This is the story of my first day.*
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Anonymous
My grandma immigrated from China to America when she was 14. She came on a tiny boat that was cramped with many people. The journey took 30 days and she only had a few belongings. The boat stopped at Hawaii and she had to find a way to get to Chicago where her family lived. When she arrived in Chicago, she enrolled in school. Because of the language barrier, she was put in a kindergarten-level class. Her teacher told her to change her name as her Chinese name was Kit Ping; she picked the name ‘Jayne’ after her school teacher said no one would remember Kit Ping. From her first days, the hardest part was the language barrier. Even though she was with some of her family members, she missed her home.
* The contributor of this story has asked that their name be withheld.
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