Coming to America Look Book Project Issue 16 Home Page

The Unforgettable Early Days Nguyet-Hong Nguyen from Vietnam Photo: Andreas Bauer However, when I arrived at Los Angeles Airport, everything I saw was very strange to me. What a big, luxurious city with lots of buildings and people! Two years ago, my family and I were in Vietnam. Knowing that we were going to leave Vietnam and settle in the United States, we prepared everything for our life in the new country. I had books about living in the United States. However, when I arrived at Los Angeles Airport, everything I saw was very strange to me. What a big, luxurious city with lots of buildings and people! My sister-in-law who sponsored my whole family introduced us saying, "This is Los Angeles, one of the biggest cities of California." On the way home in the car, my sister-in-law's husband took us on the freeway 101, then 605 and finally on the freeway number 10. I was really surprised and shocked about the freeway system in Los Angeles. I was sure that nowhere else in the world there is a modern and great freeway system like this. I was scared when I saw the amount of cars on the freeways. I felt worried about their speed. I wondered, "What would I do and how would I get a job, etc. if I couldn't drive a car in this city?" I felt embarrassed and upset. My husband and my sister-in-law encouraged me a lot. After one month, when we had finished all the paperwork for the family, my husband and I decided to take a driving course. My driving teacher was American, young and very active. She was the first American I made contact and talked to in the United States. I was impressed by her. She was very nice and patient. She taught me how to drive, showed and explained to me the rules of driving. In the beginning, I nearly caused an accident. However, Mrs. Leslie (my driving teacher) didn't get angry. She gave me many experiences. Sadly, I failed my first driving test, but I was not discouraged and practiced again. In the end, I got my driver's license. Step by step, I gained confidence. I realized that if I did pay attention and followed the traffic rules exactly, driving a car was not as difficult as I had thought. Now, I can drive to the college to learn English and computer keyboarding. After all of this happened, I felt plenty of gratitude for my teacher. In conclusion, I think we can do everything if we put in enough effort. This story was selected from Julia Karet's ESL writing project at Chaffey Community College: The Look Book Project More stories about coming to America: My Arrival in the U.S. | My First English Words | Trying to Immigrate My Most Difficult Experience | Coming to America (1) | New Horizons | Coming to America (2) | Coming to Study in the U.S. | War in My Country Return to: Coming to America | Issue 16 | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2007 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics .mag@gmail.com