Excerpt from Kim Thuy's book "Ru"

Kim Thuy's excerpt talks about he journey from Vietnam to Canada. After arriving in Canada she and her family were just overwhelmed by the outlook of where they were moving to. She says "after having lived for so long in such unlit places, such a white, virginal landscape was dazzling, blinding, even intoxicating. She was also overwhelmed by the welcoming that they all received and this made me realize that arriving in a new country brings new experiences to a persons life. It takes a lot of getting used to which may take some time for most an and also may be harder for some people. What makes the arrival even harder is the fact that some people don't even speak English. This makes it harder for other people to understand them and causes these immigrants to sometimes isolate themselves. Kim Thuy also says "Just like my son Henri now, I could say or understand nothing, though I was not deaf or dumb". In my opinion being in a new country and not being able to speak the language of that person puts a damper on the mindset of some people because they basically have to start all over again in terms of learning a new language. It makes you feel like a child again which is very hard. I didn't have to learn a new language when I moved from Jamaica but I did have an accent which many people weren't used too. Some people laughed while others did understand that I came from somewhere else. In some cases when a family moves to a new country in which they speak a different language, it's harder for the parents to adapt to the new surrounding so they look to their kids to teach them because their kids will be attending school and learning so much more than their parents. I feel that adapting to a new area and new people is a very long and complicated process I understand what Kim Thuy and her family had to go through because I had to go through it myself even though my story isn't as complex as hers.