I never used to  celebrate birthdays in my country. But my 29th birthday was indeed a strange one. It was the same day that  I got my green card. I felt like someone who just finished his jail sentence. I was very happy.  My happiness didn't last that long because the family in Missouri that I was planning on going to live with had asked  me to wait 3 months. I wished I could have taken the flight to USA on the same day when I got my visa, instead of waiting that long. I started looking for someone who could help me. For two weeks, I couldn't get any sleep or meal because I was so nervous.

                  One day someone in my family told me that his childhood friend had been  living in the USA . He gave me his phone number. I contacted him, and I asked him to help me. One week later, he told me to come over here to CT because he arranged a place for me to live in.

                  On the other hand, I knew my unplanned trip needed a lot of money. I had already spent like a thousand dollars for getting my green card . I knew everyone who was around me was broke.  My two sisters borrowed the money from their jobs to come over and offered me the expenses for the  trip. Then I flew to USA on May 14th 2011.

                  My parents became more emotional with me because I was going to leave them. My mom started to treat me like a child. I remember one morning when I went  to the kitchen for breakfast, my mom was baking the Moroccan bread and listening to a song on the radio. The song  was asking people who want to move from their home to stay, before they  regretted it .

                     When the song said ''Many people moved before you and I ,but they regret it now''. My mom was singing  this sentence loudly. She wanted me to hear it. I sang with her too with a large smile. Her question then was '' when will you come back my son?'' 

 When the news talked about H1N1 VIRUS on those days, she said ''look how many people were killed there''. When my first company wanted me to come back for the job, my mother wanted me to accept the offer and stay in the country . I knew in her gut that she wanted me to stay. I knew she was very worried about me like all mothers would be .

                     In the beginning, my father's opinion was  that my visa just a fake. Now he  had changed his mind. Maybe it was when I showed him my passport was signed, or when he heard my conversation with the man who lived in USA. 

                       The morning came when I went to take the car from my city Meknes to the Casa Blanca airport . It was  more emotional because my parents, sisters and I started crying .  Personally,  I can't  stand to see people crying especially my parents and lovely persons .  Their hugs were full of warmth and love. I fled into the car. I wanted to move faster before I lost my strength. I hoped that I could close my eyes and open them, and I would be in the USA.  

`