Goodbye Romania
Daniela was living in a small town in Romania known as Făgăraș. She lived with her two parents Elena and George in a house near the middle of town. She made a name for herself under the typical small town circumstances. During her free time she practiced judo and actually traveled all around Europe to compete. She got her black belt and even became an international and national champion. After suffering from a serious injury she had to decide if she was willing to undergo surgery just to play the sport again or move on to other things in life. She decided to go to college and study accounting. Little did Daniela know there were bigger plans in store.
When Daniela found out about the visa lottery going on in her town, she got to work immediately. It all started as a joke, since everyone dreamed of leaving their small town life and traveling to the infamous United States. She encouraged all of her friends to apply, she even filled out most of their paperwork hoping that one of them could get this incredible opportunity. Nobody thought much of it because what were the chances one of them might get selected. Little to none, so they thought.
The moment she found out she had been the lucky winner she realized that she hadn’t really thought this through, especially because out of all her friends she was the only one that won. She was not sure she was ready to do this life altering change by herself. Daniela still had one more step to complete in the visa lottery process. The interview. The purpose of the interview was to review her file to ensure she had the proper education requirements, and do an overall background/medical check. Once she passed all the requirements she was legally allowed to leave Romania and come to the United States.
Daniela was nineteen at the time. Her parents did not want their only child to leave at such a young age, but how could she pass up this amazing opportunity. After a great deal of convincing, Daniela made the bold choice to leave all of her friends, family, and the life she had become so accustomed with behind. Her parents agreed to let her move to Chicago IL, where her uncle lived.
Daniela bought her plane ticket and flew to Chicago IL from Romania. This had been her first time ever on a plane, she was nineteen and by herself. She could barely communicate with anyone on the plane which resulted in her feeling on edge the entire plane ride. Once she arrived in Chicago she lived with her uncle’s family. She began taking english classes and got a job. Even though she had grown up learning english at school, she quickly realized she struggled to understand and communicate with people in the United States.
During the time she was still learning english she experienced a culture shock due to the language barrier. She went from having many friends and a social life she valued, to only being able to speak with her uncle’s family and other Romanians. Daniela says the hardest part of the whole immigration process was dealing with homesickness and a language barrier.
Daniela’s story is just one of the many immigration stories that depicts the difficult immigration process. Leaving your entire life behind in hopes of creating a better future for yourself is extremely difficult, especially if you have to do it alone. It takes great courage and determination. Daniela currently lives in California with her husband and two children. She works as a realtor and finds that she fulfilled her duties of making a better life for herself all thanks to the her lottery visa opportunity.
