My Arrival Story
Juliya Korzhova
When I moved to the United States, my life changed in many ways. I came to Washington with my family—my husband and our two children. We rented a house in Lynnwood for a month. Everything was new to me—the language, the people, and everyday routines. One of the biggest challenges was understanding and speaking English. I was afraid to talk to people at the store or at school, but I tried to study English every day. A woman I met on Facebook helped me understand how to shop, choose products, and deal with other everyday things. Another difficulty was missing my family and friends from my home country, but video calls helped me stay connected with them. My husband won the green card lottery, and we decided to move to the U.S. to give our children a better future and more opportunities. Although it was hard at first, I slowly started to feel more confident and independent. In summary, my first weeks in the U.S. were full of challenges, but they made me stronger and gave me hope for the future.