My journey began sixteen years ago, when my brother moved to the United States. My immediate family and I followed him a few years later. People tried to explain what it would be like on the other side of the ocean but failed to do so. It is like opening Pandora’s box. Coming to America affected my family and me in some bad ways and some good ways.
How much I missed my extended family and friends in the beginning! The people I used to see everyday were not near anymore. All of the coffee dates after school and the gossip about boys, was over the internet on Skype. After few months the everyday Skype’s went from once a day to once a week and then to once a month.
We all knew the reality of a continent separation. I get to talk to family members from time to time, and when my birthday comes around the phone starts ringing at 5:00am due to the seven-hour difference its always bitter sweet. The only family member we still see on Skype and talk to everyday is my uncle (my mother brother). My mom to this day drinks her coffee every morning with him as he eats his lunch on the other side of the computer screen 5,112 miles away. The nostalgia lessened as I started to adapt to my new surroundings.
Learning English was not an easy task. The biggest help in becoming bilingual were my new friends. A lot of the kids in school used to make fun of me on a regular basis since I couldn’t understand them. When I started meeting people and
becoming friends with some of them, my English improved. My new friends were not making fun of me when I couldn’t understand something and when I said something wrong, they stopped me and corrected me so I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again and get laughed at by someone else. I have had very embarrassing moments due to my lack of English, but one tops them all.
One night after finishing watching a movie in the theater, my best friend and I were walking to her car recapping the funniest moments from th...