My name is Maisa Syeda.
INTERVIEWED BY Nala Key

"I was so excited that I immediately ran on the plane without even saying bye to my Dad."


DEPARTED FROM
Dhaka, Bangladesh

ARRIVED IN
Dallas, Texas

YEAR
2004

AGE
10

NOW LIVES IN
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

My first day in America was simple, at least in my opinion seeing as I was only ten years old when I came. Beforehand, I remember I was really excited and wanted to get on the plane as soon as possible. Just me, my Mom, brother, and sister were first leaving. I was so excited that I immediately ran on the plane without even saying bye to my Dad. My mom and dad had to ask me several times to please leave the plane for a minute so that I could say goodbye to my Dad.

When we arrived in America, I thought it was going to be cold. It was an August day in Texas, and to my shock at the time, it wasn’t cold. I was actually disappointed there wasn’t any snow on the ground. That was what I was looking forward to, the snow.

After we arrived, we drove to my Aunt’s house in Texas and had fried rice for a meal. [My Aunt’s house] was a ranch-style house and I was so shocked that it wasn’t a 2-story house, like the ones I was used to seeing in Bangladesh. Later we went to Walmart, which there is a huge one in Texas, and was astonished. In Bangladesh there were specific little stores. But here in this Walmart, there were so many options and so many things in one big store. That is not how stores were in Bangladesh.


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