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123. Is there a historical event that impacted your family or community growing up, and how did it change things for them? (06/16/2023)

It’s when we first came to America in August 2013. We had packed most of our things and went on a 14 hour flight from Hong Kong to LAX. We were all excited about living in America but we were also scared of what to expect.

America was a lot different than what I had in mind. Most of the streets were empty except for the homeless people and the cars driving by. This was supposed to be “the Land of Opportunity” where all dreams came true but I was seeing something else. Nothing seemed super fancy. I was told to never walk alone, especially at night. That’s when I realized that we “outsiders” only saw one side of America: the Hollywood movie scenes, the large corporations with rich CEOs, and your average American family in their house with a green lawn in front. When you get to America, you notice all the shadier aspects of America as well.

It was tough for all of us to adjust initially. Our family of 4 moved into our uncle’s family of 4. 8 people were living in an apartment of 2 bedrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 restroom, and 1 living room. Biggyn, mom, and dad would sleep in the living room couch. I would sleep in the same bed with Joel Dai. Ela Didi, aunt, and uncle would sleep in the other bedroom. It was tough for my mom and dad because my mom’s best friend was in Hong Kong and we had many relatives there. In Los Angeles, we just had our uncle’s family. Biggyn was almost 2 years old. I just finished 7th grade and I didn’t have any friends or close relatives in Hong Kong so it wasn’t a big loss. I was relieved that everyone here spoke English so I didn’t have to learn Chinese.

As time went on, we all adjusted slowly to the U.S. Outside, we were Americans, but at home we tried to continue or Nepali culture by speaking Nepali, watching Nepali movies, and eating Nepali food.