DEPARTED FROM
Kathmandu, Nepal
ARRIVED IN
Cleveland, Ohio
YEAR
2011
AGE
3
TRANSCRIPT
What do you remember about your first days?
My first day—I just remember being shocked, and everything was new. I remember the tall—especially coming from a mud house, and the stick house and refugee camps and like having like 12 people in one house that was six feet by six feet—not six feet. But you know what I mean. Coming to an airport that was just glass, and 100 feet tall, and just so modern, it was very, very shocking.
And who picked you up at the airport?
It was this guy. I think he was Nepali. He spoke Nepali to me, and he said “Welcome nani,” which is baby or kid in Nepali. And I don't remember his face, or his name, or what happened after that, but I just know he said “welcome”, and he talked to me for a little bit, and we just left in the car.
And do you remember where you went?
No, I don’t, I just remember coming to the airport, going to the car, talking to the guy, and then after that, it's a blur.
What are the first memories you have of where you lived?
So me and my mom…it was just me and my mom for a very long while, and then my grandma came, I think when I was five? And then me and her, she used to have this couch that turned into a bed, and then on the bed we would just like—just lay down and watch some old Hindi movies. And then we would have these days where we would spoil ourselves with chicken burgers, and it would be patty, a bun, and then on the side there would just be vegetables and then we could customize whatever we wanted on our burger. And back then it was just me and my mom, so even thinking about it makes me kind of emotional, how much she sacrificed for me and stuff like that.
And then, the other memory I have, is when I went back to Nepal when I was six, and me and my cousin, we went in this hole meant for cow poop, and then we went down and slid on it when our parents weren’t around. And then when we came out, our parents started yelling at us for being dirty and covered in cow poop. And yeah, that's one of the first few memories that I've had.
What was the first thing that you ate here that you loved?
Pizza! I love pizza, and I still love pizzas. One of the staples in our house.
Was there anything that you ate for the first time here that you just did not enjoy?
Boiled, boiled or steamed broccoli? I don't know. But like, especially coming from like a household where there's so much seasoning, I think it was just too bland.
What surprised you?
I guess, the clothing and how, how, [pause] you can show off so much more, especially since back in Nepal I would only see my family in kurtas or saris or even lenghas on rare occasions. But then when I came here, I would see my teachers or classmates in pants, and that was very shocking, because in Nepal, I would only see men wearing pants. And then the skirts? They wouldn't be maxi skirts to ankle, it would sometimes go up above the knee, or to the knee, and even in a Catholic school, I think we know in Catholic schools they have…the skirts can't be that long, I mean that short. So I think that was pretty shocking to me.
And then can you share the story about the airplane?
Yes! So when I came in, it was just me and my mom, she barely knew English. I think she went to school till like 10th grade?
English wasn't that good, it was just me and my mom, with our little suitcases. And then she would ask around a few people to ask where the reception is, where the desk, like check in is. And then we went to the desk, and I remember it being a white marble with black, I don't know, like black marbling and it was very cool to the touch.
And then, obviously, because I was so short, I was three years old, I didn't
see the person behind—I didn't realize there was a person behind until my mom started talking and stuff. And then after a few minutes the lady, she looked down at me, and I was very shocked looking at her face, because I didn't realize people could look so different from what I looked like. Her face is still very vividly in my mind. She had ginger hair, very pale complexion, green eyes, and freckles. And she smiled at me really warmly. And then she said, “Hi” —well, at the time, I didn't know what that meant, but she went back, and then she brought something out from her desk, and it was a toy airplane that lit up. And I was very shocked, because who in the world gives out a free toy, especially something that I deem so expensive, because toys weren't very common back in Nepal. And then she gives it to me, and I look at my mom, and she looks at me basically saying, “Take it.” And I take the toy, and I'm just looking at it, so shocked, because it lit up, it made sounds, and it was just so…I don't know I think it was one of my first toys that felt so expensive, you could say? And then to the reception lady, it was just like another day. And she also gave me this little keychain. Unfortunately, I lost both of the things. Very sad.
And then something I didn't mention was, after we got checked in and stuff, we went down to sit and wait for the man that picked us up. And while sitting down there was this, you could say grandpa, not quite grandpa, maybe a man in his 40s, 50s, and he looked at me and he smiled, and he put his hand up, like this, kind of like a high five. And he basically wanted to give me a high five. And I was kind of scared, because stranger danger. But my mom again, encouraged me to give the man a high five, and then after a few seconds he took out a piece of candy, and he gave it to me, and I went back to my mom and I ate the candy [laughs]. And then I also remember realizing how welcomed I felt, and how welcoming the people here were. And this was my first 30 minutes in America, and I already got a toy plane, toy key chain, and then a piece of candy from complete strangers, and I think from there, I just forgot everything else from there.
Is there anything else you'd like to share about your first days, or weeks, or months here, or even years since you were young?
Yeah, I was really young. I don't quite remember as much, but I think one of the most grateful things, most favorite thing is my, I don't know how to word it, but I'm very grateful for my mom, because I know she sacrificed a lot, and I know especially in our culture it's very taboo to be a woman just by herself without a man. And we went I think three, four years without my dad coming with us, and we had to wait till I was six, seven, I think, and yeah, I'm very grateful to my mom for enduring what she did and all suffering that she had to be put through. And she, whenever I went to the store, she would let me get one thing, just one thing, and it had to be $1 or less. And every single time that she would let me get something I would be pretty much overjoyed, because that's so—I couldn't understand it back then—but even when we were struggling, she would still find ways to make me happy. And then third moment that I remember is when my dad came to America, we went to the airport, and then we went to like—mind you, I did not know this man, I just had calls with him, and I will talk to him kind of often—so I hadn't met him since I was three, and I didn't remember anything else. But I remember coming on the train, taking a picture next to Superman on the airport, and then just coming and from there, just living life with my family.
Thank you so much for taking time to share your story.
Of course.
