Indonesia to America | Sydney Burnama

Sydney Burnama on her family's background, emigrating from Indoensia to the United States.

"My dad came to the United States back in 1990 from the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, with his grandpa when he was 8 years old. He arrived in a small town in the middle of nowhere in Fresno, California, during the winter time.

It was a major culture shock for him: he did not know anything about the culture of the United States besides the movies he had seen on TV back in Indonesia and it was nothing like the reality of America, especially in Fresno. Living with his Japanese housemates in the host family he stayed with, it was really hard for him adjust to the U.S. culture.

He was forced to relearn English because he only learned British English in Indonesia, in order to find employment and bring in a stable income. While he may not talk about it a lot, I know that there were many tough times he had to overcome adjusting to America from Indonesia.

Through all these hardships, I'm proud that my family was able to persevere through them and allow me to live a normal life in the Bay Area."

- Sydney Burnama

📸: @jimmyz_z