Leaving My Homeland to Come to a Foreign Country
Nan Liu
It was just a week before I went to America. I was packing all of my toys, notebooks, books and color pencils into a box and taping them shut. I remembered most of those items were given to me by my grandmother. Each item had a story because when Grandmother purchased me a toy or something she would ask me to give her a reason for buying it and eventually it became a habit of mine. I became very good for coming up with reasons and excuses. Every time I did something wrong, I would plead my innocent case to all who would listen.
Tears came down from Grandmother’s eyes like a cascade on the last night we were together. I saw loneliness in her eyes as it replaced the usual spark of humor. That night, Mother invited a lot of cousins, friends and one of my favorite cousins, Xun, to our going-away party.
Xun and I were good friends and schoolmates. He and I used to do homework, play and walk to and from school together. That night he gave me a present and it was a picture that we had drawn a long time ago. I also gave him something: a bag of our favorite candy which we used to buy all the time.
After the party, I went back to my room and continued to pack my stuff. Once again, I saw Grandmother crying in her room. I went to her room and as soon as she saw me, she choked off her tears. We were silent for a moment and then I started to tell jokes and she laughed.
The fateful day finally came as I woke up at 5 that morning. All of my siblings and mother were ready to go. Before we went to the airport, Grandmother made a fancy breakfast and it was delicious. As soon as I heard the doorbell I knew that our relatives, friends, and my favorite cousin had come to say goodbye to us. It was time to leave the house when I sat in the car and then we drove away.
From a distance, I saw Grandmother standing in front of the house and waving goodbye. I saw tears fall from her eyes. In just a few days, she looked years older. I began to cry when I thought about the years I had spent with her.
When we arrived at the airport, I saw lot of people as they said goodbye to their families. It made me feel bad because I started to think about my grandmother who is lonely now. Before I boarded the airplane, I waved goodbye to my relatives and my favorite cousin. I thought the airplane was big and fancy because I had never been on an airplane before.
After two days on the airplane, finally we arrived to this new land, a land that I was completely ignorant about. I saw Father waiting for us in the airport terminal so I ran to him and he hugged me. He said “You’ve grown taller.”
I responded, “Of course, you left me when I was only three years old.” Then he smiled. Father hugged Mother so tightly and tears came down from their eyes. When we arrived to the apartment that father had rented, it was old and shabby with only three small bedrooms. The first thing I did was to grab the phone and call China to reassure Grandmother. The call lasted for three hours.
The next day, Father brought us to a decent restaurant, but the food was not as good as I thought. I told Father that an average restaurant’s food does not taste as good as a small restaurant in China. Then, he brought us to a park and there were many people. When they said “Hi” to me, I had no idea what were they talking about.
As summer went by, school finally started and I went to my first day of school in America; it was so different compared to my hometown school. There were around twenty students in that big classroom with four computers, thirty desks, and a big blackboard. Both teachers and students were nice to me even thought I did not understand any English.
At first, I did not like the way that Americans acted and I disliked the food in the lunchroom. Americans were too friendly; they kiss and hug each other when they first meet. Chinese are friendly too, but they shake each other’s hand when they are first introduced. I finally got used to this new culture but sometimes I still feel that Americans are too friendly.
As time passed, I began to understand this new culture and somehow like it, too. Many times in my dreams, I leave the present for a while and go back to the first couple of months when I just came to this new land. To think about it right now, I was silly and funny around those Americans.
Did You Know...
The Social Security Administration estimates that undocumented immigrants contribute between $6 and $7 Billion in Social Security taxes that they will never be able to claim.
