"Your Own Home" by Maria Piva

Migration comes from ancient times. If you ask why people come to this country, you will find a lot of reasons. This is a country of immigrants since the pilgrims arrived, and then started the immigrations from the other countries, particularly Latin American people.

In my case, San Francisco is the first city I lived in since I left my country. Then I went again to my country trying to find myself and got my degree, got married and went to New York City. My son was born there, but I think New York is a crazy city, the people are running always and I don't like that kind of living, so, I returned to my country with my five month old baby.



Last year, my son and I went to Plainfield, New Jersey for a couple of months. This is a nice and pretty city. It was summer time, and it was really hot like my country. It's wonderful to see so many animals and flowers everywhere. You can get to New York City when you want because it's pretty close. We went to New York many times, and I felt it was as crazy as it had been fifteen years earlier. My son couldn't believe he was in the same city where he was born. It was amazing for him, especially when we visited the World Trade Center. He knew everything about September 11, 2001, and I had told him he was there when he was one month old, when we traveled from New York, to Elizabeth, New Jersey. He enjoyed this visit and took photos of everything. He was fascinated with the New York's view from the Empire State Building, but like me, he doesn't want to live there. To be honest, I thought I would never visit New York City again. But, I have learned something, you never can say “never”. Then, we visited Greenwich, Connecticut. It's a precious city because like New Jersey, you can enjoy nature.



Right now, I am again in the same place. San Francisco is a beautiful city. I love the morning fog, the rainy days, the beauty of the places, and the friendly people. But I don't think I belong here because I miss my country and my home a lot. I love nature and quiet places, not crowded cities.