I

When I entered the busy, crowded airport, I was surprised to find that my clothes didnt
stick to me and I didnt immediately begin sweating. After seeing the sun shining bright in the
sky and all the people rushing around me, I was sure the humidity would hit me. Instead, I was
met with the true luxury of the great United States of America - air conditioning. I was utterly
baffled by the fact that someone had enough to money to actually install air conditioning inside
of an entire airport. However, it didnt seem that anyone shared this bewilderment with me. As I
looked around, I was surprised to find people of all different colors wearing such odd clothes.
They rushed around the airport like ants, keeping completely to themselves. I wondered how
busy someone could actually be that they wouldnt stop to glance around at all the fascinating
people around them or to drink a cup of tea. And, for the first time in my entire life, I felt utterly
out of place.
Hurry beta, my Mother called out to me as she too joined the ants in their speedy
marches around the airport.
It was easy to distinguish her from everyone around us as she had wore a pink and gold
salwar kameez. We had spent days shopping in the bazaars of Lahore to find such a gorgeous
suit, and then even more hours haggling with the seller for an affordable price. But, as I looked at
her now with the light glinting off her embroidered suit in the dull surroundings of brown button-
ups and black pants, I was sure it was worth it.
Im coming, Ammi, I replied as I hurried to keep up with her fast pace.
Quickly, my Mother and I picked up our luggage and again scurried like ants to the
airport exit in order to find my Aunt. At first, she was unrecognizable to me in her dark blue
jeans and her striped t-shirt, but after seeing a tear slip out of my Mothers eyes as she embraces
her, I was sure this had to be her sister.
And, how do you like America? Aunty Khalida asked me.
I like the air conditioning, I replied honestly, causing my Mother and Aunty Khalida to
roar with laughter.
 As we left the airport and entered Aunty Khalidas shiny, red Toyota Camry, I again
struggled to keep up with their fast pace. Her car was just like the ones Id seen on television,
and nothing like the shaky rickshas my Mother and I were used to using daily. Even this small
car was blessed with the miracle of air conditioning, leaving me completely dry under the hot,
Virginia sun.
In comparison to my house in the middle of Punjab, Aunty Khalidas was less in just
about every aspect - less rooms, less crowded, less noisy, less neighbors, less smiles, less
everything. I was used to waking up at the sound of my Grandmother's hen, and making chai for
all the aunts, uncles, and cousins that lived alongside us. But here, there was just four of us,
Aunty Khalida, Mazhar uncle, her husband, my Mother, and I. In this small, two bedroom house,
I was surprised to feel so far away instead of cramped. As the three adults sat down at the tan
wood table, excitedly discussing our long trip, I yet again found myself feeling alone.
When I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt utterly and completely ridiculous. Instead of
the beautiful turquoise suit one of my cousins has gifted me, my Mother had instead forced me
into a pink shirt with a strange drawing of a girl named Dora and uncomfortable blue jeans. The
pants were tight around my waist and the shirt as not nearly as soft as my cotton clothes from
home.
I look stupid, I complained to my Mother, frustrated that she couldnt see how out of
place I felt.
You look great, Jannat, she replied, as she was already consumed in finding her own
clothes to wear.
Everyone will make fun of me, I cried again.
My mother stopped her furious search to gently hold my face in her hands. She gave me
one of her kind smiles and rubbed her thumb across my cheek.
Himmat honi chahiye, Jaan, she said tenderly, you should have strength, love.
These words echoed in my mind as I courageously took the first steps into my classroom.
To no surprise at this point, I was again met with the blowing of an air conditioning unit. I
looked around to find everyone seated in a circle on the dark blue, carpeted floor of the room.
Just like me, they were all wearing pants and shirts, typical American costumes; however, only a
few of them shared the white skin Id often seen with these outfits on my television.
Oh, hello, the woman who I assumed to be the teacher said, and all eyes quickly
gravitated towards me.
Class, this is our new student, Jannat, she explained, Im Miss Lisa.
Her words were spoken so fluently, like poetry slipping off the tongue. She had no hard
accent like mine. Rather, her English was impeccable like the actors and actresses Id once
watched in movies. I was sure someone who spoke so nicely had to have been a celebrity, and in
instantly, I was overwhelmed. I gave her a tight-lipped smile in response, and she invited me to
join the circle. Upon hearing my classmates speak, I was mesmerized by their effortless
speaking. They didnt have to pause to translate a word, and no accent littered their smooth
English. With all these faces, smiling and laughing around me, I again felt alone.
 Dont be scared, the boy next to me whispered in my ear.
I whipped my head to the side, seeing that I was being observed by a classmate. He was
wearing a green shirt adorned with turtle cartoons and light brown shorts. His face looked like
that of my little cousin, with an animated glint in his eyes two, uneven dimples indenting his
cheeks. Although his skin was almost as dark as mine, he still seemed like he belonged.
