Anna Sandrzyk's Journey To America

“They didn 't want me to go but I wanted to,” Anna Sandrzyk says. Anna’s family was terrified of having their only daughter leave home at the young age of eighteen. Life in Europe was simple. There were little towns with miniature shops and farm land that spread across the landscapes of Slovakia like an enormous blanket. That just did not seem to be enough for Anna, she had a passion for traveling. She traveled all over Europe whenever she got the opportunity. France, Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic and Germany were just a few of the countries she visited just before setting her mind on America. America seemed to be on the top of her list. Growing up in Europe, the villagers would describe America in numerous ways. For instance,“America is rich,

Although the trip was life changing, it did not come without a price. “Ohh no way, no, there were so many complications,” Anna repeated.

To begin her broad journey across the Atlantic ocean to America, it seemed there was something wrong with the wing of their aircraft that she was eventually supposed to board in Prague. “ I 'm like, we are going to crash! We are going to crash!” Anna exclaims as she imagined the aircraft that she would be boarding on as soon as its wing was fixed. As she was waiting for her plane to be restored, she was switched to another flight. This caused her a little confusion, but later was content. At least she did not have to deal with the broken winged aircraft! After about an hour, she was told that the wing is fixed and they are ready to board. Hesitant, she finds her way to the plane and carefully gets into it, trying to get her mind off the worry that was flooding her mind. After realizing that the plane was in good shape, Anna got as comfortable as she could in the airplane chair and fell asleep. Finally, she arrives to New York at 10:00 at night. She needed to get to Chicago, but the next flight was in the morning.

Through all the disturbance, brights lights, and traffic, a bus drove past and stopped. She looks at it and seems to have recognized those numbers before. She quickly scrambles in her purse and reaches for the receipt that she was given at the airport. It seemed to have been the same exact number that appeared on the bus. The doors of the bus creaked open and the bus driver motioned for her to go onto the bus. Staring at him with confusion, she just stood there. Anna said, “He actually walked out from the bus and I showed him my paper.” The bus driver lead her to the bus, showing her that this is where she was supposed to go and was then driven to a hotel. Anna did not know it at the time, but she was given a hotel room by the airlines and was given a place to sleep. Since she was an alien to America and understood no english, she did not know what to do in New York. She was all alone thinking that she has no place to go to. As the bus came to a stop, she was led to the hotel door and all the way up to the thirtieth floor. A boy that led her to her room and spent a while showing her all the particular functions of it. She was puzzled by this, but that was the last thing on her mind. Before he left, he stood at the door and politely asked for a tip. She looked at him in uncertainty. He noticed that she did not understand him so he just smiled, waved, and