In 1983 I was temporarily released on bail because of a chronic illness that I had suffered in prison in my origin country Iran. For a year I lived underground in various cities of Iran and finally, while I was seven months pregnant, I fled my country with of my husband and my three-year- old daughter and took refuge in Germany.
In the new country where I was neither familiar with its language nor its culture, I started my new path. It wasn’t easy way to start, but I did. I went through a lot of challenges, but I was happy with my new life. I accepted Germany as my Country as I became German citizen and I dedicated myself to my new environment as my own.
For some reason, after Twenty-two years my children and I left Germany for California. Second immigration, new challenges again, new language, and new cultural shock begun. My diploma as a Registered Geriatric Nurse would not be recognized here. I went to Work source Center become a place in nursing school for study to become Certified Nurse Assistant. With more than thirty years of nursing experience I wasn’t even allowed to give the patient sub-Cotinus injection and of course my income for the job was so low that I moved from my first apartment in Beverly Hills to an smaller Apartment in the Westwood, later in Encino and I ended up to Reseda, Sherman Way a neighborhood that has the most diversity.
Reseda, Sherman Way is a massy, busy neighborhood with the highest number of car crashes, most violence and crime rate.
Whatever I have a few positive experiences of living in the United states. One of them is the opportunity to study in the field that I always dreamed of, namely Journalism and Broad casting, I also was able to be TV host in an Iranian Tv Iran- e-Farda for two years and also had my own Radio Show in Farsi over 8 semester at Pierce Collage and Valley College as well as Iranian Internet Radio called Radio Shadi.
Many people in my age are retired , have died or planning for a place in nursing home, but I challenge myself sitting in classroom with young students that are in the same age as my ground children if I had some.