June 4,1901

I'm so happy I left. There are no wars here in America, as there are in Romania. I wish I could have brought more than my suitcase and the bundle that you gave me. I did as you said and haven't opened it yet, but I still wonder what's in it. I took the train to the exit port and when I got off a man ask me a lot of questions. Then, they gave me a medical exam to see if I had any disabilities or if I had typhus or any other diseases. I was relived when the inspector said that I could get on the boat. I thought that maybe I couldn't get on the boat because I couldn't speak any English, but he waved me on. I can't believe Peter died last year. When I was on the boat I thought about him. I know he would have loved to be on that boat. Our trip took 40 days. That's why it took me so long to write. All I did on the boat was play cards, marbles, and sleep. The food was terrible. All we got to eat a day was two moldy, spider-infested biscuits, a pint of water that had black worms all through it, and 1/8 lb. of meat that tasted like it was spoiled and looked worse. I slept on the floor, even though it hurt my back. Every where I looked while I was below deck someone was either sick or throwing up. When we finally saw Miss. Liberty everyone was crying, but our tears weren't of sadness but instead of joy and relief. Some how with her pale green complexion, her torch, and smiling face it made us realize that I was finally to a place that I could proudly call home. After we docked, all of us, the steerage, were taken to Ellis Island. There we were given a medical examination and a legal exam. It was very busy in there every one, it seemed, was speaking a different language. The translators had a hard time keeping up. While you went up the staircase of separation they gave you a 6-second exam. They looked for any limping, lameness, lice, and typhus. At the top of the staircase you were given simple math problems, like 1x1, 2+3, or 5-1, and simple tasks, like putting together a small puzzle or picking up or holding a pencil. After the medical and mental tests, you were given a legal exam. They ask you your name, place of birth, where you were coming from and were you were going, if you had any relatives in America, and who paid your fair. I was really scared and confused, because the translator didn't know what language I was speaking. I said I was going to Pittsburgh to find work and a home. They ask me how much money I had and I said $24. The man I was talking to gave me a dollar because I was a dollar short. I guess I was just lucky enough that I had such a nice man for an examiner. All in all, my stay on Ellis Island was only 5 ours but I talked to some people who had been there 6 days. I'll send you money when I can so that you can come too. Well, I have to go the ferry's leaving for the main land and it won't come back around for another hour.