Hi! My name is Jack. When I was only six years old, my family moved to a new country. We moved from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to Raliegh, North Carolina, USA. It has been an interesting experience in my life.

The reason why I had to move to the USA was because of my dad's work. We moved to Raliegh, North Carolina, so my dad can work for the Carolina Hurricanes. Yes, I was really really excited, but also really really sad because I was leaving my home, my country and my friends and family. I was excited for my dad and what he was going to do.

I thought about the USA and I thought that the people in Raliegh would speak a different language. I also thought that the land would be like a desert and so I was afraid of what I didn't know. There were many things I wasn't sure about, like what my neighborhood would be like, my school, friends...what would I do??

When I got on the airplane, I was crying like a baby because at that point, I knew that I was not going to be able to see my friends and family. I slept most of the way and when I woke up, I looked out my window and saw that the USA looked the same as Canada, except there were more trees here than where we lived!

There were a lot of new things to get used to. We moved into a new home which was different from out other one and has some new rooms that we didn't have before. We don't have a basement in our home, though, and I miss not having my own room.

My brother, sister, and I all went to a new school. It was scary on my first day because it was a lot bigger than my old one. My school day was very long compared to my other school and we never got recess time outside after lunch. I had to stay at school from lunch instead of being able to walk home for lunch. It took a long time to get used to my new schoool, but my teachers really helped me.

I think the biggest change I find since moving here is the weather, In Canada, our summers are beautiful but not as hot and as long as here. The winters I miss because Christmas is not the same without snow and ice! However, I do like that I can play outside with all my new friends all day long. I was never able to ride my bike or rollerblade all year round in Canada like I can now.

My family's first year was a year of many changes. On Chrisms Day, we got new bikes and we were excited to ride them all that day without wearing a winter jacket. Mowing the lawn in the wintertime was odd and is still a strange thing to do. My mom loves that she can plant flowers outside all year long and start a gardent much earlier in the summer, too. However, the first summer was too hot for us. We are used to it now, but found it to be a big change. Going to the beach was a new and first experience, too. My brother , sister and I had never seen the ocean before. We sill find being on the beach a great time.

I like the USA, but I miss my friends and family. I guess I will always be a true Canadian! Moving can be a hard time, but also exciting . Being able to see a different part of the world and being able to live there too can be a lot of fun

Jack
12/02/02