notebookwriter
04-13-2011, 06:50 PM
This one is kinda long. Again, any reviews or comments are generously received.
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Looking one way it was nothing but open water, but looking the other way it was a bustling hub of trade, freedom, and opportunity. The long trip was spent in a small and cramped room. The men aboard the boat had given her nothing short of a bad time, being the only woman aboard. She had spent most of the trip in her small room in the back of the boat, and left her quarters only for food. The voyage was extremely uncomfortable but it was cheap. She had a friend with money that had come over the Atlantic by plane. Her friend had started a business and had contacted her about a company that could arrange her passage via boat. The price difference was great and she couldn’t afford the numerous plane tickets required to get from her country to America. She did, although, have the meager sum required to take a boat trip. She had paid all the savings she had to the company, who had in turn sent a green card and a slip of paper that said, ”Ms. Wallace-222.333”, a sort of ticket, she assumed. Also out of the deal she was to be given a job. They had told her in their letter that there would be someone to meet her at the dock and would personally give her the job information as well as some information about her housing and the city. She really hoped her job wasn’t in fast food. If so then the amount of time she spent learning the entire complex English language would have been wasted, as in fast food, she knew, she only needed to know a few words.
The boat was pulling up to the dock; the Statue of Liberty had already passed. They pulled slowly up to the cargo dock and the ramp was dropped. The men all whistled and hollered as she stepped off, and a few of the nicer men handed down her bag and helped her carry it up to the small building on the end of the dock. The dock was wet and moist. It was in the mid-afternoon and summer. She could feel the moisture around her and the water smelled of salt. The fresh feel of land was profound, something she had not felt in some time, and her staggering back and forth was evidence of how uncanny it was. There was a wall between the dock office and the road, but the buildings had no trouble towering above the wall. She stood in an area that seemed run down and industrial, but on the other side of the wall it all seemed so modern. She stood in awe for a few minutes, gazing around and amazed by the sight. There was a faint smell of fish mixed with exhaust. The cars honking and people shouting as well as other city sounds echoed over the wall. On the dock the men had started to unload the products, food stuffs from her home country, as well as tanks of oil, gasoline, and personal items too big to be moved by plane that were labeled for online retailers. As heavy industy parts were rolled off she looked out in the harbor, boats constantly moving in and out, and down the river to the busy traffic there. The captain walked her down the dock, said his goodbyes, then walked towards the other office building that belonged to his employers. She walked into the dock office building, and looked over her shoulder at the kind captain, giving him one last glance. She entered the office, which was yellow on the inside with a single desk. Outside she could still here the city sounds and the sounds coming from the boat. The room was wooden, primitive compared to the rest of the city. There were two men waiting for her, one man took her green card, swiped it, and then returned it to her. The other man gave her a packet, neither said anything. She was walked out by the second man, asking him questions as they walked. She noticed the boat was leaving, slowly trailing its way across water with its new, fresh crew. He put her into a taxi, without a single word, and she was whisked away from the docks.
The drive through the city was pleasant. She was a little draw back by her “greeting” but the sites of the tall buildings, construction sites, cars, people, offices, sewers, birds, glass, exhaust, street lights, signs, police, stores, apartments, street vendors, advertisements, giant TVs, and everything else was over whelming and exciting. Everything was new and fresh. The designs of the buildings were perfect and the shouts of the people were amazing. They went down a street and the taxi driver pulled out a sheet of paper. They stopped outside a McDonalds, bustling with people. This excited her as the food aboard the ship had been sicking and now she was about to experience her first meal in her new country. The taxi driver read aloud the sheet of paper, “This is going to be where you work, you are now to go inside, meet your manager and be back out within 10 minutes, as that is what I was paid for.” She was astonished. She slowly crept out from the taxi and walked inside, cautiously. The room smelled, delicious, and everyone was talking. She walked up the back where there was a man waiting for her, and she followed him into his office. “Here is your uniform, and a cheeseburger. Be back tomorrow at 10:00AM sharp.” Again she walked outside back to the taxi, astonished. As they were driving away and she was unwrapping her cheeseburger, she noticed how the restaurant did not fit in at all. They crossed a bridge and the buildings turned from their modern, tall style, to a short, brick run-down style. They pulled up to a building that looked identical to the others, no yard, entirely brick. She got out and walked in, a women with a small voice told her to go to the fifth floor and handed her a key.
