About Those First Few Months As An Immigrant

If you don’t understand how it is, it’s just because you can’t. And that’s okay too.

Photo by Nitish Meena on Unsplash

Once people find out that you are not from ‘here’ — wherever ‘here’ is for you — there are a few ways they react. The most pleasurable reaction starts with curiosity, increased interest, and a barrage of questions that leave you feeling wanted.

It’s almost like that first conversation with a crush.

She actually is interested in me! She wants to know what I do when I’m not in school. He loves books too!

If you are an introvert — like me — with time, you get better at it. You frame your story more, you manage the suspense better, you anticipate questions. The more time you spend and experience ‘here’, you have more data points to compare ‘here’ and ‘there’.

For me, ‘here’ is the United States of America. ‘There’ is Cameroon — where I was born and raised for the past 28 years. I moved to join my fiancee, got married three months ago. We’ve applied for permanent residency and I enjoy high-speed internet, food, and the affection of my in-laws and my wife’s 12 years of experience and relationships living ‘here’.

But this is not about the great parts of my immigrant experience. This may come off as mildly…