Portland I

To-Do List

I remember my mom's first week in Portland as if it was last week. She was feeling very happy to be with my sister and with her husband Adam but she was still extremely sad because of my grandmother. However, as my mom does she never likes to stay still. She put herself the goal to complete a list of stuff that my sister had her due, like takeout a credit card, getting her driver's license, and her social security number. My mom has never liked showing weakness in front of my sister and she has always respected my sister's time. That is why I remember just how much she had to do in her first week in America because I was the designated assistant for my mom that weak, I helped her study for her driver's license test, understand which bank was better for the needs that she had and understand the paperwork that needed to show to get her social security number. It was a lot but it was all worth it when I saw her smiling ear to ear after getting her driver's license. If someone can move to a new country and master it in a week, it has to be my mom.

"It’s crazy today, I’m writing this, and I just remembered four months ago I arrived. Four months WOW.

It was 3 am, and I had to take a flight for my USA embassy appointment, but I felt a deep long pain. I felt it in my stomach, was feeling nauseous and I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t know what was happening, one of my friends said it was as if the universe was cutting the umbilical cord that deeply connected me with my mom. Probably, it was her telling me” Go, be happy”. Originally, I was going to Bogota on the 17th and coming back on the 18th after the USA embassy visa appointment, but everything changed. I didn’t know what to do. Isa made all the changes, and my brothers told me they would wait for me. I flew on the 17th had my fingerprints taken and came back to Cali to be with my family and friends. Later that day, I flew again to Bogota to meet my daughter. We both arrived at the same time. Sadness, emptiness, and speechlessness were the feelings we both felt during our flights. We couldn't believe it; my mother was not coming back, and it was supposed to be the best week for the three of us. The next day, I went to the interview, I handled all my papers and waited until they called me. Isa was at the airport trying to get another flight earlier, they were waiting for us to be at the cemetery. I was nervous, I thought something had happened, “They haven't called me, if they don’t call me in the next 10 minutes I will go there and tell them that I have to leave to bury my mother”. Thankfully the next person they called was me. So, I approached, and I was told to raise my hand and swear. They told me that all the papers were perfect and that they would start the interview. She said, “You have been many times in the USA,” I said yes but my voice was weak like I was going to cry, so I told her “Please excuse me If I cry or my voice breaks my mother just died and I have to come back to bury her “. The lady was really confused. She started to look at her computer and said, “Your residence was accepted please wait while I finish this, and You can go”. I couldn't believe it, and I cried. She looked at me and said two more minutes please “. I ran to find the exit. The driver was waiting for me to take to the airport.

So…. Portland welcomed me with its typical weather, cold and rainy after a 12-hour flight, my daughter organized an informal family dinner that helped me a lot to make me feel safe and happy. I was in automatic mode. She made a To-do list for me to become a US citizen. A To-do list that I didn’t know of, I didn’t understand, a list that I just started the second day I arrived. My daughter was very busy so she couldn’t help me with it. She was busy, believe me. I admire her so much, she has become a very special, intelligent, and mature woman I feel very proud of her. So, I had to do what I had to do. I didn’t know how and what to do, so I tried to follow her instructions. I went through the list, and to be honest, at the beginning, I felt that I could do it easily. I said to myself “I did this all the time in Cali; I can do this”. Whatttt, no way !!! This is not my city, and I wasn’t me at this time so I couldn’t do it. Like, I always say “My angels will rescue me “, and yes, they did.

 

“IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD, GO HOME AND LOVE YOUR FAMILY”"