I met this patient three times, but I only engaged in a conversation with this patient once.  

She was a 24-year-old girl from Guangzhou, China, who just came to the USA about half a year ago. She just graduated from the Department of Law in a college in Beijing, and enrolled in Law School at Georgetown University (I was not sure about the program). I was not sure about the trigger of her behavioral problem, though I imagined it could be culture shock, pressure of study or both. She was failing at school, did not attend class and was sent to a mental hospital about 1 week ago.  

She is a tall girl with a slim figure. Although I cannot say she is very beautiful, she has straight long black hair, dark eyes, and fair skin. When I tried to talk to her, I found she was disarranged and confused. Although her English was pretty good, she still had problems fully understanding questions or precisely expressing her emotions when talking to nurses and doctors. Therefore, it was necessary for her to have an interpreter during the meeting with her medical team. In one of the meetings, when she was asked how she felt in the hospital, she replied that she was afraid of gunshots which she could hear in her apartment, and in the hospital, although there were less gun shots in the hospital, which was typical hallucination. Besides, she was very sensitive to any noise (imaginary or real), which would make her sleepless. One day, her heartbeat was over 100/min one day, so the doctor ordered an EKG for her, which did not show any problem. Therefore, I believed that she didn't have a heart problem, and her syndrome was the result of her nervousness. In addition, she would not like to talk much about her thoughts and emotions, and claimed that these were painful subjects for her, and would agonize her. She tended to stand up during these conversations and ask permission to leave.  

She was a sweet girl with good manners. She called me “Sister”, and offered me water and snacks when we sat in the day room talking. She tried to write down everything I told her about making steamed buns. I felt like she was the kind, obedient girl who followed the instructions of her parents and her teachers all her life. It is very hard for her to get along with her life without the instructions and support she used to have in China. 

I felt my conversation with her calmed her down a little, especially when I talked about the things I experienced when I first came to the USA. Although when I talked about the disturbance caused by covid-19 in China and the USA, she became nervous. Her mother was on her way to DC, and was supposed to meet her in the hospital in a couple of days. Subsequently, she will bring her home after talking to her doctors. She was eagerly waiting for it. When the doctor and I tried to remind her since the hospital did not know her itinerary, it was possible that it would take a little longer for her mother to come to the hospital and take her home than what was originally expected, she was so distressed.

I wished the best for her, and believed that she could fully recover soon after her coming back to China.