The first time I landed on the John F. Kennedy airport in NYC, I was stunned by the city lights, by the size of the airport itself, by how easier it now seemed to make this trip to the other side of the globe. It was my first flight out of Greece; and I came here with an one-way ticket. A quite shocking experience in many ways.
My experience of my trips to NY - Greece and vice versa is quite positive as I didn't face any kind of trouble at the airport. My flight was delayed when I was coming back from my summer vacation to Greece, but it was kind of normal. Honestly, staying on the air for 10 hours straight is quite exhausting, but I prefer it from the flights that make a stop. When I travelled on November 20th 2015 to come to the USA, my plane made a stop at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul; although I travelled with company (and I will always be grateful for this and for these amazing people in my life), the staff in the Ataturk airport made me (and I suppose more passengers as well) unwelcomed because they pretended they didn't understand English and we were lucky to find our gate just in time. I'm not planning of visiting Istanbul any time soon after this horrible travel experience.
Other than that, living in NY was something to be discovered. In a way, I was looking forward to see how life is, how everything worked here. Coming from a small town like myself, you see the Big Apple in a prism that makes it look magical and unique. I remember myself standing in awe because I was walking around places I've seen on movies and on TV; I was exploring a place that most people dream about but never have the chance to visit. Traveling here for vacation isn't very hard, but requires a budget that most Greeks don't have available at this moment. Also, it isn't very easy to come here and stay. Immigration is another story, for me, coming here wasn't that hard because I am married to a US citizen; but the paperwork though was a whole different process.
Anyway, I am living in NY for a little more than a year. My husband and I, are both working, we are renting a house, we became independent, we have a life of our own. We have our ups and downs as everyone. When I started working, I was stunned that people would ask me where I was from because of my accent. Actually, here, everyone has an accent. NYC is a multicultural place, and Queens is a place full of diversity. I remember one man who was very hostile because I came to his country (but he was an immigrant himself), I stole the job of an American (but I have my social security number and my permanent residency card), and for him, I was like a pariah of some short. I will never forget how embarrassed I felt that moment and how amazed I was because I though that people wouldn't start accusing a person they just met without even knowing that person.
I know that racism is a very strong word; but I felt being in the spot for what I do for a living, for our choice to come to this country, and I felt being attacked for being who I am, so I question: does racism exist in 2016 and 2017? I thought people were more advanced. There are a lot of different people in this world, some people are more open-minded than others, but why would people hate one another? Why would people be hostile to one another? Why would someone choose hatred over love and acceptance? What would anyone win if they kill a smile? We are all creatures roaming on Earth and we are trying to enjoy our lives. Life isn't easy, but we can only try to do our best each and every day. So be kind to one another. Spread smiles, spread positivity, spread love.
All in all, there are always people who make you smile and the others who make you wonder why are they like that. You can't change anyone, but you can change your mindset and stop feeling hurt for their bad behavior. No-one is loved by all the people. Stick around the ones who will make you be all smiles.
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| Landing in JFK, July 28th 2016. |
Other than that, living in NY was something to be discovered. In a way, I was looking forward to see how life is, how everything worked here. Coming from a small town like myself, you see the Big Apple in a prism that makes it look magical and unique. I remember myself standing in awe because I was walking around places I've seen on movies and on TV; I was exploring a place that most people dream about but never have the chance to visit. Traveling here for vacation isn't very hard, but requires a budget that most Greeks don't have available at this moment. Also, it isn't very easy to come here and stay. Immigration is another story, for me, coming here wasn't that hard because I am married to a US citizen; but the paperwork though was a whole different process.
Anyway, I am living in NY for a little more than a year. My husband and I, are both working, we are renting a house, we became independent, we have a life of our own. We have our ups and downs as everyone. When I started working, I was stunned that people would ask me where I was from because of my accent. Actually, here, everyone has an accent. NYC is a multicultural place, and Queens is a place full of diversity. I remember one man who was very hostile because I came to his country (but he was an immigrant himself), I stole the job of an American (but I have my social security number and my permanent residency card), and for him, I was like a pariah of some short. I will never forget how embarrassed I felt that moment and how amazed I was because I though that people wouldn't start accusing a person they just met without even knowing that person.
I know that racism is a very strong word; but I felt being in the spot for what I do for a living, for our choice to come to this country, and I felt being attacked for being who I am, so I question: does racism exist in 2016 and 2017? I thought people were more advanced. There are a lot of different people in this world, some people are more open-minded than others, but why would people hate one another? Why would people be hostile to one another? Why would someone choose hatred over love and acceptance? What would anyone win if they kill a smile? We are all creatures roaming on Earth and we are trying to enjoy our lives. Life isn't easy, but we can only try to do our best each and every day. So be kind to one another. Spread smiles, spread positivity, spread love.
All in all, there are always people who make you smile and the others who make you wonder why are they like that. You can't change anyone, but you can change your mindset and stop feeling hurt for their bad behavior. No-one is loved by all the people. Stick around the ones who will make you be all smiles.
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