It gets easier, he promised, noticing my anxiety, Im _______. Looking upon his
welcoming face and genuine smile, for once, I did not feel alone.
 II
I had never seen so many strangers in my entire life. There seemed to be millions of
business suits bustling about the airport as my mother was collecting the only suitcase she had
brought from home. My dad unfolded his map of New York City and began searching the
directions to his friends house; we were supposed to share an apartment until my parents could
settle down and find some work. The three of us gathered our belongings as we stepped out into
the bitter January air.
I had always fantasized about America, but my first glimpse of this land as I left the JFK
Memorial airport completely stunned me. There was a blanket of white that seemed to have been
draped over the entire city. I bent down and picked up a handful of this abundant ice, I was
surprised to find it stung my fingers so I quickly shook it off.
Is this snow? I looked at my mother with wonder.
Yes, now put on this scarf before you get sick she replied.
She wrapped the spider man scarf I had picked out for myself and took my hand as the
three of us walked along the busy city sidewalk. I cranked my neck back as I tried to see the top
of the massive skyscrapers. I wondered which one Spiderman lived in, and I felt a certain safety
knowing that he lived in this city too.
The apartment in which we stayed in was small. There was a living room and two
bedrooms, my fathers friend slept in one room, my parents in the other, and I slept on the couch.
There was a TV in the room, but all of the cartoons were in English so instead I occupied myself
with toy cars. My first day of school was tomorrow and I was anxiously excited. I had trouble
sleeping that night, but I awoke the following morning brimming with energy. Out of habit, I ran
to brush my teeth, get dressed, and wait for my mother as she got finished with her daily routine.
 How far is the bakery from here? I said in spanish, I had been thinking all morning
about the delicious pastries and caf con leche we were about to have; I have routinely had this
for breakfast for as long as I could remember.
Theres no bakery here, Gaston my mother said with a hint of nostalgia
She proceeded to go into the kitchen and help my dad prepare an American breakfast.
They thought that this would help me assimilate into the culture for my first day of school, but it
only made me miss the old bakery that was next to my old home. I was so shocked to discover
that bacon, a food previously only used for dinner, could also be eaten for breakfast. The strange
combination of this meat with eggs made my stomach upset, so my first day of school was off to
a bad start.
I walked into my classroom and was met with gazing eyes from every single other
student.
Alright class Id like to introduce our new student, Gaston the teacher said
I attempted to reproduce the word hello as I had rehearsed on the car ride there, but all
that came out was a feeble heh-lou. I quietly walked over to an empty chair in the class and sat
down. After about five minutes the kids gathered and sat around the teacher as she pulled out a
book. I sat with the other kids but felt completely lost as to what was going on. The teacher
would speak out but all I could understand from her gibberish were the few words of English my
mom and I had practiced on the plane ride here. As she was speaking some complicated phrase, I
noticed the teacher said snow followed by the word man. I giggled to myself at the thought
of a man made out of snow, it sounded like he would be an evil villain in a spider-man comic.
It was now time for recess, but since I didnt have any friends or any way to
communicate and make friends, I stayed at the arts and crafts table and began to draw. A small
girl with light up shoes and a ponytail sat down across from me and began to draw too. She said
something to me, but I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders in confusion. The girl
resumed her drawing and I looked over the table to see what she was making. She had drawn
three circles in a row with the top circle having a face, a hat, and a carrot nose. I was confused as
to what she was making, so I used one of the words in my miniscule English vocabulary to try to
communicate.
What. This? I said as I pointed to the girls picture.
Its a snowman she responded
Snowman! I shouted in excitement. I had heard the teacher correctly and was able to
piece the words together, I was extremely proud of myself. I was intrigued by this girls rendition
of snowman. He looked less villainous and more friendly than anticipated, nevertheless I was
still excited about being able decode the teachers gibberish.
Months went on at my new school. I slowly started to piece words together and by April I
was able to form basic sentences in English. As I began to speak better and more effectively, I
was able to make more friends and finally join the other kids for recess. By the time summer
came, I was well liked by both my teachers and classmates.
 It is now the first day of my second year of school in America. Miss Lisa, our teacher,
introduces a new classmate.
Class this is our new student, Jannat she said as the quiet little girl waved and scurried
over to the open seat next to me. We were having a class discussion about what we did over the
summer, but Jannat didnt speak at all. I looked over to the seat and saw her frantic eyes dart
across the room. She had the exact same look I had a year before, the look of not knowing, not
understanding, not belonging.
Dont be scared I whispered into her ear
She looked strangely at me at first, but I gave her a warm smile that let her know I
understood her feelings right now.
It gets easier, Im Gaston I said