I was new. No. The world was new. The buildings loomed taller. The colors were duller. The weather was colder. Even the people seemed alien. They moved their mouths and yet the sounds that came out were strange, accented in the wrong places and fluid in others. I was new to America. My dad had been accepted into Wharton. This meant leaving the comfort of what’s familiar to venture into the unknown. It was terrifying. My dad, my mom, my dog, and I took a 20 hour flight into a different world. Soon I was enrolled in a public school and it all went downhill from there. A chubby Indian kid who had a buzz cut, a Transformers backpack, and who couldn’t speak a word of english didn't exactly equate to easy assimilation. It was rough. The looks thrown my way ranged from confused to downright hostile. I was an …show more content…
Whispers swirled around me as I walked into any room. (“Who is she?” “What is she wearing?”) As I ate my food. (“Ew! That smells” “She does this everyday!”) As I left. (“Oh, thank god.”) Because of this I tried desperately to change myself. I watched countless movies to try and mask my accent. I saw what the other girls were wearing and aspired to be just like them. I wanted the pretty blonde hair and to wear their pretty clothes. I tried to eat what they ate and pretend to not like my ethnic food. I tried to become a different person. However, this all changed when I met Justin. It was a normal day in class as the teacher walked to the front of the room to introduce a new student. His name was Justin, all legs and arms, lanky and tall with a mop of red hair and a speech impediment. He was peculiar. I instantly liked him. He was different. Like me. And for that exact reason he was the next victim of ridicule. They made fun of his speech. (“Can he not speak?” “What’s wrong with him?”) They made fun of his mannerisms. (“Why doesn’t he look at people when they
An american story is a story revolving around his or her lifestyle, culture and everyday habits. This is about past experiences, accomplishments, and biggest downfalls. I will be discussing not only my biggest accomplishments, but also my biggest failures that I have occurred in life. What will my american story be? Keep reading to find out.
When my mother immigrated to America from Mexico, she had only her family and hope. Hope for a better life; in the US, she was offered the world, and she snatched it within seconds. Unbeknownst to her, their promises were as empty as her pockets. They stole from her, they ruined her, and they tried to build a wall not only between her country and theirs but between her and her family.
To be an American means you have rights and responsibilities. I believe so many other people in different countries don’t have these rights or responsibilities. In the article “What is the American Dream” there was a quote, “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each to ability and achievement.” (Anonymous paragraph one) This means that the American dream should be better, richer and fuller for all Americans. Other people in different countries don't have these opportunities because in these countries they’re restricted. Rosenfeld’s article on “The American Dream suggests that Americans have
Hi, I’m Anna Sophia Wager and I am from Germany. I immigrated to the United States in 1908. There was a big drought and my mother and father were very ill. I was helping my parents and my other family. One day, my father pulled me aside after school. I was a teacher at Berlin British School. He talked very softly. “Anna Sophia,” My father said, “Here is a ticket to Americana. Go and find Ben.” Ben was my older brother. My parents gave him a ticket to the United States. I looked at the ticket. It was a ticket that was golden brown. I gave my father a hug and ran to my room. I started packing, I didn’t know what was ahead of me. It was finally my third week on the crowded boat. When I look own the steerage door I see the dirty faces, hard lumpy beds, and chunky slimy soup.
Coming to America about six years ago and adapting to the new world proved to be a real challenge for me. Aside from the cultural shock, I had to adapt to the usage of a foreign language in almost everything, which in turn forced me to work harder in my studies than in the previous years. My parents sacrificed a lot for their family. They left their country, their own business, and their family behind so that my sisters and I could have a better future. I came to America when I was in the eighth grade. I did not speak English fluently or understood it very well. When I got the admission in middle school my counselor gave the course selection sheet. I did not even know what courses to pick because the courses were almost alien in nature, or
I never had a favorite childhood memory,I never had a very imaginative mindset, all I remember is all the terrible things that has ever happened, may I ask this of you reader have you ever felt alone in a world that simply doesn't understand or why look or do things a certain way? I know I have, we live in a judgmental world we all judge people on how they look and act. Let me ask another question have you ever been put up on a pedestal and when you make mistakes people starts questioning why you didn't succeed or if you did why didn't you do things a certain way? Well enough of the questions, My family has always been the ostentatious gregarious type, they are like a diamond in a coal mine. My story begins around 2007 the year I came to America.
