The Journey From Nepal To America

There are many different struggles one faces when moving to a new country: such as language, education, values, all in which can be new to many people. These were the struggles I faced when moving from Nepal to America. I came to the United States at the age of nine, unable to speak English and unable to understand how the education system worked. Life in Nepal was different from life in America because the Nepalese wore different style of clothing. Women were always seen in a sari, which was a traditional dress of Hindu worn by woman of religious groups. When I was in Nepal, one of my biggest dreams was to live in America, and that dream had finally arrived at the age of nine. Coming to this new country, I did not have to worry about living up to the expectation of modest clothing, nor did I have to worry about the inequalities and human rights among people. On January 25th, 2010, after 36 hours of flight, I arrived in the United States, ready to start a new life. Moving to this new country, I had to learn to adjust to a different society with different morals, lifestyle, and culture.

I vividly remember my first day at the airport. After a long-distance trip from Nepal, we finally landed in Atlanta, Georgia at the international airport, waiting for my dad to pick us up. When we were in the airport, I remembered my mom telling me how awkward she had felt to be wearing a sari in public when everyone else was wearing western clothes. “Could you imagine me wearing jeans? ”, said my mother. Even though she had felt awkward wearing a sari, she told me she would feel more awkward if she had worn jeans. I also remember using the transportation system at each terminal, so we could find our way; however, since neither one of us spoke English well, we were lost. After hours and hours of asking people for help, we finally arrived at the correct terminal. As we were walking, I spotted my dad walking right towards us. I was excited and ran towards him to give him a hug. It was a family reunion because it had been four years since I had seen my father. During our conversation, he was very enculturated. He was formally dressed and spoke English well. While we were in the airport, I remember asking my dad if he could buy a bag of chips for me, and he did. While buying the bag of chips, I observed how the transaction was made. I had noticed that in America people used dollars instead of Rupees, and I had also noticed that the American culture was more consumerist than Nepalese culture. This was another piece of information I had learned at the airport. Later that day, we headed back to our home in Alabama, but on the way home, my parents told me that they were enrolling me in a school that same day. The trip had taken couple of hours, but when we finally arrived, I observed the beautiful appearance of the school. However, instead to roaming around the school, my parents had taken me straight to the school’s office. There was a lady who approached us as we walked into the office. She gave my parents an application to fill out, and as they were filling out the application, the only thing I could think of was the challenges that I was going to face as a non-native speaker. After completing the application process, we headed back home. I went to bed early that day because I had just found out that school in America usually starts around 8: 00 in the mornings, which was a bit surprising for my family and me.

I woke up an hour early the next day, brushed my teeth, had my breakfast, and went straight to school. On the way to school, I felt many thoughts and emotions flowing through me. I was nervous and overwhelmed. My parents had dropped me off in front of the school entrance. I got out of the car, waved “goodbye” to them, and entered the building. As I entered the building, I could not remember where my classroom was located. Whom would I ask? I could not speak English. I was lost. I did not ask for help, instead I just kept roaming around the hallway, wondering where my class was located. I did not even realize that the bell had rung, and I was late to my class. After the bell had rung, there was no one in the hallway, and it felt empty. Then, a teacher had approached me, asking me where I should be during this time. She thought I was skipping my class, so she took me to the office where a kind lady had helped me to get to my class. I entered the classroom with the feeling of nervousness. I walked into the classroom with people I had never seen before as well as people who did not even speak the same language as I did; suddenly, I felt scared. I observed the people around me. I looked different from every student in the classroom because of my ethnicity. I felt as if I was on display but isolated from everyone. I did not know my day was going to start off like this, I hoped for a day where I had the chance to make new friends, but that did not happen when my teacher had asked us to introduce ourselves to the class. At that time, I observed how everyone introduced themselves to the class, and when my turn came, I felt my heart beating faster than ever before. How could I introduce myself to the class when the only things I knew were to say “hello” and “goodbye”. My turn came, and I could not do it. I was embarrassed.

The teacher, however, decided to introduce me to the class after an awkward silence. After the introduction, we played a game as a class. In this game, students were supposed to name the songs that were being played. Everyone had participated except me. I felt alone and could not express myself to the people around me. After working on some class activity, I realized that I was the only one who was always left behind because I was seen as a student who was incapable of doing things. I felt as if I was invisible in the classroom, and as a non-native English speaker, I was looked down upon by other students and often received harsh comments. Later that day, after being observed by the teacher, she told me that I would be switched to an English as a second language class. Then, suddenly, I was labeled as the student who needed more academic support than others. I was the only student who could not participate in any class activities due to the lack of understanding English. I could hear people saying things behind my back as if no one wanted to be my friend. When I was finally switched to the ESL class, I started learning English from the very basics; I drew figures and pictures to help myself understand certain words and phrases. Activities like these helped me to make connection between oral and written English, and it also helped me to clarify the meaning of certain words. However, this class was not enough to help me learn the English language. After attending my ESL class, I was disappointed at myself because I could not be in my standard classes with the other students of my age. I felt miserable and only thought of going back home. Since it was the first day of school, I was hoping not to receive any homework, but that certainly did not happen. The last bell rang round 3: 00, and it was time to go home. Exiting the building, I could only think of how my first day of school ended in a disaster. I waited for my parents to pick me up, and when they did, I did not even bother to tell them about my day. I was in a situation where no one could help me. I came home with many assignments not knowing how to comprehend the directions that were written in English. I felt helpless and spend the day in my room, alone.

During dinner that day, I finally decided to tell my parents about the things that happened in school. I told them that I was unable to make friends and learning the English language had become a challenge for me. I told my dad that I had received some assignments that were due the next day, but I was unable to understand the directions. He offered to help me in my classes. My parents knew I would be struggling in my classes, but they were always supportive. Talking to them about my day allowed me to think about my education. I am from a small country where women and girls are undervalued because of their gender. Moving to the United States, I have received an opportunity to further continue my education. My first day of school was not pleasant, but it allowed me to think that I should not give up regardless of what other people have said behind my back. As a result of receiving harsh comments from my classmates and being underestimated by my teachers, I worked hard to complete the given assignments with a little help from my dad. Because of this, I learned that asking for help is better than being a burden. Instead of memorizing things, I learned to read and understand the concept which allowed me to better understand the English language. My first lesson with my dad, we started to go over the grammar rules as well as learn about different tenses used in the English language. I vividly remember that night after school, and how I first started learning the English language. As I was learning to improve my speaking skills, I realized I was struggling to understand the meaning of certain sentences. I remember how my dad had lost his temper teaching me because I was unable to pronounce certain words; however, he did not give up, and I did not give up learning. I knew that the only way I was going to survive in America was being able to learn and speak the English language. It took me hours and hours to finish my assignments, but I was able to overcome this challenge. Learning all the rules of the English language was a challenge, but I had a long way to go, and this was only the beginning.