First impressions in America

Ben and I have been talking about whether or not I should start a blog. We got to America a couple of months ago. At first, I did not really know how to start a blog because I did not have that much experience in America. Then, after meeting new people, going to new places, I just have more feelings about being in America, so I decided to start my own blog named: Photastic USA! Through my blog, I would like to share my thoughts and feelings about America as a new immigrant.

Let me start with my first impressions upon landing in America. Coming form Vietnam where the traffic is scary for most foreigners, I was really amazed by how clean and organized all the roads are in America. In Vietnam, I am a master at driving a motorbike on the road where all kinds of vehicles can go on every part of the road, even on the side walk. When we drove to New Jersey to Ben's parents' house, I was really surprised by the greenness of Livingston. There are a lot of tall trees and green grass everywhere, which we mostly can see in National Parks in Vietnam. I could not believe that this is a town! I even told Ben that this is like being in a “resort”. In my head, America is really a beautiful country. Actually, the word America is translated into Vietnamese in two ways: Mỹ (Beautiful) or Hoa Kỳ(Country of flags and flower). When we went to Wildwood Crest one month ago, I saw that everywhere in the suburbs is green. The cleanliness of the beach is also one of the new experience for me. I am always sad about how dirty most of the beaches in Vietnam are. I think we Vietnamese need to learn many things to keep our beaches clean such as having garbage cans and bathroom stands along the beach. Moreover, the beauty of America is very different from each place I’ve been to. I love Santa Monica, California which is a gorgeous beach city for me. I loved riding bicycles along the beach, enjoying the ocean breeze and sun. I also loved hiking in California where I saw the colorful "horizon"...but which everyone said is really the smog of the city.

(We were welcome by Ben's parents at the Airport)

I want to talk about my second impression about people here. This is the first country that I feel not being as a “foreigner”. My family in Vietnam had been asking me how do people look at me in America: Do they look at me like an alien? Do they look down at me when I said I am from a poor and developing country? Do they think that I am dumb when I have to ask them for the second time if I don’t understand them at the first time? And my answer for those questions is no, because every one is different from each other here. All the people that I met are very friendly and nice people. Especially my in-laws family, they are so warmly welcome me to their home. They do everything to make me feel like I am being home. If you go to my parents-in-law’s house, you will feel like you are seeing a Vietnamese house with a lot of Vietnamese stuff: water puppets, Vietnamese hat and paintings. Then all of Ben’s friends and family members are so nice to me. They all want me to try a lot of American food and traditions. I have had my first hamburgers and hot dogs on the first day I stayed in America, I have had my first food truck experience  in LA, I have had my first French toast for breakfast. I just feel so lucky to have such great friends and family when I move to a new country.