ABSTRACT
It was a long time—about ten years ago—but I still remember the day vividly. It was my first day in the United States, the beginning of a new period in my life. I had just stepped out of my dorm room and suddenly I was struck by something—a weird feeling. I wanted to run away; I wanted to hide. For the first time in my life, I felt different and uncomfortable in my skin—strange, lowly, and foreign. I was not sure at first why and was surprised. I experienced a sense of estrangement from myself and others in the foreign land. Sure, people around me looked different, but as I reflected, there was more to it.
