Grace Rai
Utica, NY
Grace came to the States with her family in the first wave of Bhutanese Nepalese refugee emigration to the US. She currently works at the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees in Utica as a Nepali translator/interpreter, and also helps out at the Redeemer Church.
“हामी बच्चा हुँदा नै Dad नेपाल तिर लाग्नुभएको, भुटान त देखेको पनि छैन। बाल्यकाल नेपालमै बित्यो, त्यै मिस गर्छु पुरा। झापामा हिंडेको, चटपटेहरु खाएको साथीहरुसँग, पौडी खेल्न गएको भागेर, सब याद आउँछ। यहाँ चाहिँ swimming पूल नै भएपनिे same हुँदैन।”
(“Dad left for Nepal when we were still really young, so I did not even really see Bhutan. I spent my childhood in Nepal, so that is what I miss. Walking around in Jhapa, eating chatpate with friends, running away to go swim, I remember it all. Here you can have a swimming pool, and it is still not the same.”)
“हामी सबै बच्चै बेलादेखि नै Christian हो, यहाँ आएर भएको होइन। हाम्रो यहाँको चर्च चाहिँ रेफ्युजीकै लागि भनेर दिएको हो। नेपाली, कोरीअन, स्पानिश सबको लागि service हुन्छ, different different टाइममा। अरु नेपालीहरुसँग घुलमिल पनि चर्चको कारणले भेट हुन्छ।”
(“We are Christians from long ago, we did not convert once we got here. Our church in Utica was given specifically to refugees. Nepali, Korean, Spanish everybody has service at different times. We actually meet other Nepali families because of the church.”)
मेरो dream भनेको चाहिँ सानै देखि business थियो। बच्चाबेलामा हुन्छ नि कोहिले डाक्टर, कोहिले इन्जिनियर भन्थ्यो, मलाई चाहिँ business मनपर्थ्यो। तर मान्छे जीवनसँगै परिवर्तन हुनु स्वाभाविक हो। अहिले बाबा पनि pastor भएको भएर हो कि, societyमा help गर्न मन लाग्छ। त्यसैले sunday schoolमा help गर्छु। रेफ्युजी सेन्टरमा काम पनि पैसा को लागि गरेको होइन, पैसा हुँदैन। Societyमा, communityसँग काम गर्न गरेको।
(“My dream ever since I was young was business. You know when you are young, some people say they want to be doctors, some say engineers, I always liked business. But, it is very normal to change as life changes. Maybe because it is my father is a pastor, now I want to help society. That’s why I help out in Sunday school. Even the work I do at the refugee center is not for money, there is no money in it. It is to work for and with the society and the community.”)
“अब future त US मै citizen भएको देख्छु। नेपाल, भुटानमा कहिल्यै citizen थिईन, पहिलो चोटी कुनै देशको resident भएको यहीँ। Future यतै छ।”
(“Now I see my future in the US. In Nepal and Bhutan, I was never a citizen. For the first time, I am a resident of a country. So, future is here in the US.”)
