Life Challenges Blog 2

 Life Challenges 

On my first international flight from Nepal to Chicago, I had to transfer in Qatar, and I was hungry when I got off the plane. I did not know how to order food, but I had to order something to eat. When I tried to order food, I had a problem because my English was bad. When I think about that time, it was scary, but now I laugh about it. Living and adjusting to new culture far from my home country in a foreign land has been hard. When I arrived in Chicago, many things surprised me, I had a culture shock. But, at the same time, I was also excited about my new life in Chicago. 

                  When I came to Chicago, I did not know many things, such as the unfamiliar culture, traditions, languages, and food. The United States is a country with people from all around the world. I used to think Nepal had many cultures and traditions, but when I came to the United States, I noticed that people celebrate many holidays. One of my favorite holidays is Christmas because it brings families together. People celebrate it every December 25th. Obviously, Nepalese people do not celebrate Christmas. One thing I also like about Christmas is the lights. I went to Lincoln Park Zoo to see the lights on December 24th before Christmas. Everything in the zoo was decorated with lights including trees. Another holiday that I like is St Patrick’s Day, which is celebrated on March 17. Last year, I was at work that day, and all my coworkers had to wore green T-shirts. Customers also wore green, and their faces and hair were painted green. When I finished work that day, on my way home, I crossed the bridge and saw the river turn green there were people enjoying it, taking pictures. The river was green for up to three days. I enjoyed these two holidays, in the United States, and learned how people celebrated them.

However, there are still many things that I struggle with such as, dealing with health insurance. Nepal does not have distinct structure for health insurance, and people can visit hospitals anytime without insurance or an appointment because it affordable. In the United States, people need insurance. Without insurance, medical bills are unreasonably high. Recently, my sister was not feeling well, so we went to the Cook County Hospital for her health check-up. We consulted with the doctor for five to ten minutes and then returned home. A week later, we got our medical bill. I almost had a heart attack, when I opened it because it was so expensive. Another difficulty is that in Nepal, people do not have to worry about credit scores or bank statements when applying for a room or an apartment. In the United States, it is challenging to find an apartment. In my experience, my family has struggled find a room or apartment. There was a time, when a landlord agreed to rent out the house, However, over the time, he denied the agreement because we do not have good credit scores or bank statements. Landlord wanted proof of our financial capability. At the time, I was having many stressors in addition to that. It has been very tough to adjust to life in the United States because of all these problems I have encountered. 

In conclusion, learning about a new culture and trying to fit in can be challenging, especially when someone is far from their homeland, I am from Nepal which is a beautiful country and I miss it dearly. It is hard to adjust to the unfamiliar environment, culture, and customs. In addition, I was thinking about my future in the United States and of becoming an independent woman. In Nepal, people, especially women, are dependent on other, so it will not be easy to adapt to life in the United State, but I am trying to adjust. I know that to make my future bright, I must stay in the United States and work hard. I have learned that anything worth having in life takes time and effort. Life is full of challenges, and it is up to us to face them and solve them. I have learned that from my life.