My First Day in America

I came to America in 1999.
I came to America in 1999. One of my best friends finished her music degree in America and wrote to me and invited me to come over to America to jointly give a concert. I had just composed a few songs which required a higher level of skills to sing. So I was just looking for someone who could sing them. This friend of mine happened to be an excellent soprano with that level skill and therefore was just the right person I was looking for. So I accepted her invitation without hesitation. Then I applied for the visa and waited at home for it. It didn’t take a long time before the visa came. So I packed up my things, music scores and luggage, and came to America.

When I arrived at JFK, my friend picked me up from the airport. On our way to her home, she took me to a Chinese restaurant for a welcome dinner. We parked the car on the street. Before we entered the restaurant, I asked my friend whether I should take my luggage with me since my life was in that little bag – My passport and money. She said I didn’t need to since we could lock all the car doors and it was pretty safe to leave my luggage in the car.

The dinner was nice, but what we found out after dinner was shocking. When we finished dinner and went back to my friend’s car, we found that the car doors were open and my luggage was all gone. When I say all, I mean the most important things including my passport and visa, return ticket, ID and money. Everything. Oh my God! What am I going do? What am I going to do? Without the visa, I can’t stay in America. Without a passport, I can’t even go back to China! I felt this was like a heavy blow on my head. It totally knocked me out.

Why? Why me? I wanted to cry. I felt dizzy. But fear soon took over me. My friend was also shocked, but she didn’t panic since she had been in America for a few years already. Then we calmed down ourselves and decided to look for the local police station for help. We finally found the police station, filed a theft report. The police officer was very friendly and patient. He told us not to worry, but to go home to wait since that was the best they could do. “We will try our best to catch the bad guys and find your things for you. But we cannot guarantee,” he said. “Some bad guys are cunning, you know. So just be careful and take good care of yourself.”

My friend and I felt a little relieved when we left the police station. We had no idea that something worse was going to happen to us later.

As the old saying goes, “Misfortune never goes alone.” When we finally got to my friend’s home where I was going to stay during my visit, we found the house was in total darkness and all the lights were out. What happened? My friend wondered. Power-cut again? But neighbors’ lights were all on. We looked around. The street was empty without a single person. The neighborhood was quiet. So quiet that we got a little scared. We felt that something was going to happen. “Let’s get inside as soon as possible.” My friend told me. So I followed her and probed in the darkness up the stairs, took out her key from her pocket, and was just going to open door when we heard “Bang! Bang!” two loud gunshots. Oh my God, my God! My friend and I both screamed. My friend quickly opened the door, we both entered the room and closed the door behind us and secured it with all the three locks. We were both panting, and collapsed onto the sofa. We cuddled together that night until the daybreak of the next morning.

So this was my first day in America, scary and unforgettable.