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| Rose (from earlier in the summer) |
Has it really been fifty years since I arrived in this country?!
August 24, 1974. I was 18 and had received a scholarship to attend a university I had never heard of until I was told to apply to it about three weeks prior and there I was, making my way from Hong Kong (where my mother was teaching), in transit through South Korea where I had to change planes, going through US Customs in Hawaii, making my way from the International Terminal to the Domestic Airlines Terminal at Los Angeles (with the help of a very kind stranger), finding my way through O'Hare Airport in Chicago, to Milwaukee. and, finally, to Green Bay, Wisconsin. The farther I flew, the smaller the planes became!
I arrived with all my worldly possessions packed into two suitcases, one of which didn't actually arrive with me as it got waylaid in Los Angeles, and by the time I filed a missing luggage report and it was located and sent to me, it had been broken into and the most important item it contained, a portable typewriter, had been stolen! My parents sent me a replacement typewriter and wrote a letter to the Post Office in Green Bay, asking them to make sure it was delivered to me, which resulted in a lady from the Post Office calling me to follow up; we became very good friends after that and kept in touch for years afterwards.
Later, my stepfather, mother, and I immigrated to the US and, eventually, I became a naturalized citizen.
Fast forward fifty years and here I am! 50 years older, 50 lbs. heavier, with at least 50 times as many suitcases worth of stuff (probably more!), and a laptop instead of a portable typewriter! LOL.
It's been quite an interesting 50 years. I am grateful for:
- The many blessings I've received
- The chance encounter which led to the offer of a scholarship
- The opportunity to come to this country to study and later to immigrate
- The experiences I've had and the people I've encountered
- The memories I cherish
Today's joyful activity was reminiscing about the past.
That's quite an anniversary worth celebrating. It must have been daunting for you at age 18 to make that journey. Congratulations Bless!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. Somehow, I felt up to the challenge, at the time. I don't think I'd do it, now!
DeleteWhar lovely reminiscences of your life half a century ago! 8 too had a portable typewriter which i took to uni (and still have) and despite my best efforts I'm also 50lb heavier now
ReplyDeleteThank you, Angela. It's good to look back and remember from time to time, isn't it? Glad you still have your portable typewriter. Too bad about the weight gain, though!
DeleteWhat a marvelous 50 year journey & mixed into that adventure, a daughter! Congratulations. Pretty rose in your garden.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I remember about my own specialized study in Madison, Wisconsin (short program, weeks not months) - they are the cheese captial of the US of A. & a very pretty place.
Thank you, Mary-Lou. Oh, yes, my daughter is the biggest blessing of all! Yes, Wisconsin is the Dairy State and I was gifted a Cheese Head hat by a friend, which I had for years before I finally bid a fond farewell to it!
DeleteAnd I imagine it must feel like only yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI love the tale of how you became friendly with the lady from the Post Office. I doubt that would happen these days. Xx
Sometimes it does feel like only yesterday, Jules.
DeleteThe lady from the Post Office became a very dear friend. Almost every weekend, she'd pick me up to take me to her house to have dinner, gifted me the money to buy myself my first pair of winter boots, and, much later, she typed my thesis for me! I still have a gift she and her husband gave me one Christmas.
Congratulations, Bless, on 50 years. We're so glad that you joined us here and decided to stay.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. I've had opportunities to go back, but, this is now my home. :)
DeleteCongratulations on your journey and accomplishments!! (My grandparents came over from Croatia. in the early 1900's. After 14 years they became citizens.) andrea
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea. I suppose the majority of the people in this country came from somewhere else, if one goes back far enough down the family tree. :)
DeleteMy goodness, how time flies by! I'm sure it was quite a change moving to Green Bay! How nice of the PO taking such care for you. I'm not sure they'd do that now, although in smaller towns around here they might. Maybe some day you'll go back to visit Sri Lanka again, or even Green Bay(tho not in winter)!
ReplyDeleteTime does fly, doesn't it? I experienced my very first winter with snow that first year in Green Bay! I spent six winters there, but, I don't think I'd survive another Green Bay winter! A college friend of mine went back to GB to check out the campus for her own daughter, but, she said things had changed a lot from when we were there.
DeleteAnd we are glad you followed this path so we could read about and share your life!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne; that's a lovely thing to say. :)
DeleteWhat a big anniversary for you. So I am sending you big big big congratulations on the marking of your very special day.
ReplyDeleteSo you took 5 planes to get to your destination?
You must've been very nervous at such a young age. Or were you looking at it all as one big adventure?
Had you applied to the college that granted you the scholarship? How did that come about? You must've been running around like a crazy person with only 3 weeks notice. Or, again being so young, maybe you weren't "seasoned enough" to worry about the things we would now worry about.
Oh gosh, losing your typewriter just as you begin your college career. Your parents were nice to get you another one. And then you became close friends with the post office lady.
I love these kinds of stories. I know you've mentioned your immigrating to the US and going to college in the cold Northwest but some of these details are new. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you, Debra. Yes, 5 planes! I really wasn't nervous except when I got to Seoul, South Korea and was told that they couldn't find my name on the list of passengers booked for the connecting flight! Then, I worried that I might miss all my connecting flights and wondered what to do! I remember being taken to a room by two customs officials (ladies) and having to undress (I was wearing a sari) so they could do a body check to make sure I was not carrying something on me that I shouldn't be carrying and then get dressed, again. Eventually, they put me on the connecting plane and I breathed a sigh of relief! LOL.
