Angel+Calisay

**__ Coming To The Land Of Unity And Peace __** It was my first time ever on a plane. We, as in my grandma and I, were both heading to Alabama so that I could be with my mom again after about two years of being away from her. As hard as it may be, I had to get adjusted to a new country, a new environment, a new life; a life without all of my friends from the Philippines. For years and years I would have to live without my adapted family: my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. There was absolutely no turning back when I boarded that plane. In front of me was a new adventure. I could restart my life and make my mistakes right. “All passengers heading for Birmingham, Alabama on the 10 o’ clock Philippine Airlines flight please get ready to board,” a flight attendant informed us as she spoke clearly on the intercom, warning all boarding passengers.

 I barely knew how to speak English because Tagalog is my first language, so my grandma had to tell me what to do and where to go. As usual I just followed without saying a word hoping that I would approach my new home soon. Just like everybody else who has been in my position, I was very anxious to see what adventures and obstacles I would face as each year passes me by. For the whole two day flight, I was deep in thought thinking about all of those things.

 Those two days flew by quickly. Before I knew it, the pilot was announcing our flight over the intercom just as he had at the Ninoy Aquino Airport several days before. “All passengers please buckle your seatbelts; we should land In Atlanta, Georgia in about 3 hours. Hold on and enjoy the rest of the flight,” he sounded slightly more tired than he had before. Since I still had about 3 hours until the plane landed, I continued skimming through movie titles. This was finally it. I vowed to be the best I can be. Even though I had to leave all of the people that I knew behind in the Philippines, I still thought that it was worth the sacrifice to be with my mom. “We have landed at the Atlanta, Georgia International Airport,” the pilot’s voice was different this time. “Please stand up and claim your carry on’s in a calm and orderly manner.” I got up and so did my grandma. We claimed our luggage as we were told and we waited outside for my mom. We waited out back for my mom’s magenta/ plum Toyota XB. As she pulled up I started getting anxious to see how she has changed. The second that she parked she quickly got out of the car and greeted me with a hug and a present. I remember being so jittery and ecstatic when I saw her that I almost tripped on the curb. She took both my grandma and me to the nearest grocery to our apartment to let me pick out several snacks and food staples for our first day in the United States. It was so much different than where I had previously lived. There it was busy. Streets filled and vendors out and about, but in Birmingham it was quiet and peaceful. There was a scarce in people there. I knew that I would have an easy time adjusting to my new life and luckily I was right. My next door neighbor and best friend Alyssa helped me a tremendous amount in fitting in. Soon I was the everybody’s best friend. One day I would love to go back there to see how all of my friends turned out. Every now and then I still check up on them but our friendships are put to test with the distance. **__ My First Day Of Fifth Grade __** It was two weeks after the school year had started and I was the only real foreigner there. Racquel, my cousin has always been like a sister to me. Ever since I was young I’ve been way too competitive with her so I tried to stay low on the attention grabbing radar. For once I thought more about her than myself. I felt so lucky to have her as a best friend because she introduced me to everyone she knew at school which was pretty much everyone since she was really popular and it was a really small private school. Her sister, Rochelle who is now in college was very supportive also. She introduced me to her high school classmates back when she was studying in Saint Peter Academy with Racquel and me. At the beginning of the day I felt very shy because I hated being the new kid that used to live in America and that started school about 3 weeks late but, as the day went by, I started to feel like I was fitting in. I saw many recognizable faces there. It turns out that about eight of my cousins were enrolled in that same school. Most of my fifth grade classmates turned out to be forgotten friends that I had known since kindergarten. I was delighted to hear that they still remembered me after four or five years of being in another continent located halfway across the world. Some of them even told me stories about my childhood that even I did not remember such as the time that our first grade class was locked out of our classroom and I gathered all of my strength to kick the door down (and I succeeded.) One of my best friends from kindergarten to first grade was L.A., our abbreviation for Angelo Leyva (and then switched.) When I saw him again on my first day, I immediately remembered the S.P.A. parade where he accompanied me for part of the event. I also remember Ryan Simon Tatlongmaria who was slightly mean to me for a short period of time back then for who knows what. Another classmate that I remembered on my first day was Reanna Ismael. She was competitive and knowledgeable. Later on in the school year she kept on spreading rumors/ nicknames about me just because I got higher grades than her in Math and English class. One time she even took out her phone and took a picture of me