DEPARTED FROM
Ahmedabad, India
ARRIVED IN
Chicago, Illinois
YEAR
2003
AGE
8
NOW LIVES IN
Chicago, Illinois
TRANSCRIPT
TRANSCRIBED BY Anjli Patel (x 3)
My name is Neel, and I came to America in November of 2003 when I was eight years old. It was snowing very hard, it was freezing, and it was cold. This was my first time seeing snow. Coming from a country where it's 90 to 100 degrees every day, it was a fascinating thing to see. As soon as I got home, the first thing I did was play in the snow. I had never played in the snow in my entire life.
The very next day, I started elementary school. It was my first day in school. When I was in third grade, it was a very difficult transition for me. Not knowing English, not knowing the culture of America, it was very difficult for me to fit in. But I was getting used to it little by little. Eventually, I caught on and I loved it very much. When I moved from elementary to junior high, it was a very great experience, and then into high school and into college. So far, I'm glad I came to this country.