The apartment was not part of her deal but her friend had arranged for her to stay there. She opened the apartment door slowly, it was dark inside and looked unbearably small. She flipped the switch and room glowed. There was a bed in the back left corner with the foot facing her, above it a window. The window had no blinds and a sort of grey light seemed to come through it. She couldn’t tell if it was the window, her mind imaging it, or if that was the setting sun’s true color. To the right of that there was a dresser. From the door she was lead into a small hallway with a door that leads to the bathroom, after that the room opened up a little with a plywood desk on the right, then the dresser. It looked and, as she soon realized, felt small and cramped. The distance between the bed and dresser was very narrow and only enough for one person to walk through. The walls and celling were painted white. The floor was a grey tile with black flecks. The bed was short and wire framed and had a red comforter with white sheets and pillow case. The mattress seemed just a little old and in need of replacment. There were pipes and wires running along the celing which led to a open light bulb. The light bulb gave off a dull yellow light which, combined with the light of the window, gave the room a sort of dull, sullen feel. The air was dusty and it smelled dusty. She gave a little cough and opened the bathroom door. The bathroom was yellow, yellow tiles all around the walls and floor. The ceiling was also painted yellow. It was small with a sink on the left with a mirror above it, a toliet straight ahead and a shower, bathtub combination on the right between these there was only a foot of space. The light in the bathroom was also a dull yellow, complimented by the dull yellow tiles, toliet, sink, curtain, and bathtub. The trimming around the mirror was white but that was the only thing not yellow in the room, even the grout between the tiles was yellow, though a darker shade. The ceiling also had pipes and wires running across it. She walked back into the main room, closed the door, and fell onto the bed, exhausted. Dust spewed out and made her break out in a coughing seizure. “Yes,” she thought,” this is going to be rough but I have to get use to it.” She gazed out her window, and between two buildings could see the river. The sun was now almost set and the river gleamed a sort of golden, red color. It looked beautiful. Looking up from the river, across its banks, was the modern city she could only dream of living in. She rolled back onto her bed and slowly fell asleep.
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Looking one way it was nothing but open water, but looking the other way it was a bustling hub of trade, freedom, and opportunity. The long trip was spent in a small and cramped room. The men aboard the boat had given her nothing short of a bad time, being the only woman aboard. She had spent most of the trip in her small room in the back of the boat, and left her quarters only for food. The voyage was extremely uncomfortable but it was cheap. She had a friend with money that had come over the Atlantic by plane. Her friend had started a business and had contacted her about a company that could arrange her passage via boat. The price difference was great and she couldn’t afford the numerous plane tickets required to get from her country to America. She did, although, have the meager sum required to take a boat trip. She had paid all the savings she had to the company, who had in turn sent a green card and a slip of paper that said, ”Ms. Wallace-222.333”, a sort of ticket, she assumed. Also out of the deal she was to be given a job. They had told her in their letter that there would be someone to meet her at the dock and would personally give her the job information as well as some information about her housing and the city. She really hoped her job wasn’t in fast food. If so then the amount of time she spent learning the entire complex English language would have been wasted, as in fast food, she knew, she only needed to know a few words.
The boat was pulling up to the dock; the Statue of Liberty had already passed. They pulled slowly up to the cargo dock and the ramp was dropped. The men all whistled and hollered as she stepped off, and a few of the nicer men handed down her bag and helped her carry it up to the small building on the end of the dock. The dock was wet and moist. It was in the mid-afternoon and summer. She could feel the moisture around her and the water smelled of salt. The fresh feel of land was profound, something she had not felt in some time, and her staggering back and forth was evidence of how uncanny it was. There was a wall between the dock office and the road, but the buildings had no trouble towering above the wall. She stood in an area that seemed run down and industrial, but on the other side of the wall it all seemed so modern. She stood in awe for a few minutes, gazing around and amazed by the sight. There was a faint smell of fish mixed with exhaust. The cars honking and people shouting as well as other city sounds echoed over the wall. On the dock the men had started to unload the products, food stuffs from her home country, as well as tanks of oil, gasoline, and personal items too big to be moved by plane that were labeled for online retailers. As heavy industy parts were rolled off she looked out in the harbor, boats constantly moving in and out, and down the river to the busy traffic there. The captain walked her down the dock, said his goodbyes, then walked towards the other office building that belonged to his employers. She walked into the dock office building, and looked over her shoulder at the kind captain, giving him one last glance. She entered the office, which was yellow on the inside with a single desk. Outside she could still here the city sounds and the sounds coming from the boat. The room was wooden, primitive compared to the rest of the city. There were two men waiting for her, one man took her green card, swiped it, and then returned it to her. The other man gave her a packet, neither said anything. She was walked out by the second man, asking him questions as they walked. She noticed the boat was leaving, slowly trailing its way across water with its new, fresh crew. He put her into a taxi, without a single word, and she was whisked away from the docks.