and my seatmate, Lyn, looking at a picture in my summative notebook after a test and showed the teacher while accusing us of copying and cheating. Luckily, our teacher believed Lyn and me more (Lyn and I really didn’t cheat but we were looking at an illustration that my cousin drew,) but Lyn and I weren’t allowed to sit next to each other during summative tests anymore. She was kind of my enemy starting that first day when before we were close friends. Filipino, Hekasi, and E.P.P. were the only subjects that I had difficulty with. Math, Science, Music, Physical Education, Art, and of course English class were all easy and a breeze for me even on that first day. My teachers for the subjects where Tagalog is being spoken were very strict but generous and they let me speak in Tag-lish for the rest of the day. Tag-lish is a word that the people in the Philippines say when a person is half Tagalog and half English in a sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">When school ended and it was time to go home, I said goodbye to my teachers and newly found friends and acquaintances. Before Racquel, Rochelle, and I went home, we each treated ourselves with a cone of mystery flavored, frozen ice cream that we bought about 4 blocks away from our house. After finishing the delicious treat, we went home. The first thing I saw as I laid my eyes on our front gate was my mom anxiously waiting for me to tell her how my whole day went like a typical mother would do after a long day out in the sun waiting for the three of us to return home. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Overall, my day was hectic yet easy and happy yet hard. If I had the chance to relive that day all over again, I wouldn’t take the opportunity because that day was a day lived well. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**//__ The End. The new beginning __//** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">This was it. We were about to go our separate ways. It was the last day of school and probably the last day that I was ever going to see my newly found friends because about a month from this day, I would be on my way to Edison, NJ to continue my studies as a middle schooler. I remember wearing a denim skirt with a typical blouse and sparkly red 2 inch heels. Not only was it a day to celebrate because it was the last day of school but, it was also a day to mourn because of my upcoming migration to eastern border of The United States of America to a small, densely populated area named after a famous inventor, Thomas Edison.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> As much as I loved the thought of coming back Edison, NJ, there was a part of me that was being pulled back by the trust and secrets that has been thrusted upon me by all of the people that I was about to leave and abandon.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> “Hey, Angel! You in la.la.land?,” my best friend, Angelica rhetorically questioned me.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> “No! Why? Are you?,” I sarcastically retorted. To my amazement, she didn’t bother to even respond. “Wow! I’ve never heard you that quiet. Never,” I laughed the awkwardness off.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> “Hahahaha,” the sarcasm in her voice was nowhere to be found. //I wondered if she really did think I was funny//. Suddenly I grabbed her and squeezed the life out of her I my so called gentle hug.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> I pulled away in tears hoping that memories about me would be echoing through the hallways the second that I came back. Never have I ever felt this attached to a school, a place that I should be ecstatic to leave. It was as if I was a worm and a big scary hawk would come to me to take me away from my family and the people that I have grown to love.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> Tears cascaded down my sensitive, sunburnt cheek. After saying my goodbyes to all those I was about to leave, I looked back at the school one last time and clumsily bumping into my previous 6th grader crush.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> “Heard that you have a crush on me,” he calmly informed me of the information that he had just gained.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> I wondered if he could see me blush. “What makes you think that? Ugh…..you’re so conceited so don’t even bother responding,” I rushed home after that afraid to look back.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> I thought about how hard it would be for me to adapt once more and how difficult it would be to leave this simple life that I had grown accustomed to. When I look back on this day, I will see it not as a sad ending but one that marks a new and exciting beginning.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> Author’s Note:

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">From The Philippines to Birmingham, Alabama and from there to New Jersey then back to The Philippines. My family even has plans on moving to California soon. I’ve been moving around ever since I was seven years old so i have gotten quite used to adapting to everything. From the weather to the school and to the attractions and friends. Out of all of the places that I have gone to, I still find my move from The Philippines to Alabama and back because I had to learn and master a new language in a short amount of time. Every time I move I just think positive and anticipate what will happen in the future because I know that it’s not where you are but its who you’re with.