256 Soakhamnuan After I got the travel document, we made an appointment to get a U.S. Visa. The U.S. could only match the permission the Thai government had given me, so I got a student visa with permission to stay in the U.S. for one year. When I got my Visa, it was just a couple of days before we had to go to the U.S. I stayed with my family and talked to them about how excited I was. I tried to imagine what the U.S. was going to be like. I packed only one small suitcase because I didn’t know what to bring – just some clothes and my family pictures. My mother was scared that I was going so far away. She asked me, ‘Who will take care of you? If something happens what will you do? Are you going to be able to call me?’ The last day before I left, we had a dinner party with family and friends. My neighbors didn’t think that I would actually go to school. They asked my mother, ‘Are you sure that she is going to school or is she going to be a prostitute? Are they going to sell her? Will she be able to come back home? Why do they want to give her a scholarship to go to school?’ 9 College The next day, we took a bus to go to Bangkok. I was scared when I traveled through the Mae Sai checkpoint. I was thinking that they might arrest me. The people at the checkpoint had never seen the document that I had. They only asked me a few questions - why did I have the document and why was I going to the United States - and then let me go. I didn’t feel safe until I arrived at Susan’s parent’s house. I was still thinking that there was going to be a checkpoint somewhere in the U.S. The day after I arrived in the U.S. I started school orientation at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. I got a student I.D. and met international students from around the world. I started English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. The first day of school I had no clue as to what we were talking about. My English was so bad. I could only say, ‘How are you,’ ‘Thank you,’ ‘I’m fine’, ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. That was scary, but I woke up really early every morning because I was so excited to go to school everyday. I felt that, this is what I want my life to be like. I had never had that feeling before. I took ESL classes for almost two years, then began taking University classes and working on my degree in Communication: Public Relations. I wanted to study communication because I know it will help me to help people. I think that everywhere around the world, communication is key to solving issues. The more we communicate, the more people will know what is right and what is wrong. tilburg law review 19 (2014) 248-260