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AI: Well, I wanted to ask you a little bit more about some of your early impressions of United States. And, of course, well, your earliest impressions were when you were arriving into the country, which you wrote about coming into the airport.

PJ: Right.

AI: And how, maybe a little bit about how some of your, your impressions and your experiences differed from what your expectations might have been?

PJ: Well, all I had to judge on was what I had seen and heard in Indonesia. But I think I wrote about this in the book, I arrived in Kennedy and I saw, you know, these, this couple just kissing passionately. And I remember just looking, I didn't know where to look, because there were just little things like that that I remember that were so different from the way it had been. Like Indonesia is a Muslim country, and that was one of the things I think, the kids at school were certainly demonstrative and everything, but, but not, not quite that openly. [Laughs] And then I remember just... I just remember driving with somebody, I can't remember who, fairly, right after I arrived. And just being stunned at the spaciousness, but in an isolating way. So I remember driving, I think it was from New York to Washington. And I just remember thinking, "Where is everybody?" Like, "Where are they?" And I would see houses every once in a while from the highway, but I remember thinking, "Where are the people?" "Where do they eat?" "What do they eat and where do they sleep, and why aren't they outside?" I didn't, I didn't see anybody. And when you come from Indonesia or India or any one of those places, there's just people everywhere. And so I, I remember being stunned by that. Just stunned.

I remember physical discomforts very clearly. You know, just being cold. And to this day, my ex-husband would always tease me and say, "You'd get a chill in your bones that starts in September and goes until May." And it's true. I just am very, I get very cold, and I've not accustomed to that. And so things like wearing socks, I would get these awful rashes all over my feet, because I had never worn socks before. [Laughs] And sweaters, first I bought these wool sweaters 'cause they were the warmest, but my skin is very sensitive, and I would get rashes all over my skin. And then I think I wrote about this, the first time that I saw snow. I was so stunned. I was a freshman and this guy from New Orleans, Tyrone, who's still a good friend of mine, came up, and you would think with a name like Tyrone, you'd have a certain picture of him. Tyrone is this five foot two inch white guy -- [laughs] -- from New Orleans, who has this total New Orleans accent. He goes, "Pramila, Pramila, it's snowin', it's snowin'!" And so, it was like ten o'clock at night, and we literally, the two of us, ran out there, 'cause he hadn't seen snow. No shoes, no gloves, no coat, no hat, nothing. And so, of course, we're like... my sister had said, "You know, you have to make angels in the snow." And so we were lying and making angels in the snow. And I just remember just this complete wonderment of this stuff that was coming down from the skies. It was white and wet and cold, and so I remember very clearly, memories like that. And then coming in and having these frozen hands, and immediately turning on the hot water, because I wanted to heat 'em up. And just the pain, you know, just not realizing, oh, you can't do that.

Things like sweaters, I remember arriving at Georgetown and my roommate was from New Jersey, and she had arrived with her mother, her boyfriend, her grandparents, and like fifty pieces of luggage. And I was allowed to carry two pieces -- otherwise you pay overweight, and so you're allowed two pieces on international flights -- of luggage. So I had these two suitcases that were filled with impractical cotton clothes that you really can't wear. And just arriving and just feeling so bereft because here she was, with everybody and everything and I just had no idea where, where I was or what I was doing.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.