Lewiston, Maine, U.S.A. – I never thought I would even visit America, the land of freedom, opportunities and the country that every other country just dreams of being like. It’s the country that people dream of seeing.
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Living in America for a year has just made me fall in love with this place. The history and beauty of Boston, the culture and excitement of New York and even the beauty of the seasons changing here in Maine.
I moved from Israel to Lewiston, Maine for a year, and now I can say I’m absolutely in love with the United States.
It’s hard not to be, really.
Coming to America
I remember landing and seeing the flag, the red and white stripes, the stars. I felt like I finally made it, the land of dreams and of dreamers. An actual American flag, like the ones I used to see in movies, like the ones I never thought I would actually see in real life.
Our reason for moving was my sister. At the time, she was 13, and her biggest dream was to move and learn abroad. She searched for jobs for my dad, got onto mailing lists, and for almost a year, all she did was look for jobs.
She learned exactly what my father does, learned how to search for the exact type of job needed, and in the end, found a job for my dad to teach at Bates College in Lewiston. My dad said he would try to apply to make her happy, and after about a week, he got a message saying that he got in and that he could start work in a month.
In a month, we managed to pack our suitcases, move things out of our house, find a family to live in our house for a year, buy flight tickets and say our goodbyes.
And off we went.
I never thought of myself as one of those people who would leave everything and go to America for a while. My best friend in elementary school moved to the United States in the third grade for three years and decided to stay. Another friend of mine moved two years ago.
Some of my friends and family members were afraid that we might love America so much that we would never want to leave.
At first, it was scary. I used to be one of the best kids in my class in English, and I love writing in English, but until coming to Maine, I used to avoid speaking English.
I thought my English was too bad for me to speak the language. In Maine, people are just naturally kind, so there is no way not to talk to them. Slowly, my confidence was built, and now I talk freely in English, sometimes even with my family by mistake.
When we got to the lovely house next to Bates College, I was amazed. After living my whole life in an apartment, we got to this two-floor house with a yard.
The house was supposed to be empty, but thanks to the kindness of two strangers that my parents talked to online, we had mattresses to sleep on, a table in the dining room, utensils and plates to eat with, and much more.
If it weren’t for them, we would’ve slept on the floor on the first night.
What I love about America
Two things that impressed me about the American people were their kindness and their love for their country. People in Maine compliment strangers about small things, so casually that I started doing that, too.
Every small compliment that I gave or got made my day, and Americans think that it’s normal. It’s also an amazing way to make friends.
Americans, even if sometimes they won’t admit it, will do anything for their country. They’re obsessed with the sports teams and every movie or show that’s American. Sometimes even so much that they won’t watch any movie or show that isn’t made in the U.S.
What I love the most about Maine are the seasons.
The author took photos of the same view throughout the year to show the changing seasons. (Noga Segal/YJI)
Every season has its own beauty. The fall is my favorite, with the trees coloring the state in orange, red and brown, making it look magical.
Winter makes everywhere look like a white desert, which was incredible for me to see, coming from a snowless country. The spring is very muddy, but then the flowers come out in all the colors.
Summer is the best season for the Maine people, since it’s cold most of the year and we can finally go to the beach and to the lakes.
School
I used to watch a lot of movies about American high schools. I thought that school dances, pep rallies, senior events – and don’t let me start talking about yellow school buses – only existed in movies.
But the school I went to, Lewiston High School, was straight from the movies.
At school, I met the most friends I ever had, and they are all the sweetest and kindest people I’ve ever met.
Before moving here, I used to be a shy girl with not a lot of friends, but the people here have made me more confident to form friendships and talk to new people.
Most of my friends are immigrants, which caused me to ask some of them how they even got to America. Most of the stories I can’t share, but the stories that I wrote as part of this project have made me emotional, realizing how lucky I am to be in America.
America was built by dreamers, people who dreamed of this land, so hearing the stories of people who dreamed of America and are so grateful to be here, for me, is as worthy as reading a piece of history. It’s history happening right now.
My friends and other immigrants – future doctors and professors – are people who will make the future better for us. And we, as a society, need to protect those people.
Noga Segal is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Israel who spent a year living in Lewiston, Maine.
Read more from the YJI series American Reflections: Young voices on an old promise by clicking on the logo below:
