Thousands of miles away and over a quarter century ago, my journey to the US started. Reflecting on that journey fills me with fond memories. I was not sure when I left Damascus in November that my stay in the US would be permanent; and I could not have imagined my homeland would be devastated with an endless war and civil unrest. When I arrived in Dallas, where one of my brothers and his family lived, I was picked up from the airport by my cousin who took me directly to a few parties.
I was introduced in a hurry to the Thanksgiving Holiday, which happened to coincide with my arrival day. It is a wonderful celebration, seeing friends and family. I was also introduced to American football and became an instant fan of the Dallas Cowboys. Although I had visited the US prior to immigrating here, my impression as a child was different. I became more worried about a long-term plan; would I become more fluent in English?
Would people accept me, respect my culture and religion? Would they see that I am different and look down on my education? Everything was new and overwhelming, including simple tasks such as filling up the car with gas or picking shampoo at the grocery store. So many choices and such a fast-paced lifestyle.
Fast forward many years, I am now close to fifty years old. I am thankful for the many blessings in my life. I have a loving family: great wife, Christina who grew up in New Orleans and two beautiful young ladies, Claire and Lily. With the grace of God, many achievements were accomplished including getting my Doctorate in Pharmacy, working in oncology drug development and having the privilege to own a second home in Vermont.
While we have families dispersed in cities across the world like Dubai, Damascus, New Orleans, Dallas and many others, Quechee became the center of our universe. Many of our friends are here; and our families enjoy visiting our lovely community and the many natural beauties that Vermont has to offer, including the sweet, accepting people. One of my most vivid memories is of the day we bought our house. After dropping our little girls at ski school with Paul, Christina and I stopped by the general store, on route 4 close to I, to buy firewood.
