DEPARTED FROM
Hyderabad, India

ARRIVED IN
New York City, New York

YEAR
1990

AGE
23

NOW LIVES IN
Troy, Michigan

COLLECTED BY

What was your first day in the US like? What did you do?

I landed at the JFK airport at 5 PM. It was still light out, very unusual for me coming from India where it starts getting dark. We were driving to New Jersey where I was supposed to go. That was my first place to live or house to live and we were driving and it was 7 o’clock, 8 o’clock, 9 o’clock still light and it was still light out which was so confusing to me. I never expected that. I was thinking that in every part of the world it gets dark at the most at 6 o’clock. That's something that I could never forget.

What brought you to the US?

When I was in medical school, all of my seniors were coming to this country as it was a land of opportunities. That was my dream and I made an effort to come here and I landed here to become a physician who could help people and make a good living for myself and for my family.

How was it adjusting into the country?

It was very hard. I never left my house. My parents were so called helicopter parents who took care of me for everything, and coming here, taking care of myself, paying the bills, studying for the exams, cooking for myself, it was a challenge. There were days where my main meal was fruit cocktail with ice cream because I didn’t know how to cook. One time I washed my clothes in a cooking dish and I got yelled at for that. Now I realize how stupid it was.

Were you homesick during your first days in the country?

Yes I was homesick because I never left my home in my home country. It was a big adjustment but I was looking forward to how good I could be as a doctor and making a good living. I kind of overcame that in a few months.