Time flies!! Today I celebrate my 11 year anniversary of moving to the USA. I still remember how nervous I was when I was going to the US Embassy for my interview to grant me a conditional green card to come over to this country. I had to face that interview all by myself because my ex-husband had to come back after we got married to work and couldn´t go back to Argentina for the interview. I had jumped all the hoops and felt so powerless against all the bureaucracy but this man who was interviewing me made me feel like home. He spoke Spanish and I spoke English. We both show respect to each other and he understood how stressful the whole process was. I was told my papers would be ready in three days so I bought my ticket and even though at that time I was suffering from pneumonia and the doctor said I should not travel, I still got on that plane with my magic envelope (yes, remember the magic envelope I mentioned a few blogs ago, the one that took me straight to the immigrations office when I landed in Miami to have my fingerprints done and legally enter the USA).
There was nothing that would stop me from coming to this country. I was sure I wanted to live here and the power of love was moving me as I had only spent two weeks with my new husband and we had been separated for a couple of months while the paperwork was being processed. Young love moves mountains!
Looking back, it was not an easy road! I had to work in the Dollar Tree to make a living even thought I spoke two languages, had a college degree and I was more than capable. Then I spent two years working in the daycare facility of a popular hotel here in California because I felt comfortable around children who would not judge my accent or my shyness. I went from job to job until I found the one I am currently on. I went to university here to earn yet another degree to be able to have better chances in this country. As I said, it was not an easy road but each challenge presented opportunities to grow and learn new things. It´s easier to survive when you know you have your family by your side and if something goes wrong, you can run to your parents home and be safe. It´s also easier when you are in familiar territory and the traditions and culture are the same. People may not understand you. You may feel lonely and homesick. You may miss the food, the language, the people but in the end you get used to it. Once you get there, you start seeing the beauty of this world where there are opportunities for those who work hard and it is definitely the land of the free.
Today, I find myself in my own home looking at all I have accomplished in these 11 years. How much different I am from that girl that landed in Miami scared but filled with hope for a brighter future with the man she loved. Today, I can say I am grateful for the journey and there would be nothing I would change or do differently because each and every experience has made me who I am today. I am forever grateful to my ex-husband for bringing me to this country and showing me a country that I learned to love and today I call my home. Last year, I was faced with the choice of staying or going back to Argentina, and I chose to stay in this land. I am a citizen of the world like my father. Today my home is California, tomorrow who knows. All I know is that I am forever grateful for having the opportunity to live in California and I am looking forward to the lessons the years to come will bring. I am blessed!
Many blessings,
Carolina Amalia Amor
Presiding Priestess of Circulo de Isis
www.circulodeisis.org
Member of the Archdruid Union
https://sites.google.com/site/fellowshipofisiscentral/fellowship-of-isis-foundation-union-triad---archdruid-union
Founder of Tienda Roja
https://www.facebook.com/groups/441201419296609/
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