New in America 1

I came to America in 1981 with my family. To be more precise, we came to Pennsylvania. When our airplane was landing in Philadelphia, the lights of the city appeared like fallen stars. I had seen pictures of Americans with their blonde hair and their blue eyes. It seemed incredible. It felt like a dream.

For the first two weeks, my family stayed with our uncle. He had a big house with many rooms. It was one of the biggest houses I had ever seen. I had heard that he was rich. I loved living inside of it. So did my siblings and my parents.

I would watch cartoons during the day. I couldn't understand the language, but the figures of Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny amused me. My uncle had two small kids, Danny and I can't remember the other's name. During the day, I would play with them. They were so rough though. They would pinch and hit me. I was so frustrated with them, but I felt such deep gratitude toward my uncle that I did nothing.

My parents were working at my uncle's beauty supply store. That's why we had decided to come to America. My uncles had succeeded in the beauty supply business for blacks. 1st Generation Koreans had succeeded in the beauty supply business. Over time, they brought over their relatives. Korea was such a poor country in the 1970's. They wanted their relatives to make it big also.

After 2 weeks, my family moved to the cheap apartment complexes in Philadelphia. One of my uncles, who was a reverend, lived very near us.

My father and mother would disappear early in the morning and appear at around 8'o clock at night. They were working hard at the beauty supply store. They would be helping out black customers whom they had seen perhaps for the first time with their faulty English. They would have the dream that one day they would own a beauty supply store.

I would watch tv, but soon I went to school. The teacher had puffy, blonde hair and was perhaps in her fifties. She tried to be as nice as she could be but I didn't understand a thing she said. Finally, she asked me about numbers. She asked me to add numbers and I did. Finally, something I could understand.

All my American classmates, they all looked so attractive for some reason. I really felt like an ugly duckling. One girl with blonde hair and blue eyes... she was an angel fallen from heaven. When her father kissed her I wished that I were the one to kiss her.

I think I was in line for lunch when another Korean kid greeted me. I was so glad to hear a language I could understand. He told me what to get for lunch. I asked him what it was called. He said "hot dog." I did not like the taste of it. I felt like throwing up.