My First Day in America

I arrived at JFK airport on September 1, 1993. I came to America to see my daughter and to get over my grief over the passing away of my mother. Coming to America wasn't my dream. The most important reason for me to come to America was that I had been buried in grief after I lost my mather. I wanted to get over the grief and start a new life. The second reason was that I wanted to see my granddaughter and take care of her. My daughter and her husband had been too busy studying to take care of their daughter.

My daughter picked me up from the airport. I hadn't seen my daughter for five years. When I saw her at the airport, we both got a little emotional. When she left China five years before, she was still a young girl herself. Now she was a mother of an American girl! When I saw my little granddaughter, I got very excited. I carried her in my arms and looked at her for a long time. She was so beautiful with brown eyes, chubby hands, sweet dimples and cute smiles. She was a little shy at first because we had never met before. But I didn't mind. She would get used to me soon, I told myself. I am her grandma!

After we got to my daughter's home, I got very sleepy because, although it was 3:00 p.m. in New York, it was 3:00 a.m. in China, the time I was usually in sound sleep! My daughter then told me not to sleep. If I did, she told me, I wouldn't be able to overcome jetlag. I took her advice and tried to do something to stay awake. But it was hard to get over the sleepiness. Just then I heard there was a parade outside. It was a carnival parade. So I joined the crowd on the sidewalk. It was exciting parade although to me the music and the cheering was a little too loud. But it was OK.

So this was my first day in America, exciting and unforgettable.

About Me

I am Yajun Shi. I come from Shanghai, China. I speak both Mandarin and Shanghainese. I came to America in 1993 and have been here for 14 years. I live in Brooklyn now. I don’t work since I am retired. I got married in 1958 and I have two children. One is 48. The other is 42. My daughter is a nurse. She works in I.C.U. patient room, Catheran Hospital. She is a very good nurse and works very hard. My son works and lives in Canada. He is a Canadian citizen. He speaks several languages besides English, including some German and French. He works in some universities in Germany and France.