Maya (Italy, Age 14): English 312

Calabria, Italy near the sea, with historical monument and  the scent of the sea, gastronomical specialities. The thing that I like of my country is that is near the sea, and I like when I go to sit on the beach and I feel the smell of the sea, I love the summer and I think that in Calabria is the best summer, I like when rain and when finish then there is a particular smell of the wet ground. In my country there is so much tourism especially in the holidays.The capital city is Catanzaro, the climate is always warm but in winter a little bit cold. My culture is different like the Easter is more different than here because we go in mountain with all my family and there we bring a lot of meat and we cook it on barbecue, we have fun like we go to walk on the mountain and we play.  I love my country; especially because there are all the memories of when I was a little girl like the funny thing that me and my sister did like the mission that I did with her in the night for steal the candy from the table in living room and also the thing that I did with my best friend and sometimes for do it we didn't do the homework, but I came here in New York because in Italy there is not much work so my father came here three years ago before me, my sister and my mom. My family is composed by four person. My mom has green eyes, she is average height, she work every day she is 40 years old and she is beautiful while my father is tall he has green eyes too , he is 52 years old and he doesn't have a white hair and he work every day too for the all family,  my sister she has brown eyes, she come in my same school she is skinny and sometimes we fight but for no reason, she is tall like my father and she is 17 years old and then there is me. My name is Maya, I’m 14 years old, my birthday is in November and I come from Calabria, Italy but now I am in New York. Now I want to tell my story.

The first time that I came here was four years ago in December but only one month for vacation, then two years ago I came for summer for three months but my sister and I didn’t like so much because there weren’t our friend and we didn’t know english so we cannot talk to no one, too with our cousins. When we returned in Italy we started again the school and I had to study so much that year, learn everything about all the subject with my mind and I had to learn everything because that year I had the state exams, and they made you to go in High School.The school in Italy it's a little bit difficult because you have to learn too many things from the book and with your mind,  the teacher are very strict and they think that they know how to teach and if you don't do the homework they give to you a "0". Summer 2014 was the best summer ever because I was with my friend, my cousins, everyone and I had fun. I was with my friend all the time and we decided to do a flash mob in my country and in the others, in short we had so much fun but a lot of work to do with the dance and we called this summer 2014 (OUR SUMMER). During the first flash mob I was so excited but at the same time so nervous because there were all around me and my friend a lot of people, we did the flash mob outside near the sea and you could smell the sea and you could hear the music so loud.  Then my father and my mother did a decision, it was that, we had to go in America. I was so sad. Meantime the school was started and me and my sister did only four days because the 19 September 2014 was the day decisive. Then is arrived September 18 the day first the departure, the evening all of my friend came to say goodbye to me, my sister and my mom, they brought an album of photos with all the picture of the summer, and that night before they were leaving all of us cried, we did  a lot of picture before that they were leaving at the same time we were crying. The next day September 19 were going to the airport but I do not wanted to leave because there were my grandfather, grandmother and all my cousins and I didn’t want to cry in front of them because I know if I would have cried they were crying with me. Next  I took the the car and we started to go to the airport. We took one hour to arrive, when we arrived in the airport  it was so big with place where you can eat, I ate a croissant with nutella and it was so good, I felt so sad and tired and there you could hear voices of many people , then we had to take the airplane and before to go inside the plane with my aunt, my cousin we cried all the time and a lot,  because we didn’t want to leave. With my mom and my sister then we took the plane and it took nine hours and was very boring if were not for the movies. The plan was very big, I taste the food but I didn’t like so I ate chips and drank coke and water, I smell the food and it was so bad and disgusting , I felt nervous because when the plane has taken off I  was scared but then everything is past and you could hear the engine of the plane and people talking and kids yelling and crying.  When we arrived in New York my father was waiting for us and then when I saw him I jumped on him for the happiness. New York was another world from how I remember it. As soon I immediately went to my aunt’s house and we did a surprise to her because she knew that we were going one week later, then we put the bags on her house  and we went to eat pizza from L&B. In pizzeria you could smell pizza, french fries and what it smell like in a pizzeria, I hear people talking on the phone, and I taste pizza and Coke. Was a great day with hot sun, in short was perfect. After I started to go out from my house in New York and I was happy, first I didn’t talk to no one because I was shy and unhappy that my family there were not here but then I take courage. After one week I started to go in my new school . In my first day I was so scared and I was thinking that was a big jail from outside, after I went inside I saw the police and they took my phone and I wanted to cry because without my phone I was lost. I was so scared to go in the class because I didn’t know my classmates and when I came inside the class everyone were looking at me and the boys were saying “ Oh, a italian girl,”I didn’t even talk with Angelina even if she was talked my same languages. Then after one month me and my parent were looking for a new house; next we found it and we leave my aunt’s house but after three months because were in construction, when we moved, the new house in the first time was strange for me, when I woke up the first time you could smell the paint, everything were in one room and that house for two weeks was messy, from my new house I can see the school and I take only three minutes to came every morning. Now my house is comfortable because I have everything near me. Now I am happy in the school and in the new house, even if I want that all my family that is in Italy came here . With the school now it’s everything good too because I have a lot of friend in the all school and that is my immigration story then I will see.