Dear Diary,

I can not believe it! I have been here (here as in America) for almost half of my life now. On February 21st, 2009, my family and I traveled 4,661 miles from the Netherlands to live in America. It was a trip that I will never regret taking. I have learned so much about myself and the world while being here. I have experienced so many things that I would not have been able to in Europe. I still remember the first time I stepped out of the plane and my father saying, “Welcome to America!”. After hearing those words, I was excited yet nervous at the same time. I had never moved in the Netherlands and I had no intentions of leaving. On our former trips, my family and I always traveled around Europe, Africa, and Asia. We would be gone for a few weeks or days and went came right back to the Netherlands. However, this time it was different. This time there was no exact date for our departure back to Europe. My mother told me we were only going to be away for 2 years and not a day longer. 8 years later and we are still in America with no plans of returning to our life in Holland. The thing that frightened me the most was that I was a little 6-year-old girl with blonde pigtails who had no idea where she was or what was going to happen. Luckily, I had my parents and sisters there to guide me. In many ways, moving to America has brought my family closer and made me realize how important it is to have a support. With them, by my side, it only took a few weeks, instead of months, for me to start adapting to my new life as an all Dutch girl living in America.

As much as the move was the best thing that has happened to me today, in 2009 it felt like a nightmare. I had to leave my family and friends behind and start fresh in a country I had only just heard of. The biggest problem that kept me up at night was learning the new language. I had been surrounded by so many different languages on my travels but never had to truly learn it. In the November of 2008, my parents started putting us in English lessons to prepare us for the move. The problem was, at the time I did not take the lessons seriously. I had no idea why I was learning a foreign or strange language. I regret not focusing because it would have lessened the anxiety and frustration that build up inside me when people were trying to speak English to me. I could only say “yes”, “no”, and “six”, which did not get me very far. At school, it felt like my classmates were always judging and staring me. Luckily, I made one friend who was my friend for a very long time. Just like in the movies, I was the sad new kid who sat all alone at lunch with everyone else staring at her. Jenna was the only person who sat next to me. After she did, many of my classmates started to see me as one of them. Even though I was the tall and blonde Dutch girl who could not speak, people saw that I was at school for the same reason as them, to learn. I had not spoken one word at school for at least 5 months until I was no longer only known as the “new girl” and more of a friend. The sudden increase of friendships motivated me to learn English so I could talk to them. Ever since that day, I improved more and more every day. I was talking and dreaming in English within a few months. I made several new friends, most who I am still friends with today. I also began to enjoy being in America, so much that I cried my heart out when the 2 years of my father’s work contract were coming to an end. I did not want to leave. I wanted to stay here forever. Luckily, my parents had the desire to stay as much as I did. Therefore, my father practically begged to extend his contract for a few more years. He came home that day excited to share with his anxious family that they would not be leaving anytime soon. I have never been as happy as I was when I heard those words come out of my father’s mouth. I was no longer nervous or scared. I wanted nothing more than to stay in America.

Looking back, I do not regret leaving Europe. Yes, I do miss being close to family and friends I grew up with; however, my move to America has opened a whole new world for me. I have a lot more options for my future now that I would not have been able to have if I stayed in the Netherlands. The education that I am able to receive now is beyond the knowledge I would be getting in my old school. I have a drive to do well in school because I know that my parents worked very hard to get me where I am today. In 10 years, or more, who know where I will be. What places I will visit. What job I will have. What country I will be living in and the people who I will encounter. All in all, I am most curious to see what type of person I will be. What I know right is that all the accomplishments that I have made or will make in the near future will be the result of moving to America.

Love,
Anne-Fleur