Okay, so
this is my first post in English and I know that if my mom or any other
relative who doesn't understand English checks my blog, they will be mad. But,
I know they love me, so that's fine! :p
Today I
want to talk about how it was for me when I first came to America.
First of
all I would like to tell you that I arrived in this country on a 4th.
of July. My flight landed in NY around 10 pm, and yes, I saw fireworks. It was
one of the happiest moments in my life. After all, I was coming to the United
States, I would be getting to know a different culture and so many different
people, I would be able to speak English the whole time, which I love, and also
I would have the opportunity to travel and see this amazing country with my own
eyes, not through pictures or TV or whatever...
Of
course I have to say that landing at the lights and sounds of fireworks was
unique. I mean, I didn’t hear anything because I was in the plane. But, it was
like a dream come true. And it really was! It was funny because I remember I
got mad at the immigration gate because the guy talked to me in Spanish. Seriously?
I’m from Brazil! You can see that in my passport. I know we are the only one that speak Portuguese in South America, but still, you work at the
immigration, you should at least have an idea, mainly because there are so many
Brazilians arriving in this country to spend money, and most of them come through the same airport I did! Plus, if
you don’t know what language I speak, talk to me in English, after all I’m here
as an Au Pair, and I’m sure you saw that in my Visa, I should be able to understand you at least a little bit.
Anyways, asking what language I speak instead of just assuming is not going to
make me mad! :)
After
that, I just remember how good I was feeling for being here. I even didn’t care
that we waited for like an hour for the guy who would pick us up to arrive. I
was just enjoying my first moments in America and it was really good. Looking
around, hearing all those different sounds. So many people, so many languages…
I felt like I was at a movie set or something like that.
Finally
the guy came, we got in the car and I remember that the first thing I was
looking for was the switchgear and I was grinning just because the car had an automatic
transmission. And it was an old car, a van. I didn’t know it was even possible
to have it in old cars! Automatic transmission was luxury to me. I had
never been in one of those cars before, and it is amazing how common it is here
(and how cheap too!). And it may seem so silly to you reading that now that an
old van impressed me by being automatic, but it was just a sign that I really was
in a developed country where ordinary people who wake up in the morning to go
to work can afford to have good stuff. Not only pay bills.
When the
other girls and I arrived at the lodging, a part of me kind of wanted to stay
up and talk to everybody and just explore, but it was humanly impossible. I had
been on two flights on that day, 5 hours each, from Brazil to Colombia, then
from Colombia to the United States. I was exhausted and I needed a shower, and
go to bed. And on that day it was also the first time I flew and I was just
having so much going on… I needed to go to bed and think about everything that
was happening in my life. In one day I had cried my eyes out for leaving my
family, my friends and my country, I had had one of the most exciting and
scaring feelings when the plane started taking off and when it was shaking
because of the turbulence, which I still didn’t get used to, and I had felt the
happiest person in the planet for having such a great journey starting in my
life.
I really
wish everybody achieve their goals. I can assure you it is one of the best
feelings ever. And I not even want to live in this country. But I always wanted
to see how it is, not only the United States, but anywhere, I always wanted to
travel and learn all the new and different. Being an Au Pair is for sure a
great experience if you do it right. But I really suggest a lot of traveling!
Go wherever you want to go. See, talk, eat, learn. You will see how different
and glad you will feel.
I think
that’s enough for my first post in English. Sometimes I might post in
Portuguese, it really depends on my mood, but I’ll try to do most of it in
English, so people everywhere can get to read it without Internet translators’
terrible translations and get to know my views on everything I talk about here.
Feel free to ask me whatever you would like to and to leave your comments :)
Take
care everyone,
Sue
