DEPARTED FROM
New Delhi, India
ARRIVED IN
Detroit, Michigan
YEAR
2009
AGE
22
NOW LIVES IN
Newington, Connecticut
Ria:
OK. So what was your departure city and country.
Siddesh:
New Delhi, India.
Ria:
And then your arrival city and state?
Siddesh:
Detroit, Michigan.
Ria:
What was the year that you came?
Siddesh:
2009.
Ria:
How old were you when you came?
Siddesh:
22.
Ria:
And where are you currently?
Siddesh:
Newington, Connecticut.
Ria:
OK, so now that that's out of the way, what was your first day in the United States like?
Siddesh:
Ok, I'm going to have to try my best to remember this... so I think the first thing is you land in the airport and you think about the documentation part of it. You have everything organized. Make sure, you know, there's no kind of issue. You have everything organized for the questions you get when you go into immigration. That all went pretty smoothly. There were no problems there. The thing is that this wasn't my first trip outside the country. I've gone to China before. So this was like my second trip outside the country. So it wasn't like a completely brand new experience of getting out of India. But anyway, I landed in Detroit, came out of the airport pretty quick, I think. Got my bags. And then you guys [Ria's family] were there to pick me up. I think it was all three of you were there; you [Ria], Rishi [his cousin], and Mahesh Mama [his uncle]. Asha Aunty [his aunt] was at home and we just drove [home] from the airport.
Siddesh:
So, you have to remember that this was right after the recession. This is 2009. And if you remember, Detroit wasn't seeing the best of times at that particular time. It was right after the recession and all those layoffs. So you could actually see the effects of all of that in the roads. Like, when we were driving to your [Ria's] place, I was telling Mahesh Mama, like, 'what the hell is this? What's going on [talking about potholes and poor roads in Michigan]?' And he was just like, 'Yeah.' I mean, that's kind of linked to, you know, the whole infrastructure of Detroit. Obviously, it's in a much better place right now. But that was just one observation. The other thing I remember was just on the highways. So that was a newer experience because I hadn't really gone on the highways before. And then when you see the big 18 wheelers merging in the lane, you do a double take, thinking 'that's a little bit too close, isn't it?' I remember that very well. Because I was sitting upfront in the passenger seat and then I could see the trucks coming in, so that kind of stood out for me.
Any way, after that we just came home. So I think it was quite a comfortable experience because that was the whole idea; like, you know, you guys [Ria's family] were there and, Suresh Mama [his uncle] was in Virginia at the time. So it was like, you must go to a place where, you know, you have family already. So you automatically don't really feel out of place. So I didn't really feel anything [out of the ordinary] because I just went straight 'home.' I pretty much came home straight [from the airport], then got some food. I'm trying to remember the first day...because it's kind of a really stupid question, because the first day everyone's jet lagged. So you shouldn't even ask that question. You should ask 'So how was your first week like then?' and then you can try to remember. Because then [after the first day] I went to Tulsa, and that was kind of more interesting stuff, so to speak.
Then what else do I remember from my first day? Let's see, we went to eat. I think it was one of the things I wanted to eat; it was the Cold Stone Creamery coffee ice cream.
Ria:
Yes.
Siddesh:
We went to eat that. I remember that. That was one of the things I really wanted to go and do. Going to Coldstone Creamery... I don't know why I thought that was a thing that we should go and eat.
Ria:
We probably had been hyping Coldstone Creamery up to you a lot when you came.
Siddesh:
Yeah, they make the ice cream in front of you, you know? I mean they don't technically make ice cream in front of you. But anyway, we went and ate that. I remember that very well, actually. I think it may be the same store I went to later, as well. But yeah, I remember that experience. Basically we had home food, you know. I don't think we went out to eat anywhere other than that [Coldstone Creamery] on the first day.
Ria:
Yeah.
Siddesh:
In terms of shopping, I think I didn't really need to shop on the first day, because I had brought whatever I needed to bring. And I wasn't moving into a house or apartment immediately. I'm trying to keep remembering any of the questions. Is this just the big question?
Ria:
It's the main question. Basically, I guess, tell me about your first impressions of the country... were you excited? Were you nervous? What were you feeling?
Siddesh:
Yeah. So that's the thing. I was surprised. I wasn't nervous, really? I was definitely kind of excited, but not like 'jumping with joy'. I was excited, but I think I was surprised, and I think it's related to where the country was at the time. You know, it was not in the best of places right now [in 2009] because you're hearing stories of unemployment, you're hearing that the economy is in kind of a mess. So I kind of had tempered my expectations. Because I knew how bad the situation was. The U.S. was just bouncing back from 2008. So that kind of played a role, you know, because again, when I was in India, I finished school and then I had the whole summer and I was essentially just always online. So all you do is just read or go on YouTube. So I was already kind of, you know, aware of what was happening and then knew to temper my expectations.
I think also, what I realized when I came to Michigan is that, you know, it's not [like the stereotypical United States]. I mean, I didn't really have a stereotypical U.S. in my head. Usually, you would think New York or L.A. as being like the "U.S.". But I didn't really have that because I kind of knew that New York was its own thing. But it kind of made me realize that [life in America] is going to be different, especially. I got a sense of like what Tulsa is going to be like, as well... I was going straight to Tulsa after [Michigan]. And this is what I discovered, is that the Midwest is kind of different, you know. It doesn't really fit any boxes, which you might think, you know, that you do. And I think in Michigan, there's no weird accents in Michigan, at least [accents] that stood out to me. Even now. I don't know, is there something called a Michigan accent? I don't think so.
Ria:
Kind of. I think more and like the Northern parts; there's a little bit of an accent. There's definitely words that Michiganders use more than, you know, other places. But I don't know. I'm probably a bad person to ask, though, because I've only known this [Michigan].
Siddesh:
Right. I mean, so it didn't really stand out to me, in the way you would think. So that was that, in terms of my expectations and how it matched my expectations, is that it kind of made me realize that my experience is not going to fit a certain template that you see portrayed in popular media like in film and television and stuff like that, you know.
And again, that's because most of the films and TV you watch, I mean, film and TV at that time was like much less diverse than it is now. Now, you can have like a series in Michigan now, which can portray typical Michiganders, you know, and their lives. But back then, it was very 'cookie-cutter TV,' which we saw with like 'Friends' and things like that. So it didn't fit any template.
Siddesh:
In terms of language, it was not a problem. I mean, English was my first language; I started learning English first. I never learned how to read and write in my 'mother tongue,' Tamil. I don't know how to read and write in it, and neither does my mom. So that was not a problem. And also the fact that Mahesh Mama [his uncle] was already here [in the United States], and Suresh Mama was always here, too. He kept visiting. My dad had been to the U.S. a bunch of times. So the U.S. wasn't an alien land, because even when Paati [his grandmother] used to come there [the United States], she used to bring back all the maps. I was a big nerd anyways. I used to open up and read about all the geography and pick everything up. So I was very in tune, and all of us were watching the news all the time. When 9/11 happened, like we were watching it live in India, seeing it live as it happened. So everyone was still kind of connected, you know.
So, yeah, in that way there was no real surprise. And that's probably going to be very unique to what your private experiences are. So, yeah, depending on who you ask, for them, it may be a totally different story altogether.
