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First of all I would like to thank the GFA Diversity Forum who organized this program, invited me and encouraged me to speak in front of this wonderful community. I have never been a good speaker, but how could I refuse when I was asked to be a part of this diverse and culture-mixing program? I will be talking about Nepal and my family’s journey to the United States.
Nepal, the country that I was born in, is a beautiful country. It is the size of Iowa and is shaped like Tennessee, and is located in southern Asia, right in between India and China. Geographically and climate wise, it's a diverse country. It is not entirely cold in Nepal, as some speculation. It is cold in the northern part of the country, which is surrounded by the snow-covered Himalayan Mountains. However, the rest of the country is not that cold. The southern plain region of Nepal, which is called the Terai, is in fact very hot and humid. Nepal in general is a largely agricultural country. My parents, who live in the Terai region, are agricultural people, too. I grew up in their farm and got my early education in my hometown, Chitwan, which is a renowned place for single-horned rhinoceros and jungle safari.
Later on, I went to Kathmandu, the metropolitan capital, to complete my education. After completing my education, I started my career in an oil company and settled in Pokhara with my family. Pokhara is a green and nature-rich city, surrounded with massive green lakes and forest-covered hills. We could see the Himalayan Mountains from our window. Everything was very serene and beautiful about Pokhara. Of course, tourism is very popular in Pokhara. It was there that chances decided to favor me. My friend suggested that I apply for the Diversity Visa with him. Diversity Visa is like a lottery to gain permanent residence in the United States. I wasn’t expecting anything when I filled the form; I just applied for it because my friend was doing the same. I was very surprised when I received a letter from the American Embassy. I was also very confused, and I did not know how to respond to this situation. I mean, I was already settled in Pokhara, and my entire family and my friends lived in Nepal. I had so many ties in Nepal, and the US is so different from Nepal. It would be a completely foreign environment to us. Most importantly, I couldn’t just abandon everything to go live in the US just because of a silly lottery, right?
At first I thought it was a ridiculous idea too. But then I thought about my children’s future. They were very bright kids; and were doing really well in school. I thought about their future. In the US, they would get to dream big, and accomplish big. There was much more opportunities for success in the US for my kids. My wife and I discussed this, and decided that we should use this chance, at least for our kids. Thousands of people apply for the Diversity Visa Program, and my friend, who applies for it every year, still hasn’t gotten a letter yet. So, we felt as if we were chosen for this. We took our chances, went through the procedure and we came to America.
One of my very close friends from childhood helped me to settle in the US. I started to work in a jewelry retailer store in Mississippi with him, where I learned about the job and familiarized with it, which was a totally new profession to me. After residing there for a couple of months, I was offered to work for a jewelry store here in Connecticut. We thought it would be a great idea to move here. Compared to the rural south, there was better education and a wider range of opportunities available here in the north-eastern states. Living in an urban area meant that we would be able to familiarize ourselves with the country even more. After all, we thought it would be a great idea to move to somewhere near the beach, since we had never lived anywhere near the sea.
Settling in Connecticut was a vibrant experience for me and my family. At first my kids went to the local public school here. Surprisingly, it did not take them long to adjust. They caught on to the cultural changes as well as the American-English language. Coming from a more laborious and strict school, they found the schoolwork to be easier than they had anticipated. Their fourth grade teacher recognized this, and suggested us to apply them to a private school. That was when we were introduced to Greens Farms Academy.
My wife and I could not have been happier when we found out that both of our kids had passed the ISEE exam. I will never forget the first meeting with Mrs. Whitney and the day we first visited the school. The GFA community welcomed us warmly, and we were more than glad to join it. Now, everything has been going very well, and we're happy that we are able to fulfill our dream of giving our children a good education. While settling in the U.S., I feel as though I am fortunate that we were able to adapt without as many hardships as we had anticipated, and I'm glad to have made this journey to America.