Many people’s fantasy is to travel around the world, getting to know new places they love, that they have seen on the internet or postal cards. Living in a different country that is not your home country is part of that wild and crazy imagination. I must admit that I am one of those dreamer minds that at some point in my life envisioned this happening as part of my goals in life.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself, I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, I am part of a small family that means the world to me—now you may wonder how did you get to the United States? Unfortunately for me, I had to leave my home country because of the bad economic situation that Venezuela is going through right now, but that is another story that I will tell you later.

Emigrating from Venezuela is one of the hardest things I have had to do, and though I am sure that I am not the only one that is going through this situation, whether it is voluntarily or forced, it is still a hard experience to be put through.

By moving to a new country your life style does an 180-degree turn for which you are not prepared, or maybe you are, but you don’t see how hard is going to smack you until it does. When I was back home I had a very good lifestyle that I got used to: having a car, credit cards, the financial support of your parents, your friends close to you and all the amities you are accustomed to totally change the second you get to a new country.

When I was finally here, I did not have the financial support that I was familiar with, nor any credit cards to help me with the financial situation because it is a completely different currency (that I had to learn as well) and I had to find a job to help my parents with the economic burden that a move to this country implies.

What struck me the most about moving to a new country was not having a car. Living in Dallas, Texas, it is almost necessary to have a car to move around since Dallas is a very large city and it is crucial to have a method of transportation that can take you where you need to go. I must admit that the buses and trains were my biggest allies when I had to move around but it doesn’t mean they were the most trustworthy transportation in Dallas.

Getting to know new people is one of the perks of being new in a place, it is exciting and out of your comfort zone considering they don’t speak the same language as you. Having new friends not only from the US but from all over the world is a changing experience since you get to know new cultures through them and vice versa. My experience was hard but was bearable and with the help of my family and friends I was able to move forward to build a life that I know is much better than the one I would have right know if I had stayed in Venezuela. Many things in my life changed by moving to the United States. A lot of them where bad, but I also gained countless amazing experiences that are going to be memories for the rest of my life.