Searching for the dream:Page 15
Bhumika Ghimire
March 06, 2006
Flying away
Daughter card which had never failed, was unable to achieve goal this time. My father would not hear anything, I exhausted my speech in women’s right but he won’t budge. Then I tried something new, hunger strike. For food addict like me it was terribly hard, my mom made all the dishes I was crazy about to make me step down. Things got worse when I started have dreams of food, like me eating a hot dinner with rice, dal (lentils), and curry with cilantro. I was about to give up when my mom forced dad to say yes. I guess she felt that since she never had the chance to go out and live life the way she wanted her daughter should have that.
Two weeks after I graduated from college, I applied for visa at the US embassy. My interview was a month after, so I had enough time to go shopping, meet all the relatives and enjoy Kathmandu’s pollution, mountain view and politics. But things did not go as planned. I had to do all the shopping by myself because anyone who could give me sensible advice was too busy to help. I took myself to shopping which turned out to be disaster. All I bought was Nepali music CDs, postcards of mountains and some religious texts. Mom was too busy to check and dad did not want to be part of my foreign mission, so I left Nepal with two suitcases full of CDs, postcards, novels, my coin collection, three jeans and five t-shirts.
Meeting with relatives was no less disaster. Some said that I am disgrace to the family as being a girl I am going to live alone in a foreign land. Then there were some who said I will forever be single as no family would like to have me as a daughter-in law. You want to hear the winner? Someone very close said that the only reason I am going to America is to make boy friends and enjoy my life.
Well, I took it all with a smile. They didn’t matter because I had the ticket to my dream, I got what I wanted. Any criticism, any bad mouthing did not affect me because I was on a high. High with joy and excitement. Confident that when I return home I will be a big name, hotshot, I left Nepal with a broad smile. Leaving home, leaving the comfort of parental care and protection meant nothing to me. All I saw and thought of was the moment when I will get my dream.
On 12 Jan,2004 I left home, to start a new life.
Daughter card which had never failed, was unable to achieve goal this time. My father would not hear anything, I exhausted my speech in women’s right but he won’t budge. Then I tried something new, hunger strike. For food addict like me it was terribly hard, my mom made all the dishes I was crazy about to make me step down. Things got worse when I started have dreams of food, like me eating a hot dinner with rice, dal (lentils), and curry with cilantro. I was about to give up when my mom forced dad to say yes. I guess she felt that since she never had the chance to go out and live life the way she wanted her daughter should have that.
Two weeks after I graduated from college, I applied for visa at the US embassy. My interview was a month after, so I had enough time to go shopping, meet all the relatives and enjoy Kathmandu’s pollution, mountain view and politics. But things did not go as planned. I had to do all the shopping by myself because anyone who could give me sensible advice was too busy to help. I took myself to shopping which turned out to be disaster. All I bought was Nepali music CDs, postcards of mountains and some religious texts. Mom was too busy to check and dad did not want to be part of my foreign mission, so I left Nepal with two suitcases full of CDs, postcards, novels, my coin collection, three jeans and five t-shirts.
Meeting with relatives was no less disaster. Some said that I am disgrace to the family as being a girl I am going to live alone in a foreign land. Then there were some who said I will forever be single as no family would like to have me as a daughter-in law. You want to hear the winner? Someone very close said that the only reason I am going to America is to make boy friends and enjoy my life.
Well, I took it all with a smile. They didn’t matter because I had the ticket to my dream, I got what I wanted. Any criticism, any bad mouthing did not affect me because I was on a high. High with joy and excitement. Confident that when I return home I will be a big name, hotshot, I left Nepal with a broad smile. Leaving home, leaving the comfort of parental care and protection meant nothing to me. All I saw and thought of was the moment when I will get my dream.
On 12 Jan,2004 I left home, to start a new life.
Print
Email
