The Fearon family stood in their best clothes on the top floor of the Jamaican airport waving goodbye to the only family member missing from the group: Mrs. Maybel Fearon. Maybel applied to a nursing program that allowed her to travel abroad to America with a visa and temporary job. She sat on the place headed to New York full of determination. Moving to an unfamiliar place was going to be tough but Maybel was not going to let the opportunity pass her by.
Maybel worked as a part of her nursing program for six months within which she experienced the biggest culture shock of her life. Switching from Jamaican dollars to United States dollars, Maybel had a difficult time determining the price of needed items and exchanges of cents and dollars. She lost her way several times in the big city and learned to leave home much earlier in order to be on time. The bus system in New York is also dramatically different from that of Jamaica. Believing it was the same process, Maybel got on a bus and later asked the driver to stop at her desired location. Maybel repeated herself several times since the bus did not stop and thought she was not being heard. She became angry with the assumption that the driver was intentionally ignoring her. After a few angry remarks at the bus driver, a passenger explained to her that she had to signal to be dropped off at a bus stop. It was at this moment that Maybel truly noticed the difference between her new home and her old home. Maybel was also surprised to see all the various ethnicities that defined New York City. The first time she saw Jews on the street, Maybel could not believe her eyes. She had only read about them in the Bible and could not believe that they existed in reality. Although New York was extremely crowded, it was not in the same state of poverty as Jamaica was. In Jamaica, the only distinction made by society was between different economic classes. People with money treated the underprivileged inferiorly. However, in New York, the color of your skin would determine how an individual would be regarded. It was a whole new world and Maybel learned the ways of it.
It was a challenging adjustment to live in New York but over time Maybel was able to adapt. After her nursing program expired, she knew that she could not leave America. She realized the prospects that this life could bring and wanted her family to experience the land of opportunity. She decided that it was up to her to bring her family to New York. She began working for a lawyer’s family as a maid. Maybel considered this job to be disgraceful especially since she had undergone the education to become a prestigious nurse. However, she knew that it was a duty that she had to perform to help her loved ones. Through her employment, she observed how this family would hold extravagant parties and waste so much food and money. She knew her life was drastically different because she would save any cash she could gather to send back to her family. With her dedication, Maybel accumulated enough to buy a plane ticket for her mother and later her two sons, Shane and Dwane. She eventually was able to take the Nursing Board Exam in order to become a registered nurse and practice in the United States. Maybel’s husband Carlton Fearon Senior joined the rest of the family a little later because he worked in the Jamaican Army as a truck driver. Alas, the family had finally reunited.
It was a bit tough for the boys to assimilate to New York. Spending the most time in Jamaica as the eldest son, Shane holds on to that culture. He frequently complained to his parents that he wished to go back home but he ended up forgetting this demand when his mother bought him a game console. Dwane did not need much convincing because of his young age, but he still remembers his hometown, May Pen, Jamaica. Carlton and Maybel’s mother were both surprised by the American lifestyle but were able to adjust rather quickly with Maybel’s guide.
When the whole family was together, they lived on 54th Street, Brooklyn between Church Avenue and Snyder Avenue. The area was not in the best of conditions to live in so they decided to move to Kings Village. At first the house that they wished to live in was claimed by another family but the Fearon family very much wanted to have that house so they offered to pay the money upfront. Their new address became 1200 East 53rd Street. Along with a new home, there was a new addition to the family. Dane Fearon was born. The family was proud but it was tough caring for a baby with two working parents. Carlton was a tow truck driver while Maybel worked eight to sixteen hour shifts as a nurse. As a result Dane’s brothers raised him.
Dane’s family was always very protective of him. They were very distrusting of their American neighborhood. In Jamaica, the Fearons lived on farmland and children were able to wander far without any fear. However, in Brooklyn, Dane was not allowed to walk around the block. They were afraid that Dane would get lost or kidnapped and had a tendency to restrict him as a result. Nevertheless, Dane grew up with an Americanized attitude while he believes that the rest of his family possess Jamaican pride. In this way, he considers them to be immigrants unlike himself.
Through all these events, some daunting and some extremely difficult, the Fearon family was able to withstand it all and achieve their goals. Carlton passed his GED examinations and obtained a steady job. Maybel has many options living in New York than in Jamaica. She gets a better sense of technology and she cannot get enough of the food. She is also able to send money back home to family members. She considers sending her children to college as the biggest accomplishment. They have assimilated to the city and believe that they took a better path as immigrants.
