The Age of the City

Dear Mom and Dad,

The new city is much different from back home. The streets are crowded and it’s hard to breathe. When I got off the boat it was such a relief. It was cramped and lonely on the boat ride here. You told me it would be worth it to go to America so I endured the struggles I face. When I was on the boat I met one other person from our country. We spoke our native language which got us many looks from strangers. She was very scared as to what was going to happen when we got off the boat. After our ship had met land and we were filed off we set off to find others like our own kind. We would speak for awhile to see if anyone caught on and then we would stay quiet, trying to listen to others but it was difficult to hear over all the noise from shopkeepers, cars and horses going down the street. We did the process of speaking and listening for a few days, we slept on the streets, taking turns to make sure we were keeping each other safe. We walked up and down unfamiliar streets, attempting to read english signs but it was no use. We stumbled into weird neighborhoods on occasion. They attempted to communicate with us but it wasn’t working out on both sides. We found food out of garbage cans for a while, eating leftovers from bakeries.

Finally we found our native speaking neighborhood. It was like having a small piece of home in America. They had movies that played in our language, newspapers on what was going on back at home, food that we would have on a daily basis back there and we played games that we would play back at home. The majority of the people that we met were nice to us, they told us how to get a job, who to stay away from because it would get us in trouble and where we could stay until we found a job and learned how to speak enough English to get us around without a translator or struggling.

It has been a difficult first few weeks but with the help of everyone around us it has become easier and easier with each passing day. I have learned to speak some english, I have gotten a job at a local market, and a family has taken me in for the time being until I can start renting my own home or apartment. The Americans are kind of rough with us, they make us take tests on how well we’re understanding what is going on and if we are literate enough or if we are needing to be sent off again. Most everyone has passed their tests but they are kind of difficult sometimes. I got scared the first time they asked me questions about everything. But I soon got over my fear. I hope everything is okay at home. Maybe one day you two can come to America and see what I mean instead of just imagining it from a letter.

Love, your daughter