By Joanna Liu
On Saturday, September 17th, CALex (Chinese Americans of Lexington) hosted the CALex Community Connect event at 10 Lincoln Road from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. This event was intended to welcome new town residents while providing them a chance to interact and connect with other local Lexington residents.
Though there are many reasons people and families come to Lexington, one of the primary reasons is the town’s top-rated education system. Because of its award-winning public schools, excellent extracurriculars/programs, especially the STEM programs, and closeness to top U.S Colleges (Harvard, MIT, etc.) people from all over the U.S – and even all over the globe – move to Lexington seeking a better education for their children. While some new residents have had previous connections to the town or town residents, others are completely new to the area.
The event aimed to address people’s unfamiliarity with the area by helping incoming residents understand life in the town of Lexington, providing them with useful information, and assisting them in building personal connections with other residents.
“CALex welcomes all the new residents and would like to build and support the Lexington community,” Houze Xu, the President of CALex, said.
Incoming residents found the event especially helpful because it allowed them to connect with others, whether they were old or new residents of Lexington.
“My family and I are new immigrants here, so we wanted to connect with other residents and become friends with them,” Yan Li, a recent immigrant and business owner, said.
Summer Gong, a seventh-grade student at Clarke Middle School who recently moved to Lexington from Beijing, echoed this sentiment. “We need to know each other in this new community. We can share our experiences and help one another to make Lexington an enjoyable better place to live.” Gong said.
Overall, the event was a positive experience for those involved. CALex plans to run it next year, especially considering the positive feedback.
“In the future, we should have these types of events…everyone can come together, chat, and social network,” Li said.
Joanna Liu is a Junior at Lexington High School (LHS) and an Op-Ed editor / Columnist for The Musket, LHS’s school newspaper. She studied writing at Iowa Young Writers Studio (IYWS), published both creative and academic work, and is currently a paid writing/Marketing intern at LaunchX.
莱镇华盟 2022年莱镇社区迎新联谊会
作者: Joanna Liu （英文）/ Amara Wang (中文）
9月17日星期六下午2:00至4:00之间，CALex (莱镇华盟)在莱克星顿举办了社区的联谊迎新活动。 热心的莱镇居民们纷纷带来了各家精心准备的美食。大家热情高涨 、 兴致勃勃地谈天说地。此外，莱镇华盟的志愿者们还在草坪上事先搭建了好些娱乐设施，帮助大家迅速消除对彼此的陌生感。这个活动旨在欢迎初来乍到的莱镇居民，帮助新移民和当地居民交朋友并尽快融入社区。
虽然大家举家搬迁至莱克星顿有很多原因，但其中一个不可忽视的主要原因是该镇的顶级教育系统：莱克星顿拥有多所斩获卓越学术成就的公立学校：优秀的课外活动、社团，特别是STEM项目；以及靠近美国顶级大学（如哈佛大学，麻省理工大学)的优越地理位置……无数来自美国各地，乃至全球各地的人们都慕名而来，定居莱镇，为孩子们光明坦荡的未来铺路架桥。
而正是由于每一年不断增加的移民人数，建立社区间新老居民更紧密的联系就成为了人们关心的焦点问题之一。
联谊迎新活动旨在帮助新居民熟悉环境。 作为社区的新成员，特别是从国外来的新移民， 大部分人对于麻州当地的文化和习惯并不熟悉。 而本次活动正是一个绝佳的帮助新移民全方位了解莱克星顿和各方资源， 为他们提供有价值的信息，并协助他们保持正面的心态融入社区的大家庭。
“莱镇华盟诚挚的欢迎所有新居民，我们一直以来都很关心和支持社区的发展，”莱镇华盟主席许后泽说。
作为企业家背景的新移民李燕也阐述了此次前来联谊活动的目的：”我和家人是新移民，希望能借这次机会尽快和本地居民交上朋友。”
Clarke 中学一名七年级学生Summer Gong最近也刚刚从中国北京移民到莱克星顿，她也有相似的感想： “我们需要在这个新社区中相互了解，寻找归属感。 分享我们的经历，并互相帮助，使莱克星顿成为一个更加令人愉快的居住地。”
由于新居民对迎新联谊会的认可，莱镇华盟计划明年继续举办类似的活动。
李燕说：”在未来，我们应该创建更多类似的活动……每个人都可以打破壁垒，建立良好的人际关系。”
