Coming to America

How in the hell did I end up here, you say? It all comes down to wine... In June 1982, my father and a few of his Swiss and Italian winemaker friends decided to check out the United States as a potential market. They went to New York, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, California and New Mexico, determining the latter had a climate very similar to Switzerland and was best for grape growing. He came back from his trip with the news we would all be moving to Deming, New Mexico, by the end of the year. I had just started 7th grade in Martigny, a new school, new friends, I was riding the train back and forth everyday...but I was ready for the challenge, after all, I had already handled the move from Italy to Switzerland, so I thought this wouldn't be any different. In October, we sold our apartment and purchased a brand new one, the penthouse floor of a just-finished building in the center of Saxon. It was to be our home away from home, where we would come for three months every summer. The closer we got to the date of our departure, the less I wanted to leave. I couldn't imagine being away from the friends I had grown up with, I loved my new school and I was still heartbroken and pining for Mr. X. My father tempted us with stories of New York, the city that never sleeps, with tons of stores, tons of music (for David), and America, a country where anyone could become what they wanted. By the time November came, my brother and I were convinced. We couldn't wait to get to the US and start living our Hollywood life. It was only the third time flying for me and I got sicker than I've ever been in my life. I think I puked for 7 hours straight, from Geneva to New York; I arrived in New York exhausted, dehydrated and sporting the biggest fever blister on my lip you've ever seen. We stayed in NY for a week, visiting stores, going out to all kinds of different restaurants; my brother and I were in love. We thought if the rest of the US was like this, we would be happier than we had ever been. We boarded the plane to El Paso, Texas, in the afternoon and arrived late at night. The city looked huge, lights everywhere, cars everywhere (little did we know most of the lights were actually Juarez, Mexico). Our driver took us to Deming, where we spent our first night at the Ramada Inn. David and I couldn't wait to get up and check out the metropolis. Imagine our surprise when we walked out of our hotel room right into a desert. Compared to 1982, Deming is a big city now, they even have a Walmart and a Burger King! Back then, McDonald's had just moved in and KMart was the only store in town. My father had deceived us and we had fallen for it, hook, line and sinker.