While standing cluelessly in the middle of plumbing aisle in Home Depot, which smelled of moldy basements and paint thinners, I faintly heard the echo of my father’s voice. He was yelling across the store in Chinese, “ Jack, Jack, come here I found him!”
Extremely embarrassed by the unwanted attention, I ran towards his voice with the orange shopping cart askew ,swerving around all the other customers. Upon arrival, I prepared myself for the troublesome task that was to come. I took a deep breath and mustered up my courage then smiled and greeted a tall man wearing a deteriorated orange apron with a nametag that says “Mike”. Waiting for a description of the unknown item, I started at my father until he began to speak and I translated his long …show more content…
We went from items ranging from garden hoses to copper pipes, each time my father noded and said “No” Mike and I began to lose hope. Still determined, my father continued his description but this time he included hand and body motion as if he was playing charades. Even more confused, Mike explained that such an item did not exist in Home Depot and told us to visit Lowe's, another similar store. My father refused to accept what Mike said and requested another assistant. I complained but he showed no signs of giving up. As much as I wanted to bail and tell my father to take a picture next time, I had good reasons to accomplish this job.
Growing up in a penniless family in rural China, my father did not get the option to finish secondary school because he had to work under a family friend as a Chef, at the age of 14, to support his four other siblings. After spending a decade supporting his family, he decided to move to America for a new life. In America, my father started from the bottom and eventually saved up for a house for our family. Today, more than 20 years have passed, my father has gotten many things he wished for: a house, a family, and a small restaurant. Yet the one thing he could never get was an
Extremely embarrassed by the unwanted attention, I ran towards his voice with the orange shopping cart askew ,swerving around all the other customers. Upon arrival, I prepared myself for the troublesome task that was to come. I took a deep breath and mustered up my courage then smiled and greeted a tall man wearing a deteriorated orange apron with a nametag that says “Mike”. Waiting for a description of the unknown item, I started at my father until he began to speak and I translated his long …show more content…
We went from items ranging from garden hoses to copper pipes, each time my father noded and said “No” Mike and I began to lose hope. Still determined, my father continued his description but this time he included hand and body motion as if he was playing charades. Even more confused, Mike explained that such an item did not exist in Home Depot and told us to visit Lowe's, another similar store. My father refused to accept what Mike said and requested another assistant. I complained but he showed no signs of giving up. As much as I wanted to bail and tell my father to take a picture next time, I had good reasons to accomplish this job.
Growing up in a penniless family in rural China, my father did not get the option to finish secondary school because he had to work under a family friend as a Chef, at the age of 14, to support his four other siblings. After spending a decade supporting his family, he decided to move to America for a new life. In America, my father started from the bottom and eventually saved up for a house for our family. Today, more than 20 years have passed, my father has gotten many things he wished for: a house, a family, and a small restaurant. Yet the one thing he could never get was an