The Visit: A Short Story

When I first came to New York, it was a completely different world to me. It was the first time I was away from my family and my loved ones, and I haven’t noticed that it would be such a long journey until I landed to NYC after a 10 hour flight. At first it was very scary, and as a shy person, it was difficult for me to adapt to this new environment.

Waving goodbye from the backseat of the car, as we pull out of my parent’s driveway. Looking out the window at the oddly, white shaped clouds. Thinking, I had never been away from my parents and my younger sister for so long, even though it was only for two weeks. I was excited and scared all at once, but I wasn’t too thrilled about the whole 29-hour drive there. Hoping that the trip would go well and nothing bad will happen to us.

In the story “The Stranger” by Albert Camus, the belief that the themes of loss and retrieval are at the core of Mersault’s mythology, and that they illumine the notion of exile to which he returns so often is widely discussed. I however do not believe that either one of those themes has anything to do with the Mersault and the exile to which he returns to so often, rather I believe that Mersault’s own attitude is the reason for the exile he experiences in the story.

The plane took off and were in the air leaving the place I had only ever known. I remember when my parents told me and my two brothers that we would be moving to the United states. At the time I didn’t know where we would end up or how we were even getting there. All I knew was I would be in a totally different landscape with a lot of ethnically different people whom I have never met or seen before.

“The Loss of the Creature” is an essay in which the author, Walker Percy has communicated his vision of world in an alternate manner. He makes an argument about how having prepackaged idea about something, can create a symbolic complex in individual’s mind, making them to lose the true essence behind it. He composes that understanding can be reached through the true experience. The experiences I like to share based on my essay is the time I flew on a plane, the time I when to Boston for the first time, and my first time on a cruise.

We got on the plane knowing we would be there for a while. My sister and I were looking out the window in amazement. The sky was so blue it felt like i was looking at a painting. It was so beautiful we had never seen something like this. We stopped at many places. Italy was the highlight for us. Our first view of america was washington DC. I saw my mom's family for the first time in a long time. After a few hours We got back on the

When the plane finally landed in New York, I remember everyone cheering and clapping. We had made it to America. I looked through the window and saw a place completely different than what I had ever known. I immediately started to feel the chilly weather of New York. I had never experienced cold temperature, but I came prepared with a light jacket and sweater for my daughter and me.

That day at the airport, I thought about a lot of things while we wait for the plane to take off. Moving to the United States with my sister was a huge turning point for me on so many levels. It meant that I will need to learn a new language and adapt to a new culture. It meant that I will leave my aunt and uncle who have raised me for the past eleven years. It meant that I will live with my mom and see my dad and stepdad for the very first time. My emotion was mixed with excitement, fear, and hesitation.

In Anglo-Saxon culture blood feud was a common occurrence and if left unchecked could leave an entire area devoid of people that once called it home due to infighting. To avoid furthering conflict one could also pay the wer-gild but if the murderer refused to pay the wer-gild they would be exiled from their society of forced to live on their own on the fringes of civilization. The Wanderer is from the perspective of one man who was exiled after a blood feud and this part of his story is critical to understanding the poem within the context of the culture it was written. However The Wanderer has a backdrop of blood feud and punishment by exile surrounding it but it is not by itself a poem that condemns either of those things instead it contends with the idea of wyrd or fate and how it is inescapable.

Ever since I was a little girl, New York City always seemed like a place that was magical. My family’s TV on Thanksgiving was always broadcasting the enormous balloons, extravagant floats, and millions of people lining the streets of the city for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Freshman year, excited squeals and giggles erupted from my brother and I after our parents told us that we would be visiting New York City for the first time to witness the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After several months of waiting and lots of turbulence, our plane hit the landing with a thunk at Laguardia airport and reality set in: we were in the city. Walking out of the airport was absolutely surreal. The sights, sounds, and smells surrounded my family and

Life is an adventure where “new” is something you need to be accustomed too. Going through new phases of life as it began when I was 4-years-old reminded me that there is a new life coming soon with an advanced way of living. Also, it promised that I will see my father when I arrived to this fascinating America. Going to a country where I was classified as an immigrant, I was thrilled to go to this paradise of joy. While I traveled from my home to the airport, I was visualizing my new life and thinking of what I will see. Saying good bye to my relatives and mourning after every step I moved away for them was difficult.

I remember the first time I flew in an airplane. My eight-year-old self looked out the window of the terminal I was taking off from, astounded by the large size of the vehicle. Worried, I thought to myself how could something that big fly with so many people? Yet, as the plane took off my worries became excitement. Not only was this my first flight, this was the event that marked the start of my new life, my takeoff from Vietnam to America.

The Guest is a fun book to read about. The book identifies the friendship between a moose and a snail. The moose and the snail quickly become friends. The name of the moose is Mona and the snail’s name is Maurice. Furthermore, Mona feels lonely sometimes so when she meets Maurice the become inseparable—he keeps her company and they enjoy cooking for each other. After a while their friendship comes to a pause because Maurice leaves unannounced when he returns to his family. Maurice will surprise Mona when he brings his 20 plus family members to visit his best friend Mona. When Mona meets his family she is very happy to be with all of them and she cooks Maurice’s favorite meal, French Toast. After everyone is reunited they appear to be happy.

My family and I were so excited that we didn't even sleep the night before. We spent our Thursday night watching movies and talking about what are plans were for the trip. Once the clock hit 4 o'clock in the morning , we left our house and were on our way to the airport. The airport was quiet and peaceful. I could smell the freshly brewed coffee once I set foot in the airport. We checked in, then waited patiently for our flight to board. Suddenly we heard on the overhead speaker, “Flight to New York, New York is now boarding, Flight to New York, New York now boarding.” Once we boarded the plane, we settled in and got comfy. The flight was fairly smooth with little turbulence and the sweet sound of babies crying filled my ears. Once we heard the pilot's voice telling the crew to prepare for landing, my excitement grew big.

My journey the day I left my home country in search of a better life was not as pleasurable or exciting as I expected. Although it was not a long flight, the accumulation of unexpected vicissitudes during the trip made my dream of traveling an absolute nightmare. Not only my sadness to be leaving my family behind, the uncertainty to fly alone and for the first time, or my inexperience with the procedures at the airport contributed to this calamity, but even my neighbor on the plane added his bit of sand in the affair. All this situation was such traumatic to me that I even considered never daring to fly again.