.

When I sat on the train and waited for it to take me to a farm, I looked outside the window. Many communists wore army uniforms. They waved red flags and continued singing communist music loudly. These songs hurt my ears and heart. My mother and my older sisters cried and looked at me. I was sad. I forced myself not to cry. I didn’t want my mother to see my tears. When the train started moving ahead, suddenly I cried. I said good-bye to my mother and sisters. At the same time, all parents and students cried, and crying noises could be heard inside the train and the station. I heard someone crying until the train stopped.

The train arrived at a station early in the morning the next day. It was named Nanchuan. Many army trucks waited for us. One truck had taken over twenty students to different small towns. We couldn’t see outside when we sat in the truck. A canvas covered the truck, but if the wind blew the canvas on a corner, I could see outside for a short time. I saw the truck driving on a narrow road. Both sides were mountains, and the land was all red, the color of mud. The truck ahead made dust and it hurt my eyes. I quickly put the canvas on the crack, so I didn’t have to see the outside.

At dusk we arrived in a small town. It was named Gao-Ping. Everyone jumped out of the truck and picked up their suitcases. The students had to go with different farmers. Four boys, three girls and I were in a group. The farmers carried suitcases and walked quickly on a long path. We followed them and walked quickly too. We had a problem when we reached a long narrow bridge. Four boys slowly crossed the bridge, but four girls were afraid going over the bridge. When I walked on the bridge I felt dizzy if I looked at the water underneath. My legs were shaking, and I couldn’t breathe until I stood on land on the red mud. The farmers were laughing because girls were screaming.

After 30 minutes we all stood outside an old house. The farmer’s leader assigned four girls to a room and four boys to the next room. He showed us a kitchen of our own, then invited us for dinner. I didn’t like the dishes. The food tasted very different from what my mother cooked. We came back to the room in the middle of the night. I didn’t know what time it was, at that time a watch was very expensive in China. Although we were tired, we didn’t want to sleep that night. The boys and girls talked with each other about farmer’s work. We felt sad and cried and cried until the morning.

During that hard time, I worked hard and was always tired, because I didn’t have enough time for sleep. I didn’t know when I could come back home for a visit. I had become homesick after I left my parents and relatives. At that time I was only 17 years old. I didn’t want to go further from my parents and relatives, but I had too. I stayed there over two years, until the government changed the policy. It was to let every student come back home. Every student was very happy at that time. 

Sometimes, I like to talk with my son about the part that happened in my youth, how bad the travel was in my life. At that time, I had no school, no good youth, and I couldn’t make a plan for the future. Now I can sit in a class in America, and I am very much enjoying my class.

Mei-Ying Tang is fifty years old. She came from China six and a half years ago. She has been a housekeeper for six years at the Colonial Hotel. "When I came here, my English was zero. I have been studying English for over six years. I still want to learn advanced English. My goal is to get my GED certificate and continue to study English." She is a Pre-GED student at Mount Wachusett Community College.