My First Day in America

(In my last post, I talked about writing down my stories of God's faithful love. Here is the first one from my old journal.)

In China, I watched many American movies of robbery, fighting, murder, etc. Most scary, people are allowed to have guns. So, when I told my mother that I wanted to study in America, she was worried about me.

Nevertheless, I boarded on the plane to America on August 12, 1999. My destination was Abilene. When I arrived at Dallas, it was already 11:00 in the evening. I decided to stay for a night. So, I went to claim my luggage - a huge suitcase with everything in it. It was so heavy that I had to wait until a lady in the uniform came over. She grasped the carry handle, took a deep breath and yelled “Err”. “KATA” - The handle was broken. The luggage dropped to the floor heavily. Fortunately, I still had a puller handle. This airport (DFW) was quite different from the ones in China. The passengers had to call the taxi to be picked up (instead of just waving at the taxi drivers at the airport gates). I dragged the heavy suitcase to the paid phones next to the luggage claim area, above which there were some numbers of taxis and hotels. I suddenly realized that I didn’t have any coin to make a call.

I stood there wondering what to do next. “Hi, my name is Stephen, I came back from the business trip. Can I help you?” I turned my back and saw a young man with a close shaved head wearing a flabby T-shirt. I hesitated for a second and thought: Shall I trust him? … Well, I don’t know anyone anyway. So I told him it was my first day in America and I was looking for a hotel. He looked up those numbers on the wall, and checked the prices. After I picked one hotel, he said “I can drive you to the hotel if you don’t mind.” I looked at him again and said OK. It was one of my first conversations in English. We went through the revolving door and took the shuttle bus to another terminal (I would be lost if I was alone). His car was on the third floor. So we had to climb three stairs. The suitcase was so big for me. I dragged it this way, and it went that way. I was embarrassed. He couldn’t help laughing, “Let’s exchange our baggage.” He held my big suitcase in his arms and moved inch by inch while I pulled his carry-on suitcase. We finally reached his car, all in wet.

“Where are you going?” “ACU in Abilene.” “Did you call the school?” “No, I got the card of the person who works in the international office, but now it is too late to call …” “Oh, no, not late at all. Give me the card.’ I gave him the card. He called the teacher and told him there was a Chinese girl in Dallas. She was going to take a gray hound (which I told him - I was so used to take the buses in China) to Abilene tomorrow. Please arrange someone to pick her up. I was so grateful. We arrived at the hotel exhausted. He ran into the store nearby and bought two bottles of milk shake. I heard that American is serious about money. So I gave him 20 dollars for the driving. He refused, “Please take it back. Let’s save it until you get a job.”

After checking into the hotel room, he showed me where the hot water was, how to change TV channels, etc. I knew all of these, but still listened. Then, he found a piece of paper and wrote: Here’s what you are going to do tomorrow, 7:00 am get up; 7:30 have breakfast and check out; 8:15 take a taxi to the gray hound station. Here’s my number in case needed xxx.

It was almost 1:00 in the morning. He hugged me good night and smiled “Don’t cry on your first day in America, I know it is hard.” Just before he closed the door, he turned back: “One more thing. Tomorrow, change your shirt for Jeans and change your shoes for the running shoes. Your teacher won’t mind what you are wearing. Oh! Remember, I don’t know what it is in China, but here, don’t take a ride from a stranger ... Of course, today is an exception! And don’t go out at night by yourself. OK?” I held back my tears and nodded.

I was so moved that I couldn’t fall into asleep long after he left. What a nice guy! And what a wonderful day! I couldn’t wait to tell my mom what had happened. The next day, as soon as I got an email account, I told all my friends about my first day in America – the adventurous, touching, and unforgettable day. I met an angel!

The morale of this story is: when we are in an unfamiliar environment, remember that God is watching over us, protecting us; even when we don’t know it. Trust him!“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)