By Chrisula Thiamegos, January 26, 2020 — The best day of my life was when I came to the United States. I came on the 12th of April to New York and it was the happiest day. I was 20 years old when I came from Greece. We came over on the Anna Maria ship and it was so crowded. The ship was brand new. The boat was so nice, the food was delicious, and we had a good time. I made good friends on the boat, a young girl, like my age, with her mom. Her mom would often bring us food from the top deck, she was such a nice lady. I remember the food being very good and I remember going to eat many times every day. The boat didn’t bother me, so I had an appetite, unlike my friend who became seasick. One day, the server asked me, “What part of Greece are you from?” And I answered from Sparta. He asked me if I wanted to be seated with other Spartan people, but I told him I was okay and enjoyed the people I met. I thought it was funny that he asked me that. We had a group of 5-6 of us and I felt comfortable.
The days passed by quickly because of the friendships I made. I remember the mother and daughter were going to Chicago, and I was going to Baltimore, so I got their addresses and we kept close for a few years. When I left, I was so sorry and sad that I was going to be leaving my parents. But when I came, I knew I had my sister and uncle waiting for me in the States. My brother-in-law and my sister met me to pick me up from Ellis Island. When I got off the boat, my brother-in-law was waiting for me. And I remember he was pacing back and forth trying to find me and calling out my name. He didn’t know a lot of Greek, but he was dressed very well with a nice suit. And I thought to myself, “Who is calling out my name?” I didn’t tell him that it was me at first, well, because I was in a new country and I was fearful. So I kept to myself. I thought my sister was going to pick me up and I had not met her husband yet. But then after a while, I noticed him from a photograph. Then, I told him, “Yes…that’s me,” and he introduced himself and told me he was my sister’s husband. I started to cry, and he told me not to cry, your sister is in the car waiting for you and that she is so excited to see you. I won’t forget that moment because he made me feel so comfortable. It makes me laugh … I was the last person at the port, and he kept going back and forth calling my name.
He was such a great brother-in-law, he taught me how to drive a car and speak the language. Actually, I would take his car when he was sleeping to drive to my uncle’s house. It was 15 blocks away. He was upset with me that I drove his car, but more upset that I drove without a license. I never got my license, but you better believe I knew how to drive a car. I went once to take my test, with [my daughter and husband]. They gave me the test on a big screen, and I got two questions wrong. If I only had one wrong, I would have gotten my license. The guy told me to come back and retake it. … I never did because of work, but I should have gone. I even remember the exact questions I got wrong. Maybe if they had the test translated to Greek, I would have gone back and taken it again. I remember … whenever I would take the bus to work, I would love to sit behind the driver to watch him press the peddles to see how fast he was going and what he was doing. But yes … the best day of my life was coming to America because I knew I was going to start my life. I got married 5 years later, had two children, moved to a nice home in a Greek community with friends on the same street, and worked as a seamstress for many years.