Voices+-+Dear+Stefan

=Dear Stefan= Olof Oulstland 58/45 West Second Ave. Chicago, Illinois U.S.A. December 12, 1910 Dear Stefan,


 * I **finally made it across the rough terrain of Sweden on horse back to the port of Stockholm. Next, I boarded a huge steam ship to begin the journey to America across the cold frigid water of the Atlantic Ocean. The boat ride was very cold and very boring. All we could do was sit around and wait for meal time. Most people were sick either from the rough seas or because they came on board the ship with an illness or a disease. I stayed in the steerage class. It was very crammed with people who were coughing and throwing up all over the floor. There were only two bathrooms and about five hundred people in the steerage. I think we stayed in the steerage for about 3 weeks. The engine stopped a couple times and the people had to fix it all the time.


 * T **he first thing I saw on Dec. 11 was this big woman carrying a book. I almost screamed because it was so gigantic. I found out that it was a statue called the Statue of Liberty. It was a gift from France to the American people. The boat stopped on Ellis Island there were thousands and thousands of people on the Island. People were running all around and getting in lines. I hoped in the nearest line I saw. It took about 6-7 hours just to get through the line then people were starting to ask me questions. Such as “where do you come from” and “how much money do you have” also “what is your name” I thought I was never going to get out of there. When they were asking the questions I was very nervous and did not want to screw up. My English was not too bad because most of the people could under stand me. When I made it through I was very exhilarated. After I made it through all the stations, they put me into a waiting room. For three day. There was no food or water in the rooms so I was very hungry.


 * Af**ter waiting for three days they put me on a ferry. The fairy was packed to the max because of all the people jammed in tight. Every one was stuck and could not move, it took about 30 minutes to get to New York. I hoped off the fairy and stepped on the dock. I looked around and around. I started walking down the road and saw a big sign that said Chicago this way. I was very overjoyed because I thought I was never going to make it. I fallowed the sign down the road and it took me to a port. The port was smaller than the one out by the fairy. This boat had a very small carrying capacity. I sprung up on the ship, the ship left the port and went up the river called he Hudson River. We fallowed the river for a long time Intel we came to the great lakes. They looked like the ocean. The boat as running the wind and stopped its engines. There was all this wind that was pushing us toward Chicago when we got there it looked exactly like New York. But a lot smaller, I tried to get a job in the city but it was too hard so I kept to myself and left to the city to go look for land so I can harvest some crops. It’s all great here I wish you can come over to see me. You can stay with me until you get settled.


 * A **s you know Stefan, my life in Sweden was hard for me. My crops did not grow and I was losing money. None of the people in Sweden were nice all they cared about was money. I choused America because I thought it would allot better because I heard people made good deals. They said they had allotted of land and many sheep and cows. Many people were dieing in Sweden and I could not take that risk of getting disease. I’m hopping that come over to America and have a good life with me Intel you get settled.