Eating out for dinner and using a credit card to pay for it is very common for people.
I remember when I first moved to America. I remember how scared I was to move to a whole new country and didn’t know a soul within 400 miles of me. Everything was brand new and I was basically a newborn child in this world at the age of 4. I remember how we met, we bonded over the sport of soccer. I remember how we became the best of friends, and how we would carpool to Pre-K together. Then, she had a game for her church. I remember it was freezing because it was early January. She scored a goal right before half time, and then was taken off for the rest of the game. I remember seeing her panting on the bench, then I saw her lie down the bench. I figured she was tired, but then I saw her convulsing on the bench. I didn’t even realize what
Growing up in America, the majority of people are never worried about where their next meal is coming from or how it was prepared. I have personally been spoiled throughout my life always having an abundant supply of food along with a mother that cooked every meal for me. I dreaded waking up at 5am every morning to head off to the chicken house and pick up, at times, hundreds of dead chickens. Taking Food Science 1000 this semester, I now have a wealth of knowledge about food and food science. I now have a greater appreciation for farmers worldwide as their hard work provides billions of families with food. It has shown me that even small family operations, like my family's, still make a huge impact on the world. Before this class I never really
I dressed completely different from everyone around me as well which contributed to the constant staring and whispering. Everything was different, the roads were mostly dirt and traffic lights were scarce. It was unusual to see stray cows, dogs and even pigs roam the street freely. It took me about two weeks to fully understand that this was their
The battles of a young lady fitting into a new life, another world. An adventure meeting new companions, encountering another culture, and training. Blerina Aliu came to America from Kosovo. Just like Christopher Columbus, she came to a new world. Blerina Aliu, a student from James River High School, talks about her time in Kosovo. Kosovo is a state in Southeast Europe. In 2013, she moved to the U.S. with her family. “What was life in Kosovo?” “The food is cheap and wonderful. Everyone is friendly, and wherever individuals welcome you and ask how you are or attempt to help you in case you're a visitor.” “How was school life?” “I lived in a village where I farmed. My school was in another village, and my nation doesn’t have a school transport, so I
Growing up in Ghana, I had heard a lot of things about the U.S. This was a country I had always wanted to visit; my prayer was answered when I got the opportunity to travel there. Arriving in a new environment came with many experiences. Adjusting with food, language and the weather was not easy. With the passage of time, however I have been able to0 adjust and fit it. This write-up therefore is to elaborate on my experiences since coming to U.S.
Ever since I was a kid, my parents always talk about the hardship they went through to get here. From a house with ten siblings, no electricity, and barely any food, my dad manage to escape poverty and support his family by pursuing his passion in electronics. With his passion, he went to high school without an elementary education and barley passed. Afterwards he went directly into the workforce and continue to educate himself until how he is today.
When I think of the American Identity I think of who we are as a country. From day one we have been fighters and just trying to make this a better place than we found it. Still today we are fighting, not only trying to help our country but to also help our neighbors in need. If you are being kicked out of your own home, out of your country America will bring you in, If you are hungry America will feed you, If you want a future America will educate you. This is the land that will give you a chance in life, to do or be something amazing.If you can’t see that then open your eyes because it is all right in front of you.
Studying in a foreign country is an interesting experience of an individual lifetime. One tends to learn a number of things relating to ways of life in a foreign land. Social, political and economic values and aspects are usually different from one region to another. Therefore, through studying abroad one is able to learn different issues about another society such as gender and sexuality issues, social class and race/ethnicity issues. Having come from a developing country studying in the U.S.A has been a great experience personally. This paper will attempt to provide a reflection of my personal experience on studying in the U.S by comparing the history of Angola and the U.S.