陳白菊 《 USA, Here We Come 》 美國

        A  Catholic  church  in  Chicago  sponsored  our  family  and  we left for the U.S. in October 1979, after spending six months at the refugee camp.  We stayed at a church and the nuns were so kind to us. My dad and older sisters learned  ESL,  English as a Second Language, at a community college  while  the  younger  ones  started  secondary  school. Life was new and every day was a learning experience for us.  We  loved  walking home from  school  and  reading  the  billboards  while  eating  ice  cream  in  the   coldest  and windiest  days of  Chicago.   Our  favorite  time  was  doing  homework  while  watching cartoons (Tom and Jerry was our favorite!) and the  Chicago  Cubs.  In  the evening,  we gathered  around  the  T.V.  watching  The  Brady  Bunch  and  The  Little  House  on the Prairie. Dad was so happy when he found some Vietnamese friends at the school.  Every weekend,  he’d entertain new friends and treated them as if they  were  his  best  friends. Dad enjoyed his new freedom and the new life in America. Bit by bit,  Dad  was starting to  show  signs  of his former self,  becoming  more  social  and  outgoing.  Life  became normal as everyone was busy learning English and adjusting to new life in America.

陳白菊 (Laura Tran)