* I think I have lost a lot of objects in my life. A scarf, a necklace, an earring . . . I accidentally dropped them somewhere and never found them again. Every time I lose something it simply hurts at first, but later, an odd image comes to my mind: an octopus nestling in a yellow bucket …
Tag: New York Public Library
Where I Am From: Bosnia and Herzegovina
On my immigration journey, the most common question people ask me out of curiosity is: “Where are you from?” Such a long name for such a small country, I say to myself every time someone asks me that question. I was raised in one part of the geographical location of the former Yugoslavia that some people named Bosnia and Herzegovina, or BiH. A long name, indeed, for a country with a population of less than half of New York City’s.
Reflections on 2020: Our Six-Word Memoirs
Six feet apart from my shoes.
—Ashly Cabral Arno
Eating to live; oops, the opposite!
—Vanina Bousquet
A bad time for lipstick lovers.
—Francis Almonte
Lady Liberty’s Delusion
I am American,
Yet I was born and raised in France.
I came from overseas.
I traveled back and forth many times
Until I was complete.
A long journey.
I Was a Dog Lover and I Didn’t Know It
Yes, I’m a dog lover, and I didn’t know it. I had to fly 5,295 miles (8,521 kilometers) to find it out.
I have a small Havanese, and he probably processes English better than me, at least in a more natural way. He was born here, his previous family welcomed him in English, and for his first months of life, he heard English.
Sincerely, from the Future
Dear Past Self,
Let me tell you about the excitement I felt when I looked down at the extravagant city lights from an airplane window on the day I arrived in New York. I was all by myself and felt relieved after the nerve-racking immigration inspection in Minneapolis and catching my connecting flight to LaGuardia. I broke into a smile once I saw that my husband had come to pick me up. I could hardly speak English at that time, so I have no idea how I got through everything.
My Uncle’s Story
Have you heard the word “kamikaze”? In Japanese, this word means “the wind of god.” In older times, Japanese people believed that the wind of god would suddenly blow in and help us when we needed it. But kamikaze is more well-known as the name of a Japanese special-attack unit in the closing stages of World War II. The kamikaze pilots flew suicide attacks against the enemy’s naval vessels. My uncle, Misao, volunteered for this unit when he was just 16 years old.
A Precious Gift
I was born in Sogamoso, nicknamed “City of the Sun,” based on the Colombian indigenous Muisca people’s tradition of adoring their sun god, Sué.
“Toi et Moi” with Love and Hope
It was on a radiant afternoon in the summer of 2003 that my grandmother offered me her engagement ring because she knew I was getting married. We were sitting together on the terrace of our family’s house, perched in the Corsican mountains, silently admiring the view of our valley. Some rare clouds were casting moving shadows over the forest, while in the distance, the Mediterranean Sea was glittering in the sun.
One House, Many Tenants
In that house, that big house of yellow sandstone with iron balconies on that crooked and black-lava road, the road that seemed to walk on the slopes of the volcano and on which every door looked like a crater, my grandparents lived. My great-grandparents had lived there, their parents had lived there, and so on, out of the time of this story.
No One Like You
One of my favorite songs is “No One Like You” by the famous Nigerian boy band P-Square. This song was a hit in my country, Ivory Coast, in 2007 and 2008. Listening to it now transports me right back to my teenage years. It transports me back to my fears and my hopes: finding the perfect love, finding my way, being successful, and making my family proud of me.
Farewell, Ms. Mystery Lady
This is a sad story, and it might leave a hole in my heart forever. I’ll call her A. We had been working at the same company headquarters in China for five years. However, we never got to know each other and were both transferred to New York City. During the first five months I worked here, we were nothing but coworkers.
Dear Friend
Dear Friend,
I am finally writing to you from New York. I had wanted to do it for a long time, but as you can imagine, one always looks for a moment propitious to the heart and to the imagination these days, when everything is marked by trains, by new appointments, or more simply by the search for food.
Like Father, Like Daughter—An American Dream
Bacon and eggs. Pancakes and maple syrup. Those were the very first English words I learned as a child. I was probably about six years old. But aromas are so powerful in bringing back memories that I still can smell the salty aroma of bacon when waking up on Sunday mornings, as well as taste …
Surprises in New York
When I started to live in this city,/ There were lots of trash and rats on the subway rails./ I was surprised by New York!/ And when I tried to call on a subway platform,/ there was no phone signal on the platform (or in the subway)./ I was surprised by New York!