Perspectives

I thought for my first post on this blog I would share my history. Where I grew up and my experiences play a key part in my perception of the world. I moved to the US about 3 years ago; I grew up in a Dhaka the capitol of Bangladesh, sharing all its culture, character and pollution with 7 million people within 117 square miles. So the move to Snellville, Georgia was quite daunting with her identical houses, manicured lawns, cars sticking to the street lanes and complete and utter lack of NOISE. I mean no cars honking, no rickshaw bells jingling, no street venders ‘advertising’ their products, no sound of construction work going on in the neighborhood, no kids in the street playing cricket, yelling ‘howzaat’, no local gangster blasting the new cool tunes, or gossiping maids exchanging stories of their employer’s scandalous endeavors or analyzing the new plot twists of the latest Hindi soap operas. These are the sounds that encompass my childhood, and like a lot of other things I had to leave them behind in my expedition west. 

Do I miss them?

Absolutely.

Did I complain about them while I was living there?

Everyday. I guess I like most other immigrants I have create a romanticized version of my hometown in my head, of ‘the good old days’,  of all the sights, scenes, sounds and smells. The vision which I’m sure will be wholly shattered the moment I step out of the airport, when I go back for a visit.

 
So Snellville my new hometown is a prototype American suburb, and I am here to say that immigrants are an integral part of it. This blog will be partly a narrative of the immigrant experience in the 21st century.