Reflections on my five years in the U.S.

TODAY MARKS MY fifth anniversary since emigrating from Kenya, East Africa and becoming a U.S. resident.

I still vividly remember landing at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on a snowy evening to a thunderous applause from the passengers, most of them emigrants like me. I don’t why the others applauded, but I applauded for two reasons. First the flight that had lasted more than 24 hours (with one stop in Brussels) had finally come to an end and second, I had arrived in America, the land of opportunity.

I have learned plenty of important things in this country, met many great people and enjoyed unimaginable opportunities, but three-life lessons standout.

Freedom of speech does not necessarily mean the right to speak your mind about anything all the time; there are consequences. Senator Trent Lott and talk show host Rush Limbaugh experienced this when they were bundled out of their jobs for making statements construed as insensitive to African-Americans.

Know when to stop and always read the fine print, especially the part that starts with the words “offer not valid if…” Credit card and cell phone companies are always glad to dish out these lessons the hard way.

After signing a contract with a-too-good-to-be-true offer, which comes with a grace period where you pay half or nothing, cell phone companies normally have you in their grasp. Later they would call telling you about a new feature that would only cost you five bucks. You count your blessings and sign-up for the deal and practically every five bucks offers they swing your way. The day of reckoning comes when the first bill arrives—you get a severe indigestion. And after that you learn to read all fine prints, even the ones on toilet paper wraps.

Another lesson is the landlord is not your friend; he can throw you out just as fast as he throws away his trash. Fortunately I have never experienced the situation, but I had the dishonor of hosting a friend evicted by a landlord who was also his drinking buddy after he paid rent late on several occasions. The landlord told him that he needed to send a strong message to other tenants—he cussed him the whole night.

Today is a great day for me not because it marks the day I moved from Kenya, a developing nation with a myriad of social and economic problems, to the wealthiest nation in the world, but because I have been able to comfortably strike a balance between the two cultures and proudly profess both as a part of my unique identity.

Comment on this story in the Opinion forum >>