<p>Okay, this is a slightly delayed response but I just happened to come across this thread as I was searching my school on CC :)</p>
<p>Honestly, life in China is not as bad as you think. I was born and bred in the US for most of my life but moved to China a couple of years ago. You mentioned that your dad has a high paying job here. That pretty much ensures a VERY luxurious lifestyle here. For example, we have a maid, a driver to drive me wherever we go, and plenty other luxuries that is unattainable in the US. Also, the school I go to, the International School of Beijing, is one of the best things about moving to Beijing. When I moved, I was in the same position as you are. I was petrified of changing everything about my life, leaving my best friends, and moving to a completely foreign land. But you know what? As soon as you stop holding on to your past, then you will truly enjoy life here. Like, I cannot emphasize how great things are here. Of course, I still talk to my best friends from the US every 2 or 3 days through Skype, MSN, etc. but I have also developed very close friendships here. As for American culture, you don’t really have to worry about it much here. Every year, ISB receives around 30-40 new students in the HS. Last year alone we had around 20+ Juniors, many of which were first time international students from the US. So you won’t be alone. All of them have adjusted within a few weeks and have a close group of friends to eat lunch with and hang out with within the first month. Seriously, people here are so friendly and really eager to make friends. The culture in our school is very American and the fashion is also very western. I know a lot of the guys wear things like American Eagle, Abercrombie, etc., as well as many other higher end brands. As for college, that really shouldn’t be of any concern. I am a senior this year and most students end up going to the US for college. And not just any US college but really selective ones too. For example, we have people going to Stanford, Princeton, NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Northwestern, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, among many many others. In fact, one of my friends is going to BC :)</p>
<p>If you are still freaked out about this or have any questions at all, feel free to PM me :)</p>