Personal Narrative: Uncle Tom's Cabin

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Nervously, I pushed my empty plate of sushi aside as I looked across the table at my new friends. I was staying with a host family in Tokyo, Japan, to study abroad and this was my first dinner with them. I was about to tell them about my life in America. Now that all eyes turned towards me with eager expectation, I hesitated, but I quickly decided that a few items I had brought along from home would help them understand my culture and worldview. I leaned over and pulled out my worn, blue backpack from underneath the table. Inside the first pocket was my favorite book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I read them excerpts about my favorite character, Uncle Tom. No matter what hardship he experienced, he stood up for what he believed in. I told them that …show more content…

Next, I checked another pocket and found my favorite adjustable wrench. I pulled it out and held it where everyone could see. I explained that this wrench had been my trusted helper for many years. It was the main tool I used for my small golf cart refurbishing business. I explained to them how I would buy old golf carts off craigslist and then rebuild the engines, and make repairs. Then I would relist them and sell them for a profit. I also told them about how my wrench helped me to be the neighborhood fix-it guy. My wrench had been especially helpful last spring when I assisted our plumber in repairing a major foundation leak. My parents got a discount and the plumber even took my supersized family out to dinner for my birthday! At this point, I stowed the wrench into the backpack. My host mother looked at me questioningly. She said that I had not mentioned my family. I decided to show them a recent family photo. I took the picture out of my backpack for them to pass around. All fifteen of us were in the picture. I pointed out my five brothers and seven sisters. They laughed at my youngest sisters—six-year-old identical twins! The picture immediately eliminated any tension between us because while I was a foreign student with a different culture, I was also a human being with a family. Just like

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