91 days of summer- 33

Ellis Island,
New York, NY

I visited Ellis Island today for the first time.
What a great experience.

This week I've been learning a new language.
I didn't know a word when the week started.  I didn't know much more when the week ended. 
Soon, I'll enter a country and culture that is not native to me.

And so, with that, I watched the movie, and thought about the experience of arriving at Ellis Island, with new eyes. 

I learned new things-

• that no names were changed at Ellis Island.  If a family name was changed, it most likely happened before a person arrived, as they registered on the ship's log leaving, or after they arrived, most likely in the public schools.
• that 1/3 of those who reached Ellis Island stayed in New York, but 2/3 left for other places in the US.
• that only 2% of people that arrived at Ellis Island were deported.
• that after 1917, there was a literacy test to enter, but immigrants were required to read only a paragraph in their native language, most likely from the Bible, but not in English.
• that the biggest concern for the government was that a person would be able to financially support himself and his family, and that a person had no health problems.

There is nothing new under the sun. 
I'm thankful to have a heritage in a country that has a history of welcoming immigrants. 
And I have a deep respect for those who left their native countries, and their family, and everything that was familiar behind, to set out in a new place.