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My Experience At My New Home

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My mother gazed in my eyes and said “be a good girl”. She then handed my luggage to the flight attendant on duty and watched as I walked away towards the plane in route to Jamaica, my home for the next year. The word adapting does not do justice to what I had to do while in Jamaica. It was more like culture shock transitioning. I transitioned from washing machines and the yellow school bus, to hand washing and walking to school. Attending school in Jamaica had the same acclimations as my transition at my new home. I quickly realized that everything from curriculum to lunch time was different from the States. One day during lunch break, a girl named Moy asked me my name and asked if she could sit with me to eat lunch. She was intrigued with …show more content…

Ruth was 10 months pregnant when I met her. She was diagnosed with HIV as well gestational diabetes. Before meeting Ruth, I have never interacted with someone who was diagnosed with HIV, even though I was highly educated on the disease. The first time I met her she was happy to see me, assuming I was Haitian because of the color of my skin. She quickly warmed up to me and before I knew it we were exchanging dialogue about our lives. I soon forgot that she had HIV. She was so positive about life, despite her health issues. Ruth’s outlook on life was inspirational as her favorite quote was “it may be long but not forever”. She looked to God for everything and believed that whatever situation she was in it may be long but not forever, and that is what got her through life. She was very pleased with me that she named her daughter after me, such an honor. Returning to the states, I found myself looking at life differently. I walked around campus grateful for being healthy and appreciative of my circumstances. Her phrase is what got me through college. The difficult exams I had to bear through may be long, 4 years, but not forever. As early as I could recall, I was exposed to the hospital setting which ignited my yearning to interact with people and comprehend their plight. My mother, as a nurse in the hospital, often brought me to work. I was that curious troublesome child that was told to stay put but would wander around. I

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