Hi, I'm Dave Isae founder of StoryCorps. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Dignity Memorial.

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Hey folks, this is Max Young Rice from the StoryCorps podcast.

Just want to remind you that you can tell us your personal stories by calling our voicemail at

702-706 talk.

This week, tell us how you came to the United States or how a friend or loved one did.

That's 702-706, T-A-L-K.

What was your first impression when you came to America?

I'm Jasmine Morris, and this is the StoryCorps podcast from NPR, where we bring you into our archive, the largest collection of human voices ever recorded to find the big moments hidden in ordinary lives.

What was it like for you to come here to the U.S.?

How did you get by when you first arrived?

What was the hardest thing to adjust to in the U.S.?

When you came, you were only 18 years old, and you went through so much. But is that worth it?

Up to 20 years, I feel like I'm a part of this country, you know?

You would do it again.

I would definitely do it again.

At StoryCorps, we really hear the full spectrum of the American experience.

In the United States, as the saying goes, a nation of immigrants.

So this week, conversations about finding your way in America.

First up, a love story. In the late 80s, Tariq Sheikh was working the front desk at a hotel in New York City

when he first laid eyes on a woman named Tabinda, who had just found a job there in housekeeping.

...