On September 5th, 2009, my family and I moved to America. Prior to that, I was born and raised in Nepal. I remember bringing the stuffed dice because its small size made it easy to hold on the long plane ride and surprisingly, this stuffed dice is one of the few things from Nepal that I still have today. Over the past eight years and counting, it has been with me through it all from when I moved twice in New Jersey to when I moved to New York. Although the dice serves no literal purpose aside from a decorative piece, it is stuffed with the memories that link me back to my native country of Nepal. Beyond that, as the dice hangs on the wall above my bed, it serves as a daily reminder me of everything my parents did when they emigrated here: luck, fortune, risk... As time passes, people change along with our own cultural values; particularly as my family rapidly adopts the bits and pieces of the Western culture and in doing so, replaces the traditional Nepali values instilled within us during our life in Nepal. In this ever changing world, this dice was one of the few constants for me. So, in that sense, the dice ironically reflects upon the various changes that this family has gone through thus far and the more changes we are to face in the coming year. Nonetheless, I rest assured knowing no matter how much change occurs, this orange dice will surely provide one terrific trip down to memory lane.   

– Yangji

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant