Well Escapists, today marks my 8th year anniversary of living in the United States of America.
January 3rd, 2003 is when I arrived in the JFK international airport in New York. I flew all the way from Lusaka, Zambia where it was warm pretty much all the time and I arrived in New York in January when it was snowing and way below freezing; this was my first time in snow. It was 2 years after 9/11 and I was traveling with my (Muslim) family and the way all the people stared at us as we walked in was scary; it was as though a bunch of notorious criminals had arrived which caused people to hold their children closer and raise their alert level to code red. As a result, my mother started to hold me and my sister closer. Did they really think that we wanted to hurt anyone?
My mother had tried to convince my father that it was too early for us to come into USA, for obvious reasons, especially to enter through New York. My father disagreed saying that we should not be fearful, and that we have no reason to be ashamed of our beliefs. My father had a long talk with me the day before we set off on our long journey, telling me to stay strong and faithful; it was these words that helped me survive the merciless American schools.
My father had told me that even though America may seem intolerant and cold like the New York winter, it is a very accepting and free country where none will be singled out for any reason. My dad had immigrated here before in the 70's during his college years, which he had told me about before, and he said that the first year is always the hardest; he was right.
To make a long story short: we moved to Florida and started our new lives where me and my sister went to school and my parents worked. Even though school was hard sometimes with all the hate/prejudice and bullying/harassment, I still look back at my time here fondly; why? Because all that hardship made me a stronger person. Some of you might have seen some of my other posts so you know some of the crap i had to go through.
As this new year arrives, I feel very home sick. It could be because we all feel home sick at some point or it could be because I spent new years eve/day all alone when I am usually around family, especially back home when we didn't have to travel far to see each other.
So tell me Escapists, Why do we feel homesick? where does it come from? Why does it happen? do any of you feel homesick (like me) for any reason? And if you are in a new place (whether it be different town, state, city, or even country) how do you look back at your time spent in your new home? How do you look back at your recent years period? What do you miss? What do you not miss? What do you look forward or not look forward to?
January 3rd, 2003 is when I arrived in the JFK international airport in New York. I flew all the way from Lusaka, Zambia where it was warm pretty much all the time and I arrived in New York in January when it was snowing and way below freezing; this was my first time in snow. It was 2 years after 9/11 and I was traveling with my (Muslim) family and the way all the people stared at us as we walked in was scary; it was as though a bunch of notorious criminals had arrived which caused people to hold their children closer and raise their alert level to code red. As a result, my mother started to hold me and my sister closer. Did they really think that we wanted to hurt anyone?
My mother had tried to convince my father that it was too early for us to come into USA, for obvious reasons, especially to enter through New York. My father disagreed saying that we should not be fearful, and that we have no reason to be ashamed of our beliefs. My father had a long talk with me the day before we set off on our long journey, telling me to stay strong and faithful; it was these words that helped me survive the merciless American schools.
My father had told me that even though America may seem intolerant and cold like the New York winter, it is a very accepting and free country where none will be singled out for any reason. My dad had immigrated here before in the 70's during his college years, which he had told me about before, and he said that the first year is always the hardest; he was right.
To make a long story short: we moved to Florida and started our new lives where me and my sister went to school and my parents worked. Even though school was hard sometimes with all the hate/prejudice and bullying/harassment, I still look back at my time here fondly; why? Because all that hardship made me a stronger person. Some of you might have seen some of my other posts so you know some of the crap i had to go through.
As this new year arrives, I feel very home sick. It could be because we all feel home sick at some point or it could be because I spent new years eve/day all alone when I am usually around family, especially back home when we didn't have to travel far to see each other.
So tell me Escapists, Why do we feel homesick? where does it come from? Why does it happen? do any of you feel homesick (like me) for any reason? And if you are in a new place (whether it be different town, state, city, or even country) how do you look back at your time spent in your new home? How do you look back at your recent years period? What do you miss? What do you not miss? What do you look forward or not look forward to?
