Claire Jiang

Claire Jiang is a sophomore from Beijing, China. She lives in San Mateo and was born on June 20, 1992. She came to California on September 10, 2007.

When asked on the differences between California and Beijing, she first responded with “Don’t ask me that. I don’t know. Its really different.” Then she wouldn’t stop describing what was different between the two places. “In Beijing, you just stay in one class and here you have to move around.” Claire says, “Of course the classes are harder.”

Claire is an only child. “In China, you can’t have more than one child, especially in Beijing unless you’re a twin. It is an unwritten law.” The reason behind this is that China is over populated so they don’t want couples having lots of babies. She lives with her parents and moved because her dad got a job here.

“Also in Beijing, students work very hard. Your high school future depends on one test. You get up at 4:30 a.m. to take the bus to school and usually don’t go home until 6.” Students in Beijing take a test in ninth grade, which is still middle school for them. If they do well on the test, they get to go to a good high school. You can’t retake the test so even if you get nervous and are usually smart but you do poorly on the test, you have to go to a lower quality high school. Claire thinks it is more comfortable to study here. She is the Vice President of San Mateo’s Runway club started by her friend. She does not participate in any sports and states that the biggest difference between Beijing and California is that the main swimming style is the breaststroke while it is freestyle here.

Other differences include not being allowed to have long hair. Girls with long hair have to have it tied back and they are also not allowed to dye it. On relationships, if a teacher sees two people of the opposite sex walking together at school, they notify their parents and tell them that they think their children are dating. Then the parents yell at their kids when they get home and blame their “relationship” as the reason why their grades have gone down. “Here, the teachers don’t care if people date or kiss in the hallways. It is not allowed in Beijing.”

She plays a Chinese instrument that is similar to the guitar. She loves Chinese movies and loosely translates the title of her favorite one, There’s No Faith in the World. She enjoys listening to Korean singers and likes Korean actors very much. She also likes Chinese singer, Jay Chou. In Beijing, it is very popular for girls to go shopping on the weekends and do karaoke which is what Claire spent most of her free time doing.

Claire would like to improve her English first and foremost because it will help her gain more friends and become more social. “Of course I also want to go to a good university after I graduate.”

Kelvin Yang

Kelvin Yang, a freshman, has just moved to San Mateo from Taiwan. He used to attend Tsai Hsing High School in Taipei. He came here to study English. “School is much harder over there.” Kelvin had to go to school from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and had to take many classes.

Kelvin is sixteen years old and was born on February 4, 1992. He came from Taiwan one month ago and now lives in San Mateo with his legal guardians while his parents still live in Taiwan. He says, “It is a lot more boring here. Taiwan is much more convenient. I need to get used to it.”

His hobbies include shopping and basketball. His favorite team is the Los Angeles Lakers. “Basketball is much bigger than baseball (in Taiwan) while soccer is so-so.” His favorite band is Linkin Park and his favorite movie is Rome Holiday. Kelvin loves comedies and says American music and movies are fairly popular in Taiwan but Taiwanese entertainment is still better liked. He prefers American music though, “Pop music is my favorite but I like hop-hop and jazz.”

Kelvin’s favorite food is tacos. He does not yet drive but would like to. He has a girlfriend back in Taiwan and they have been going out for six months.

His favorite class is ELD taught by Mr. Faber. His favorite subject is math and is currently in Mr. Kryger’s Algebra II class. He likes San Mateo High School much more because it is more interesting than his old school. Kelvin likes that he doesn’t have to wear uniforms because he attended a private school before.

Kelvin plans on going to a nice college, preferably Stanford after he graduates. He will also be going back to Taiwan to visit his friends.

Marcella Arroyo

Marcella Denyse Arroyo comes to us from our state capitol, Sacramento. She has lived in San Mateo since April of last year and is a senior. She used to attend Rosemont High School. “They’re both new but I like San Mateo High School better because the people participate and keep it looking new.”

Marcella was born on August 13, 1990. She thinks San Mateo and Sacramento are pretty much equal but, “San Mateo doesn’t have as many malls because Sacramento had four.” She lives with her mother and step dad and her brother. She also has two sisters.

She has a lot of favorite movies and she prefers funny movies. Her favorite band is Paramore, “the best band on the planet.” She doesn’t participate in any sports of clubs because she is lazy. Her favorite class is Mr. Teague’s where she TA’s for him during fifth period. Her favorite subject is math, “because I’m actually good at it” but she is not taking a math class this year.

Marcella likes weird arts and crafts. “I’m addicted to youtube,” she likes to watch, “funny stuff like people’s blogs.” Her favorite color is orange even though she doesn’t wear it often. She has six piercing on her tongue, nose, eyebrow, cartilage, and her ears, which are gauged. She is now at a size eight but is trying to get to a size zero. Gauge sizes decrease and after zero it goes into fractions.

Marcella is moving back to Sacramento after graduation. She is probably going to an automotive school.