The drive through the city was pleasant. She was a little draw back by her “greeting” but the sites of the tall buildings, construction sites, cars, people, offices, sewers, birds, glass, exhaust, street lights, signs, police, stores, apartments, street vendors, advertisements, giant TVs, and everything else was over whelming and exciting. Everything was new and fresh. The designs of the buildings were perfect and the shouts of the people were amazing. They went down a street and the taxi driver pulled out a sheet of paper. They stopped outside a McDonalds, bustling with people. This excited her as the food aboard the ship had been sicking and now she was about to experience her first meal in her new country. The taxi driver read aloud the sheet of paper, “This is going to be where you work, you are now to go inside, meet your manager and be back out within 10 minutes, as that is what I was paid for.” She was astonished. She slowly crept out from the taxi and walked inside, cautiously. The room smelled, delicious, and everyone was talking. She walked up the back where there was a man waiting for her, and she followed him into his office. “Here is your uniform, and a cheeseburger. Be back tomorrow at 10:00AM sharp.” Again she walked outside back to the taxi, astonished. As they were driving away and she was unwrapping her cheeseburger, she noticed how the restaurant did not fit in at all. They crossed a bridge and the buildings turned from their modern, tall style, to a short, brick run-down style. They pulled up to a building that looked identical to the others, no yard, entirely brick. She got out and walked in, a women with a small voice told her to go to the fifth floor and handed her a key.
The apartment was not part of her deal but her friend had arranged for her to stay there. She opened the apartment door slowly, it was dark inside and looked unbearably small. She flipped the switch and room glowed. There was a bed in the back left corner with the foot facing her, above it a window. The window had no blinds and a sort of grey light seemed to come through it. She couldn’t tell if it was the window, her mind imaging it, or if that was the setting sun’s true color. To the right of that there was a dresser. From the door she was lead into a small hallway with a door that leads to the bathroom, after that the room opened up a little with a plywood desk on the right, then the dresser. It looked and, as she soon realized, felt small and cramped. The distance between the bed and dresser was very narrow and only enough for one person to walk through. The walls and celling were painted white. The floor was a grey tile with black flecks. The bed was short and wire framed and had a red comforter with white sheets and pillow case. The mattress seemed just a little old and in need of replacment. There were pipes and wires running along the celing which led to a open light bulb. The light bulb gave off a dull yellow light which, combined with the light of the window, gave the room a sort of dull, sullen feel. The air was dusty and it smelled dusty. She gave a little cough and opened the bathroom door. The bathroom was yellow, yellow tiles all around the walls and floor. The ceiling was also painted yellow. It was small with a sink on the left with a mirror above it, a toliet straight ahead and a shower, bathtub combination on the right between these there was only a foot of space. The light in the bathroom was also a dull yellow, complimented by the dull yellow tiles, toliet, sink, curtain, and bathtub. The trimming around the mirror was white but that was the only thing not yellow in the room, even the grout between the tiles was yellow, though a darker shade. The ceiling also had pipes and wires running across it. She walked back into the main room, closed the door, and fell onto the bed, exhausted. Dust spewed out and made her break out in a coughing seizure. “Yes,” she thought,” this is going to be rough but I have to get use to it.” She gazed out her window, and between two buildings could see the river. The sun was now almost set and the river gleamed a sort of golden, red color. It looked beautiful. Looking up from the river, across its banks, was the modern city she could only dream of living in. She rolled back onto her bed and slowly fell asleep.