Hi Steemit friends, great to see you guys here! I am Melissa, a Chinese reporter based in New York City. For the past four years, I've been covering finance, technology and cultural events in the United States.
Being a journalist in a foreign land has been a tremendous experience! My colleagues and I have travelled many regions in the country, from metropolitan cities to small rust-belt towns, talking with people from various backgrounds. The more people I met, the more I feel that although we are from different countries, we are more alike than we thought! We share the same human emotions and values.
I went to Texas when Hurricane Harvey hit the area in the past summer. In Austin, I found a shelter for hurricane victims , so I went there and looked for a story. When I started to talk to people, I realized that those men and women just lost their homes and were very vulnerable. They really needed someone just to talk to. So I turned off my camera and listened for hours.
I went there the next day, they immediately recognized me and welcomed me with smiles. An white-beard man, who reminded me of my own grandpa in China, came up and talked to me about his hometown, which had been destroyed by the hurricane. At the end, he said, you know what? You are very nice to come here and talk with us, I have never met a Chinese reporter before, but I feel you are no different from us.
At the same time, my colleague took a picture of us, which has been my favorite of the year:
As my journey continues, I hope to blog about them here in Steemit and share with you guys. Happy holidays everyone!