14 June 1885

After eight months of traveling across the Pacific, I've finally reached the island of Oahu. I just arrived at our workers' housing in a town called ‘Waipahu’. I am one among many who left their hometown in China for a new beginning in America. We are all workers from China, all hoping to one day live the American dream. Each of us were given jobs to work at Hawaii's rice plantations. Hopefully after a working for a year, I will be able to send over my family that I left back home in Sac-kee. When the boat was docked into a harbor earlier this afternoon, people in white collared shirts came aboard and started talking to us in their ghost language. Mom told me about these 'ghost' people, she said that I should be careful around them because they are untrustworthy. When I was looking around at the faces on the boat, I found that I was not the only one who did not understand their jibberish talk. Luckily, I was able to comprehend some of what they were saying from their hand motions. When we began to file off the boat, the 'ghost' people continued to down upon us. I was a nothing amongst these ghosts, like a small speck of dust sitting in the corner of a room. Knowing that I am starting a new life with just a low wage job, my ID, and a few dollars, I must rely on myself to survive in this American society. Even though it has been a long and tiring boat trip here to America, I feel so energized by the fact that I am now standing in the land of opportunities.