July is a special month for me. There are many events that took place in this month in various stages of my life; events that play a special role on my memory. Some are bitter, like the death of my paternal grandmother in 2011 and my maternal grandfather in 1996. Some are sweet like my wedding day; last week my wife and I celebrated 12 years of our marriage. Another event, a turning point of sort, that took place in July brings some bittersweet memories. Today, July 21, 2015, marks 18 years since our arrival to America. In 1997, leaving behind her home and all her family in Tajikistan, my mother took my brother and me to the New York City. Two years ago, I published a blogpost, Memories at Equilibrium, about other events in my life stemming from my arrival to this country. Today, I post these photos to remind myself of some of the events; I share these memories with you.
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| January 1997, we came to Moscow for our interview |
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| Our first New Year in New York |
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| My brother and I at the Rockefeller Center |
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| My study "corner" at our Brighton 5th Street apartment |
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| My first friend in America |
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| Making origami flowers to impress the girls |
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| The happiest Tajik guy in Brooklyn |
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| Ah, turtleneck, I used to make you look good |
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| My brother and I on top of the Statue of Liberty, one of many of our school trips |
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| Another important July day... |
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| Last New Year in our first apartment on Brighton |
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| My first year in college, I wanted to be a doctor |
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| We used to walk in the city like tourists... |
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| and dry our laundry on a clothesline like immigrants... |
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| Our porch at the West 12th Street house where I spent many nights studying |
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| and the backyard, where we jumped into snow |
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| and our room with my wall of awards from both high schools |
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| and our kitchen where our mother baked bread |
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| We even had a wedding of our cousin at our West 12th Street house... |
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| and our mother cooked for all the guests... |
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| lots of people could be seated in that little room... |
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| "Jamik, bring the bag of rice." "Mom, you are already cooking the rice." |
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| An old friend who left us too early... |
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| New friends at our old house... |
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| My brother is attempting to teach our mother how to ride a bike... |
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| The interior of the original restaurant "Dushanbe" that used to stand on Coney Island and Avenue P. |
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| My cousin and I worked as handymen at the children's camp in Monticello, NY |
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| A skunk that we found stuck between a garbage bin and a bag |
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| My favorite toy at the camp... |
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| Fancy Tajik caterers... |
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| Posing in Las Vegas... |
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| My friend and I with Lilia Stepanova, the contortionist, before she became famous.... |
