An Immigrant’s Experience

T.C. is a school of many nations. This is the tale of one of our students, and her journey to America.

Webster’s dictionary defines immigration as “The entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence, the opposite is emigration”. Now that we know that definition, we ask ourselves: why people immigrate? I think that is when the reality of immigration takes place. People immigrate from one country to another for a variety of complex reasons; they can be forced to move, or they may voluntarily immigrate.

In my opinion, with any kind of immigration, good values are always needed because immigration represents a lot of courage. The normal issue is that moving to a different country, different customs and rules, can be frustrating and overwhelming. But an additional pressure for immigration can be money (if living in a more expensive country). Thus you, the immigrant, have to start a new life in to the unknown. For instance, the book The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez relates the life of the author and his family who crossed the border from Mexico to California for a better life. They became farm workers and each chapter represents different places where they “settle”. Constantly moving, Francisco struggled in school and to keep his friends. This book (which I identified with as an ESL student) is one of the writings that I think gives the best definition of immigration.

II. Preparing to Leave Senegal

It took months to prepare our departure. I recall when we used to talk and ask each other, “What would it be like if we moved to the United States? “ My father and my mother, used to converse a lot about green cards and other formal documents that they could get easily since my father worked for the government of the United States in Senegal. But while he worked there, my father never thought about getting a green card because we never thought about moving. It was just not the “time” I think.

When things started shaping up, each member of my family had his or her own view of the voyage. Being very different, my sister Charlotte and I had divergent feelings about America. She thought that it was going to be great, almost a dream come true. I was against the idea of moving. Friends, family and Senegal itself, were the pillars of my whole life. I could not imagine being in a country where they speak English! There the language and customs would be different. There I would not have my big family with me, or hundreds of cousins each Sunday having parties and celebrations. This ambiance-people in the street, selling things, yelling, laughing-I knew that it would not be the same. For me, leaving all these things would be like being lost in the unknown.

One week before “D-Day”, I was excited. My feelings had changed toward the trip. I used to have a journal, where I recorded my days. It was worn out on the sides and on the cover because I held it so many times. I opened it August 15th, 2008 and I wrote: “My Dear Journal, I am fed up with those preparations. Mom doesn’t want me to bring all of my handbags but I cannot choose! She cannot understand it. I am also preparing for the last party with my friends, they are happy for me, even jealous! Daddy said that we were going to a city named Alexandria in Virginia. We have already got an apartment, Southern Towers is the name of the place. It is like a new life beginning: New home, new friends, new school. Hope I will be integrated easily. In many American movies about high schools that I saw, kids were always in different groups; they were segregated, some of them had no friends…maybe it is just stereotypes. I hope so. I need to negotiate with my Daddy if I am going to bring my guitar or not, I hope I will since I cannot live without my music…” And each day I kept writing in that journal until the day I was waiting for, August 20th. The flight was at noon and I realized that I had lost my journal. I could not find it anywhere, but I had to go to the airport with or without it. Maybe it was a sign. A sign which might say that I have to forget all these years past and focus on the ground I will feel under my feet in twenty four hours.

I was frozen. I hated the air conditioner in the airport. People passing, coming and going and the voice that announced incessantly, “The passengers for the flight….” All these sounds at the airport were like a ballet, a symphony, a masterpiece that is played only for special people: the voyagers. I was in the group, so I had to wait for the voice to finish her singing and I would play my part also; driving my baggage toward the gate. Uncle Omar, my aunt, and my cousins came to say goodbye. Kisses and hugs did not help. I could not stop crying. Tears were unremittingly dropping, hot on my cheeks and all over my cousin’s shirt. I promised my little cousin, Aicha, that I would come for vacation and continue our guitar lessons. Seating next to my sister, I could not help smiling. I thought, “Wow, this is the moment.” My dad, sitting in the front seat in the beginning of the first row, waved his hand to me, and I knew that he was happy too.

III. The Journey to Alexandria

August 21st, 6:30 a.m., we arrived at Dulles Airport. Opening my eyes, I looked around me and through the window. I felt dizzy and suddenly I remembered, “Oh yeah, we were moving to the United States. We are in Washington!” I woke up my sister, who was sleeping the whole trip, and showed her the buildings that I had seen so many times on TV: the Pentagon, the Washington Monument…

Outside of the airplane, walking toward the parking where my cousin was waiting for us, I could feel, just by looking at the sky, that we were on the other side of the equator. The air was not the same, the ground was not the same, the birds were not the same, and the people did not look the same. My cousin, Mbaye, as tall as he has always been, was waiting for us in front of a red Ford Explorer which was big enough to contain our belongings. On our way to Alexandria, I was glued to my window, looking at the landscapes, at the highway, the cars we passed and the people in them. I was asking myself, what time is it in Senegal? Did the sun already come out? What are my friends doing at that moment?

Southern Towers is a big area with many buildings: Monticello, Sherwood, Stratford, Berkley, and Ashlawn. The entrance was surrounded by flowers which were dancing to the music of the wind. Red, pink and white, they were as I saw them on the website for Southern Towers. My mom was pleased; I could see it in her eyes. My sister could not stop talking; she is like that when excited. I remember that that night I did not sleep. Thoughts were going back and forth through my mind, I was anxious about everything: school, friends, and activities. My new life had just started. I felt like a newborn child lost in the American dream, but I was sure that I would find my way.

4. My Goals and Hopes for the Future

Now we live comfortably in our apartment. I am an eleventh grader at T.C Williams High School, and I can say that I found my way. My mom decorated the apartment and now, we feel at ease. We placed some carvings from Senegal in the living room, so that we will always remember our country.

I started school with stress. I was wondering, “What will the school be like? What about my classmates? Were they going to be nice to me? I do not speak any English, how can I express myself? I was going to be so embarrassed…” Now I realize that this step of wondering was just normal. The school is awesome, really modern. My classmates are cool and so different! I have Pakistanis friends, Ghanaian friends, Filipino friends, Cameroonian friends, Spanish friends… who made me realize that I was not the only student who left her county. There are many of us.

This is my ninth month in the United States and my English has really improved. People are still impressed when I tell them that I have been in the United States for only nine months, but that is because I have worked hard. I have a lot of dictionaries at home, and I try to read in English as much as I can. I also listen to the radio and watch television in English. Those little things helped and are still helping me to improve my English.

Next year I will be out of ESL, and I will focus on my career. I want to study Political Science and International Studies. I am pursuing my dream and my parents and teachers are encouraging me.

I will keep working hard and have good grades so I can the smiles on my parents’ faces. To me, that smile means that they are proud, and happy to have moved to America.

V. Summary

My immigration was not one of the most thrilling or exciting, dangerous or perilous, but it was a big step in my life. By immigrating, I learned that life is full of surprises. If someone had told me that I would live in the United States, I would not have believed them. Now it is part of me as a Senegalese in America. It is also a part my march to maturity.

Amina Gueye is now a Senior at T.C. Williams. She submitted this diary in June, 2009.