Immigration: My Dad's Point of View
My Journey
I never imagined coming here. Born in May 13, 1967 in Xinxiang, Henan, right at the end of the Cultural Revolution, I grew up in a clean, 100 square meter condo like any many children out there. Though we were poor, my home and environment were considered better than most. We never had the chance of eating meat in every meal, though, but we muddled through with little luxury. I attended a high school near my neighborhood and since there were no buses available, I walked or biked to school every day. After graduating from Henan University, I married and had a beautiful daughter. Those were the days where life became a daily routine. Then at age 34 in 2001, I decided to immigrate. I had never thought of immigrating in my life. I always decided to grow up to be a teacher as my parents wanted me to, like most Chinese parents expected of their children, but it turned out that I became a scientist instead. Because of this, I decided to immigrate. 21st century technology was advancing rapidly, leaving me and my research in the dust and America was the perfect place to catch up. My language was bad but that’s ok. America is a free country! It is a fast paced place where if you don’t pay attention, time would leave you behind. It is the streets of Hollywood movies where everyone is bustling around going places and meeting people. The people there would be nice and they would always wave and say hello was what I thought, but when I heard the news, my opinions completely changed. It was the day before I would board the plane and travel to the foreign land of “America”. The sun had set here in China and it had already risen for a new day there in America. Tomorrow morning was the time. I was still saying my goodbyes to my relatives around me and celebrating my success with a big feast. It was a “culture thing”. My friend calls through the telephone and I expected it to be a “Congrats, buddy! Live long! Succeed in the US!” kind of call, but it wasn’t. He
I never imagined coming here. Born in May 13, 1967 in Xinxiang, Henan, right at the end of the Cultural Revolution, I grew up in a clean, 100 square meter condo like any many children out there. Though we were poor, my home and environment were considered better than most. We never had the chance of eating meat in every meal, though, but we muddled through with little luxury. I attended a high school near my neighborhood and since there were no buses available, I walked or biked to school every day. After graduating from Henan University, I married and had a beautiful daughter. Those were the days where life became a daily routine. Then at age 34 in 2001, I decided to immigrate. I had never thought of immigrating in my life. I always decided to grow up to be a teacher as my parents wanted me to, like most Chinese parents expected of their children, but it turned out that I became a scientist instead. Because of this, I decided to immigrate. 21st century technology was advancing rapidly, leaving me and my research in the dust and America was the perfect place to catch up. My language was bad but that’s ok. America is a free country! It is a fast paced place where if you don’t pay attention, time would leave you behind. It is the streets of Hollywood movies where everyone is bustling around going places and meeting people. The people there would be nice and they would always wave and say hello was what I thought, but when I heard the news, my opinions completely changed. It was the day before I would board the plane and travel to the foreign land of “America”. The sun had set here in China and it had already risen for a new day there in America. Tomorrow morning was the time. I was still saying my goodbyes to my relatives around me and celebrating my success with a big feast. It was a “culture thing”. My friend calls through the telephone and I expected it to be a “Congrats, buddy! Live long! Succeed in the US!” kind of call, but it wasn’t. He