DeleteWell, I eventually applied to the college that granted me the scholarship, after being told to apply! We were in Hong Kong at the time and my stepfather had gone to the city center to do some business and when it started to rain, he ducked into a nearby building to shelter from the rain. The building contained an office of what used to be the United States Information Services (I think it is known by a different name, now). He introduced himself to the director there (he had a habit of talking to just about everyone) and they got to chatting and he had mentioned that he was in Hong Kong with his wife and her daughter and I guess the director asked him what I was doing. Apparently, a recruiter from the college had just visited the facility and had said they were looking for international students and scholarships were available. The director had told my stepfather to bring me to see him and the next day, my stepfather, mother, and I went to see him and he gave me an application form and told me to apply. On the way back to our apartment, my stepfather said, "We'll go home and discuss it" and my mother said, "She's going" and that was that! I applied, was accepted, and the only obstacle was finding the US$2,000 that I had to show as proof of financial support in order to get the visa. We didn't have $2,000. But, my mother was not daunted. She took all her jewelry to the US Embassy and showed it to the visa officer right there at the counter (he immediately had us come into a private room!) and told him that she was going to pawn her jewelry to obtain the $2,000, if he would grant me the visa. And that's how I got the visa to come (I think they stamped the visa on my passport with the caveat, "pending proof of adequate funds" and I later showed them the cashiers check and they cancelled the caveat) and the money to purchase the airfare (my stepfather's sister chipped in, too). So, yes, it was a big adventure. It was my first time going anywhere by myself, too, and, of course, it had to be a trip almost halfway across the globe! LOL.
My daughter has asked me what happened to that adventurous girl with the "can do" attitude and I've had to tell her that she grew older and became the over-cautious woman she sees now. Which is rather sad, when you think about it.
I don't think it's sad at all. You've grown into your life and as we age we realize we need to take care of ourselves differently. I worked one summer many years ago for USIS, in Mexico City, as an intern. It did change names but I forget what to.
DeleteThank you, Celie. Yes, one does grow cautious with age, I suppose. That's interesting that you interned at the USIS one summer. :) According to an online search, it became the US Information Agency and then, ceased its operations in 1999.
DeleteWhat a fascinating tale. But why did they search you in that way? Because your clothing was flowing and therefore able to conceal something?
DeleteThe money part of it is such an example of families doing whatever they can to help their children achieve a better life.
How long after you graduated from college did your mother and step father join you in the US?
And were you able to major in a field of study that you were interested in or was the scholarship for an area that you were not initially drawn to.
I agree with Celie about the cautious part. Of course, I have grown more cautious as I age. And I've watched a lot of Law and Order in my life lol
I guess the fact that my name was not listed on their passenger list triggered all sorts of alarm bells for them? Maybe they thought I was going to hijack the plane? There had been some hijacking of planes at the time (early 1970s). I didn't mind being searched; I had nothing to hide. I was just worried that I would miss my connecting flights.
DeleteI was still in college, in my junior year, when my parents immigrated. They joined me in Wisconsin at first, then, they moved to Florida and I joined them after I graduated, and then, we all moved to California. Then, I went back to Wisconsin to do my Masters.
The scholarship didn't specify a field of study; I chose to do biology and environmental studies. I held on to my copy of the 'Field Guide to Identifying the Fresh Water Fish in the Great Lakes Area" for years after I settled down in California, before I let it go in one of my decluttering efforts. LOL.
Yes, the world has changed and we need to be more cautious, these days.
Congratulations, Bless! Such beautiful memories indeed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anon. :)
DeleteWhat an adventure! At least when I left England for good it was as a newlywed, so I had company. Our arrival in Canada was a chance suggestion from someone who knew of a job available for DH. We thought we were coming for a year, over 50 years ago.......
ReplyDeleteIt was an adventure, wasn't it? One never knows when those chance suggestions and encounters can lead to a life changing decision! It happens if one is receptive, I think. :)
DeleteSorry I am reading this so late, but I’m glad I checked because I love this post! What an exciting adventure you had 50 years ago! Welcome (50 years after your arrival)! 😂 It’s wonderful that you were bold enough to seize the opportunity and it’s sweet that you remember people who helped you. Happy anniversary Bless!!
DeleteThank you, Taconix. You are not late reading or commenting, at all. Yes, it was an adventure and being young meant being bold, I suppose. :D I met a lot of very nice people and I do remember them although I've lot touch with most of them over the years. I still keep in contact with one person I met on the second day after I arrived on campus. :)
DeleteHappy 50 years! You arrived 4 days after I was born! I sure hate you lost your typewriter in the process, though. It sounds like it was a big adventure arriving here! I was reading your reply above and your mama sounds like she was one very determined lady! She definitely had your best interests at heart! I’m glad your parents could come here as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mandy. Yes, my mother was a very determined lady! Once she had set her heart on achieving something, you couldn't budge her! She didn't let anything stand in her way!
DeleteThat's a big anniversary. Congratulations Bless! 💐
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me the day I arrived here. Some similarities, but I was 28.
I wonder the post office lady still lives in Green Bay.
Thank you, Nil; it's a long time, isn't it? Very soon (end of this month) it will be 51 years since I left SL.
DeleteYes, I'm sure that we all experienced some similarities when we first arrived. I kept in touch with the post office lady for years, but, she was not a big letter writer and I eventually stopped writing. I did try to call her a couple of times without much success, later.
Happy arrival anniversary! So much in life is down to chance. We make certain decisions, but after that, much is out of our control. Did your mum get her jewellery back, ultimately? I too know how special it is to receive kindness from strangers when abroad.
ReplyDeleteElla
Thank you, Ella. Yes, chance has a bit part in it, doesn't it?
DeleteYes, my mother got her jewelry back. A friend advanced her the money to redeem the jewelry and my mother paid her friend back in installments. There are some very helpful people in this world.