Complete Contrast Essay

                                         There has only been two places in my life that I have considered home. Even though they are on the opposite sides of the world. They have both held a special place in my heart. My grandfather was a retired Navy Chief and wanted to settle back to his native hometown in Maine. So, my Grandmother, I and the rest of our family left the comfort of our home in the Philippines for a new life. I was only five when we left, but  I have held onto many memories. And I have also had many other fond memories growing up in our new life. Now thirtyfive years later, I have learned to appreciate these memories. Though, I can still remember the culture shock as a child. The enviornment, society and the new school system.
                                          As a adult, I can still remember the smell of the salted sea air and the feel of the warm tropical breeze. My Great Aunt lived right by the beach front, so I remember running around the beach when I would visit her. The fine sand would just seem to melt through your toes, as the feeling of warmth surrounded your feet. I can remember the palm trees swaying in the breeze and the ocean waves reaching out to grab my feet. And when the tides would go low, you could see the jellyfish stuck to the cliffs.
I also felt a sense of excitement when I saw my first snowfall. Wow, it was amazing and so pretty to watch flow from the sky. Yet, there was no going out barefoot. Infact, it would be layered socks and insulated boots. Almost to a point that I couldn't feel my feet anymore. But I would learn that later after being outside too long. No running freely, but trudging in the depths of snow. My hands would turn numb, even with mittens over gloves. The breeze was cold and my cheeks would start to feel stiff and burn from the cold. Though, my first snowman was my first masterpiece.
                                         When I was very little, my grandmother's neighbors would ask to come over to see the little white baby. White baby I asked? Apparently, I inherited the American blood of my grandfather. Everyone else around me was tanned skinned, dark haired and dark eyed. Not me. Light brown hair, blue eyes and the fairest of skin, like a very pale olive. Unknown women would just run over to smile and talk to me. My grandmother would say that I was some sort of attraction. When I came to Maine at five years of age, I didn't know what to expect. My grandfather bought a house in Derby Maine, that's right beside Milo. I soon realized that people were not quite sure about the new Asian family in the neighborhood. People were quite around us and we just mingled amongst each other, as well. When we would go shopping, I stayed very close to my mother, as other women would just stare down at me. I didn't feel very much like an attraction anymore. Until the fall came.
                                          We moved to Maine in the summer of 1976 and actually I didn't turn five until that fall. Also that fall, school started. Talk about feeling different. Back in the Philippines, my greandmother wanted to make sure that I was going to be a well rounded person. She had enlisted me in two different schools at threee and a half years old until I had left the country. I went to a "public school", where we were taught to speak both Tagalog and English. But my grandmother had also decided to enroll me in Chinese school. So, three languages spoken before I was even four years of age! So, when I started kindergarten, the teachers were very suprised. But even though, I was not allowed to speak anything else, but English. They didn't want the other children to look at me as different. I think it was too late for that. Then throughout the years, English would become my only language, that is until I took French class in High School.
                                            Even though there were huge differences in the two places that I had lived in, they both played a big part of my life. I had the priveledge of knowing a wonderful island and all the memories that I still hold from there. But yet I have had many lifelong memories growing up and living in Maine most of my life. The Philippines as a child was a much different life all together. But growing up in Maine has also been an adventure and for the most part, I would not change anything. Times have also changed. People, I believe, are more accepting of others these days and the school system are far more interested in foreign students now than ever. But honestly, I could still trade in the Maine winters for a walk on the beach and the warm ocean breeze of the Philippines.