The Handwritten Letter

Wow, the following email was from almost 20 years ago - where did time go???

Believe it or not, I found a hand-written letter from Professor Thomas, mentioned in yellow below. The letter was sent to Rudi, who was in China back then, and it was dated as October 13, 1988 -- 24 days after I arrived in the US. Because the handwriting is hard to recognize, I typed it into the attached Word document. Professor Thomas called me Tang Pei in the letter. That's how I was called in China.

Yeah, we once relied on hand-written letters to communicate with one another, and it took more than 10 days for the letter from China to arrive in the US. We were patient back then, taking time to think, write, and read messages from others that took so long to arrive -- anticipating and appreciating every word in that long-awaited letter...  

Cherish today -- tomorrow is likely to be even more unrecognizable!

From: Pei Tang <tang_pei@yahoo.com>
To: Pei Tang <tang_pei@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 7:21 PM
Subject: 19 years...

It was 19 years ago, on 9/19/88, I arrived in this country and started my life in America.  It's been a great experience.  Looking back, I am grateful for all the opportunities I have had over the past 19 years.  I am particularly thankful for all the help and support I received from my graduate school professor, Dr. Edwin Thomas, during the early and most difficult days of my long journey in America.      

 

The following is an interview Michelle did for school when she was only 10.  I can say that it still accurately reflects my belief today. 

 

 

By Michelle Zhang

2/25/2001

 

For this report, I interviewed my mother who immigrated to this country from China.  She, like most other immigrants, came here for more opportunities to be successful in her career.  She also wanted to provide a better life for her future children. 

 

She came here in 1988 as a graduate student.  Right before the trip to America, she was a graduate student in Beijing.  Her life was not as bad as some immigrants because she knew some English.  In her high school in China, she was taught the American Language.  She was a little scared of her new life she'd have to start.  She didn't know anyone and only had $45.  After the first few weeks, she came to realize that people here were open and friendly.   

 

Fortunately, she did not experience any racism and prejudice.  She made many American friends at her job and they all respect her a great deal.  She says she likes America because you have all kinds of opportunities, and if you work hard, you are sure to succeed.