I am a software engineer from India. One day I was working in Chennai and the next minute I was standing in front of the US Consulate in Chennai to get my visa for United States of America. I came here late 2000 and in 2001 when my family immigrated to America. We came here as a family a month before the September 11th attacks on New York. I remember that morning my friend called me and asked me to turn on the TV. Initially I thought it was a scene from a movie but when the reality of what was going on struck me, I knew the days ahead for us as immigrants in America were going to be hard. I am from South India (the non turban wearing crowd) and with a last name Mathew, I did not have to deal with any racism. One incident that always stands out happened when one my co workers brought her daughter to work. The little girl was 6-7 years old. She looked at me and said, mommy is he a terrorist. I have a sense of humor so it did not bother me. It was interesting to see how little children associated the bearded, tan look to terrorists.
Category: immigrants
Being an Alien from Planet India in America
In 2001, my family and I immigrated to America from India. After a long flight ride of twenty three hours we were excited and nervous as we stood in the visitors line waiting for our turn. We checked our papers a million times. I could feel the tension in the air on our side of the airport while the residents and citizens line had people smiling and talking. As we approached the officer, he stared at us with not a hint of smile on his face. As an immigrant waiting to enter America, I did not feel welcomed at all. I was scared as he turned each paper in our file and scanned it. It was probably ten minutes before he spoke to us, but those ten minutes were probably the longest ten minutes ever. “Welcome to America” he said as he stamped our passports. I was excited to finally make my way into America.
Little did I know the visa that was stamped in my passport would make me an alien. With every immigration document I filed, I became more alien. Somehow between leaving the visitor line to making our home in America I had gone from human to alien. I was given an alien number, and every time I walked through immigration I was nervous as all the sci fi movies played in my head. Would they scan my retina to see if I was really human, or would they draw my blood to see if it was green? Well, it did not happen yet and now that I am an official resident of America, I am no longer an alien. I am in between- something between an alien and a citizen but not quite there yet.
I detest the word alien and wonder what it really means. I guess I could consider it as being called exotic from Planet India or I could be the ET stuck in America trying to phone home.
From Ghana to America
I am from Ghana, Africa. I lived in Ghana until early 1990’s. Growing up in Ghana was fun but every body and their mamma wanted to come to America. I was no different. I wanted to come here too. I came here initially in 1987 to New Jersey and then we moved here permanently in 1990’s. When we first came here, I was forced to wear a suit for the entire flight ride. It was hot on a long flight ride. I went to school here and was dropped off at school in ninth grade. In Ghana, we had uniforms and there were rules such as no talking even if the teacher wasn’t in class. When the teacher leaves they make someone write down the names of students who talked. My first day in school in America I thought I was going to get beat up because everyone talked in class. I tried to warn them but the kids in my class looked at me crazy. I got teased a lot in school for my accent. When I first came here kids told me you are so dark. In spite of growing up in Ghana, there was a range of skin color and we never thought about it. I was often asked, why did you speak like that. Why don’t you say What’s up? I started saying What’s up but it never came out as smooth as it did when kids here said it.
Cultural Differences are universal!
Long before I was an immigrant traveling to America, I was a young kid who moved from one state to another within India because of a personal situation. India is not only a diverse place, it is also a cultural jigsaw puzzle. North and South India are worlds apart not just in cuisine and language, but also in landscape and history. I knew that having been fed with Indian history throughout my schooling. I was moving between two states with South India and I expected the transition to be an easy one. I was moving from Bangalore, Karnataka to Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Bangalore was a diverse metropolitan city moving at the speed of light while Coimbatore was a small town. I was going to continue my seventh grade in Coimbatore. I walked into school in my boy cut hair, mini skirt and top. My attire was completely acceptable in Bangalore but walking into my school campus in Coimbatore, I knew instantly I was dressed inappropriately. This was my first experience with cultural difference. Cultural difference followed me through my four and half years in Tamil Nadu. Everything from the twinge in my English to my short hair was heavily gossiped on. In an all girls Catholic school, I became the latest attraction. In a campus full of long haired girls, I stood out like a sore thumb. The initial years were extremely hard as I tried to retreat into a shell. I refused to participate in activities I used to enjoy prior to the move, and hated being the new girl on campus. With time the novelty of the new short haired girl wore out and I became one among the girls.
