Coming to America

The first thing I noticed

when I came to America

was strangers with strange faces and strange shades,
golden blonde hair, almond brown skin, and olive green eyes,

not the pervasive yellow tone I was used to seeing in China.

Here, new colors darted out from every corner,

new faces shaping their mouth in a different manner,

uttering words that sounded like fables.

The first thing I noticed

when I came to California

was the gentleness of the air

it did not stick onto your skin,

or melt your body like wax on a candle.

Where I lived in Guangzhou,

the sun boiled the streets dry and seared through your body

if you dared to step outside.

The city was trapped inside of a furnace,

 so air conditioning droned on twenty-four seven 

in every building, including malls.

Even though we may also shop Nike and Uniqlo,

eat in food courts or go to the movie theater,

malls took on another purpose entirely as well.

Every time I left my apartment in China

and walked on the city streets,

I’d always saunter through the airy hallway of the mall 

regardless of where I was headed,

relishing in the cool air 

before exiting and confronting the heat again.

In Guangzhou, air weighed heavy on the skin,

like a sweater you had to wear because the zipper was stuck,

but in California I could finally break free from it.  

Still,

even though the streets were cooler,

and the air more tender,

I noticed that air conditioning continued to pervade the malls

as more of a convenience than a necessity.

The first thing I noticed

as soon as I came to Mountain View

was the absence of noise.

No cars honking and phones ringing from every direction,

no salesmen on the sidewalk running and shouting,

no tall buildings constantly looming over where you’re standing.

The first thing I knew

when I moved to America

was that I was leaving behind my entire life,

relatives and friends, sky-high apartment buildings, and constant traffic noise,

and moving to a place that I had only seen in my mind.

Although I’d enjoyed the newfound peace,

I will miss the boisterous energy of my childhood home.