Page | 1

Juwaria Arshad English 111 Prof. B. Millward Saturday, September 14, 2013 Personal Narrative. My Life in America Unlike other people, I came to United States without any particular reason. The only reason was that my father began working in America. Since then, I had never been in America. To my humor, the word America purely was an obscure noun. I knew nothing about America. Expect I heard from TV and movies. I had never been away from my country. It was hard for me to leave my friends and family behind. I grew up in Pakistan, being around the people who used the same language as me; however, I went to English-medium school in Pakistan. Though I could somewhat understand English. I clearly remember the day I first came to America. I was in the middle of nowhere looking around the totally strange place which was full of strangers. All I could hear was the strangers buzzing. At the moment, I realized that I was in America, and my heart started to beat fast. A brand new life spread out in front of me. This affected me mainly in two perspectives: language and cultural behavior. The language became the first and the biggest problem I experienced in America. This happened to me the first day I stepped onto the land of USA. I could hardly understand what other people were talking about. I didnt know how to check out after shopping. I didnt have the guts to go out alone. I always had my father by my side to help me. All of these problems came from the language difficulty I faced in America. Back in

Page | 2

Pakistan, I never had any problem what so ever. I had my family and friends together all the time, life was very easy and interesting. I would always question myself that what will I do here? Eventually, our father decided that it would be better for us to go to school here, so we enrolled in the local high school in my new town. I was anxious about how I would manage. I could hardly correspond with people and I did not know anybody who would help me in school. I didnt have any combined classes with my sister except for lunch and study hall. Everyones eyes were on me as I entered the classroom. Without paying any attention to them, I went straight to the first empty seat I saw in the back. Since it was my first day in school, I was confused about which hallway to use, but I managed to get to my classes without asking anyone. I wouldnt even dare to ask anyone, because I was afraid they would make fun of how I speak English. The first day was awful, but thank God I had my sister with me. As time passed by, me and my sister made some friendships and started to love our school. We realized that schools here were much easier than school in Pakistan. Pakistani education is really hard: a fusion of memorization and conceptual understanding. American schools dont have religious education, but in Pakistan we were required to take religious classes. But as for my perspective I believe the only reason American schools dont teach religious classes are because America is a blend of different lands/religions. And as time passed by, I realized I was able to connect/communicate better with people. I also could read and write some relatively complex articles, which gave me a lot of confidence. The second effect on me was the change in my behavior with the improvement of my English. I gradually made contact with American culture, and further experienced cultural differences. American culture is definitely different from the Pakistani culture in so many ways. Compared with Pakistani people, most American people are friendlier, more enthusiastic, and

Page | 3

more accommodating. I can see this from many things that are so common in American peoples eyes. When I walked on the side of my house, I often met some strangers smiling to me or saying hello. People are willing to help in trouble. All of these make me feel that the distance between people is closer. But in Pakistan, what I have seen many times is a bus driver, who has already seen someone running to catch the bus, but still drivers away and leaves the hurried person behind yelling. In the hospital, people often meet some nurses with long faces yelling at patients, which I never met in the US. Pakistan has some rough edges but I still believe this is the beauty of my country and the people. (Not every country is perfect. As to my word ARTIFICIAL) I was taught to be modest and observe discipline in Pakistan. Students were not encouraged to doubt what their teachers say. But in American schools, every student is encouraged to freely raise his/her own opinion in class. American culture is a lot different than Pakistani, but it is also very similar. I just wish we could exclude the word different when we talk about each other. After my graduation, I went back to Pakistan and met all my old friends. It was really nice feeling to see them again, as if I had never left them. After a while staying in Pakistan I got married with Ishy. Ishy is from Canada. Id known him since the day I was born, our families were close friends. He was slightly over a year older than me, but the age difference never mattered to us growing up. He was also there when I was visiting my family in Pakistan. And now I am a mother of 2 years old girl. After 2 years of break, I decided there is nothing better than making myself busy with studies/education. I am now going to college and this is my second semester year studying Social Science. My plan is to get my associates and transfer to VCU. My goal is to achieve my dream job in cosmetology or teacher.