Sorry

My story starts when my country began to have economic problems, my mom recently had a baby and it was very difficult to get food to the baby and her medicines, my mom realized that in Venezuela could not live because for the shortage

One day my mom told me that they had the idea of ​​coming to the United States but, I thought it was just a joke, I never thought we could come to the United States to live and leave our family, especially my grandmother.

Things got worse in Venezuela and my mom and her husband made the decision to leave Venezuela and in November of the year 2015 my stepfather came first to try his luck and see if he had a chance here.

After 2 months my stepfather called my mom and said that we could go to the United States because he already had where to receive us here, I was still skeptical with the idea that I would leave Venezuela, but when I saw that my mother had bought the passages I realized that we would actually move to the United States.

It was very shocking to think that I would leave behind my family, my friends and the town where I grew up, the whole life living there and with the same people and thinking that I would meet new people was scary.

I did not want to say anything to my friends because I knew them since I was in preschool, I could not find a way to tell them. Until one day I could not take it anymore and first I told my best friend and I started to cry my best friend could not believe, He was like a brother to me and it was a very hard moment, I did not want to tell anyone else but my friends realized that we were crying and they approached us and asked us what happened to us, and I had to tell them too, none of my friends could believe it, they all began to hug me and cry, it was a horrible day.

A Saturday 5 days before I went to Caracas (the capital city of Venezuela) to take the plane, my friend calls me and invites me to dinner at a restaurant with my other friends, but it was a trap, they have me a farewell surprise party for me, we arrived at my friend’s house and all my friends were there, it was a very special moment, I felt all the love they had for me

It was a special night because they made me a video reminding me of all the moments that we lived, when the night ended it was very difficult to say goodbye to them, I did not want to do it.

5 days later my mom, my little sister, my grandmother and I traveled to Caracas on a Thursday and arrived at my uncle’s house, most of my family lived in Caracas and we spent all day with them, on Friday night my mom And I was buying some things for the trip and when we arrived at my uncle’s house, my whole family was there, we had a surprise party and we had a pleasant time, I will never forget that day.

At dawn we had everything ready to leave, we said goodbye for the last time our family and my uncle took us to the airport, we waited a while until we had to take the plane, the moment that notify us that our flight was already tackling, We had to go through the door of emigration, my grandmother and my uncle could not accompany us and it was the worst moment because I knew that I had to say goodbye to my grandmother, she is very special in my life, she was my second mom, she was the one that raised me, I lived my whole life with her and only to think that I had to say goodbye it was very difficult and I did not want let her go but we did not have enough time, we had to go through the door and when I returned I did not see them anymore, I felt a big void.

I started to cry and my mom told me to calm down, we got on the plane and it was very scary because it was my first time on a plane, it was a very long trip because we had to stop in Trinidad and Tobago and go through the same procedure, then we arrived To Fort Lauderdale Airport, and my stepfather picked us.

I felt very strange because everything was very new to me, the streets, the buildings, the people, everything, we arrived at the apartment that my stepfather had rented And as soon as we arrived I communicated with my friends and told them my experience on the plane and how everything was and how was everything here.

After 3 weeks it was time to go to school, just thinking about it panicked me, I thought there were no people who spoke Spanish and also I thought I was not going to be well received, all those thoughts went through my mind during those 3 weeks .

The day I had to go to school, I could not sleep that night I was really terrified, my stepfather took me to school and we waited a while in the administration office until the counselor of ESOL (Mrs. Feliciano) arrived, When she arrived she approached us and told me that I had to accompany her and told my stepfather that he had to go that he could not accompany me anymore, at that moment I wanted to cry, I would be alone In that big school, she took me to her office and gave me my schedule, did not understand the schedule very well because it was very different than in my country, then she called someone who spoke Spanish and she gave me a tour of the school and took me to my firts class, I was lucky to be in a class where the majority spoke Spanish, met some people who helped me find my other classes.

The 3 months left in school and in those 3 months I still did not get used to school, I felt very strange, I missed my friends a lot, I still did not feel confident, but then I went to summer school and I learned more English and I became closer to some friends of the school and I not felt so out of place.

When the next school year started, I did not feel so nervous because I already knew how everything was, I had a better school performance, and I knew more friends that I became close.

And now I feel welcome here and I am very grateful to be here because it is a great opportunity to study and to have a great future.