I thought all of America was like New York City!
When Ana traveled from Azores, Portugal to California in America, she thought she was going to live in a city like New York City. Azores or the islands as she calls is surrounded by water, green landscapes and is a fishing town. Like most islands, the lifestyle is extremely relaxing. I asked Ana how she came to America and her first few days here:
“I don’t remember when I came here. Maybe it was the 80’s but it has been a long time. I am bad with dates. My future husband visited Portugal and we met there. He petitioned for me so I came here to get married to him. My family was back home in Azores, Portugal. I was the only one who moved to America. I wasn’t scared to come here to live with him. My grandmother, father, mother had already visited America at different times before me. We had a rich uncle who brought my grandmother, father and mother at different times to visit America. I had an idea about America and there were lots of pictures. I have cousins and uncles in Canada and Boston area, but my immediate family is back in Azores. I thought all of America was like New York, busy all the time. I landed in San Francisco and when they drove me out of the airport I was like oh my God, this is so big. When I landed in Boston before reaching San Francisco and I saw freeways, I thought it was so big. We did not have freeways in Azores. We had one way streets. I saw lots of difference between Azores and America. I thought we were going to live in a city like New York. I thought all of America would be like New York. I did not know where he lived. When we drove into Milpitas, I wasn’t impressed by any of it. I was surprised at how the houses were built especially the shingles on the roof bothered me a lot. I came into a Portuguese family so the food was not an issue. The first time I went out was for coffee. I thought I was going for espresso but when I saw a big mug of coffee, I was like what is this. They said its American coffee. I said what is the difference between American coffee and Portuguese coffee. Back in Portugal, our coffee came in small cups like shots of espresso. I had never drank so much coffee before. I loved the food here from the very first day. The people were very polite and laughing all the time here. People back home were rude back then but now they are getting better. The weather is so good in California. I love it over here and don’t want to go back. But I miss my family and ocean a lot. I remember I used to open the window and I could see the ocean in Azores. I miss that view.”
The story of Immigrants in America- America Deconstructed!
As I was brainstorming ideas on what my first blog post ought to be, the creative person in me wanted to find an appropriate definition for immigrants in America. I found some cool ones which had the perfect definition on who an immigrant is- someone who left their country for another one. I also found ones where immigrants were portrayed as damsels in distress who were lured from their home countries into America. While that definition makes America seem like a predator lurking around the corner, we weren’t lured into America. We came here on our own terms because America was the land of opportunities. I say we because I am an immigrant who was lured into America by her parents. I grew up in India until I turned seventeen when I finally moved to America or California to be precise. California is the epitome of the melting pot culture that America stands for. Yet, even people in California have their preconceived notions about immigrants. I have been mistaken to have been born in America because I speak good English. I have been asked if I took a shower on the street in India because CNN or BBC decided to show slums in India as India to the world. I am not the only one who has had to battle these misconceptions. Most immigrants irrespective of their race, ethnicity, color of their skin have had to battle these misconceptions. Thus was born America Deconstructed the book and America Deconstructed blog.
America Deconstructed began as a conversation between two friends who joked about the misconceptions they faced as immigrants. Those college conversations took shape into a book years later. For the book we interviewed sixteen immigrants and have written about their journey into America and the life that followed. There are confusing coffee shop runs, to go or take out, Taliban, war, marriage, kids and even death. The book covers the human side of immigration and is filled with funny, embarrassing situations, humor, heartbreak and tears. We do not care about laws and policies. We care about the human experience behind immigration. America Deconstructed blog follows the same format of quirky cultural differences. If you want a light hearted, fun blog filled with loads of quirkiness to brighten your day or night, follow us. We strive to satisfy!
AMERICA DECONSTRUCTED 