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I Have Arrived- Part II
I have an advantage knowing the little English that I do, they say that Ellis Island is hard to get through and most people must wait months. This tiring journey, a month in the Island anything is better than my life back in Delhi. Working for a wealthy British family who didn’t even pay, I would have done anything to get here. Though, this boat ride, is only the beginning of my new life here. -
I Have Arrived- Part I
The horizon looks beautiful. I, Rishika Kulkarni, stayed up to watch the sun rise. I can see the Statue of Liberty. The welcoming lady is as huge and beautiful the people said. I`m lucky to have found a family who could pretend that I was their daughter since they weren’t letting women cross over alone. They were kind enough not to ask for money but I insisted. I still have a few hundred rupees that I will trade for money once I get to New York. -
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Life in America
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Getting Adjusted
My new home is small and acute but it is enough. I made it through Ellis Island but it took a long month. I traded and sold everything I could. I also found work in New York while the family I came here with escaped to New Jersey. People have begun talk of four- story tall buildings. It is unimaginable- such tall giants. Going to work everyday also makes me giddy with joy. I`m paid $1 every week! Who could imagine so much money? -
Being Different and Meeting a Man
It`s hard in America because no one`s looks like me. I feel alone, but it`s not the same loneliness that I felt back in India, Here, I still have the ladies from the factory to “mingle” with. But above all, it is the man that makes me feel better. He works in the in the factory as well. After work yesterday, he approached me and we must have conversed for a good 20 minutes. I admit that my English was not good at all compared to his, but he was such a gentleman! He never even acknowledged it! -
A Married Woman On Her Way West- Part II
Unfortunately though, the wagon cleaned out our wallets and we have been eating less and less for days. I can tell Richard is feeling sicker and sicker so I usually leave more of the food for him, I too, feel light headed at times. It doesn’t matter though, anything to get to the West. -
A Married Woman on Her Way West- Part I
I married him- the man. In fact, the moment I laid eyes on him I knew that he was the one. His name is Richard, a German with a dream of owning and land living happy. We have been married for over a year now. A few short weeks ago we heard about the Homestead Act- free land! I could not believe it and we had no discussion what so ever about moving, we packed our bags, bought a wagon and headed West with the rest of the pioneers. -
We Are Here
I kept awake in the wagon to see the sunrise as I did the first time I came America. It rose and painted the plains and the hills a magnificent gold. They roll on and on and I know in my gut, somewhere on those hills lies our land. We are going to sell the wagon and buy another horse with that money once we can. We will make it, I know. -
Our Dream Came True- Part I
I and Richard found it! We found our land, claimed it and built upon it. Our children play in the nearby stream that flows through all day in the spring and summer time. All I remember going back to the race was gunshots. The terrifying gunshots that rang out. One even hit Richard in the arm but he had me to nurse him back to health. Those first few weeks were absolutely terrible. We slept on the cold, hard ground but soon when Richard was strong enough I went and found work. -
Our Dream Came True- Part II
A week later, he convinced me that he could work and easily found a promising job. It has been exactly 20 years since I moved to this country and made the hardest and most important decision of my life. I am still Indian on the inside, but I am not that scared 20 year old girl, I am happy and eternally grateful.
