I’ve had some pretty scary things happen in my life, and most was never as tramatic as being taken from my people, my language, my culture and my place I called home. The emotional drain it takes on your soul and senses is hard for me to explain. However, it seems to be what was needed for me to be where I am today.

Fear is an understament when it comes to experiencing it. The shock slowlly hit me when I landed in America. The trip was tough enough on me too say the least. The new sounds, voices, the nuance of everything. It was almost to much if it wasn’t for my sumisiveness to what life has handed me from the beginning. It was more of a “Sink or swim” mentally I’ve always carry. I can sink if I want too let the fear beat me, or choose to fight and swim through it.

We landed in Mineapolis Minesota, I remember like it was yesterday how a boy about my age walked up to me and attemped to talk with me, because i had a Rubics Cube. He was dressed in strange clothes to me ( because we had a dress code in the orphanage) he walked diffrent, he was smilling like he didn’t have a care in the world. At first i did’t expect him to stop in front of me. I heard an adult motion to what seemed like a call for the child to get back.

He approaced me with a smile, at first i was taken back due to me having a wet diaper on and I knew he could smell it, but he didn’t seem to care. I smilled back as he apporaced me and then he began to try to communicate with me. The language was weird, I first thought he was having a problem speaking as he spoke i tried to connect the words and just couldn’t. He added some motions to the words pointing at my toy.

Again the moment was interupted by the adults motioning for the child to come back.

as i tried to process what was happening the little boy reached out and took my toy. with a smile. I didn’t feel threaten of worried if its one thing I know is Rubix cubes ae very popular in Brasil. I’ve seen it many times, sometimes just hanging from the celling in fairs for anyone to use and touch it.

he began to move it around and as quickly as he began he matched all the colors blue, red yellow, white. just like that he handed the cube to me waved and left. and that was my first contact..

I still remeber that day it was excitment along with anxiety. I connected with this new world but it was still very strange and scary.

As I walked down a hallway to an holding area for what seemed like second, we were taken to meet our new caretakers. Each of us had a family, none of us spoke their language. I was given a speaking spell and they were given a portuguese to english dictionary.with my new family I headed to a new place called Des Moines Iowa, where there my new life began.