Every limb was frozen.  I couldn’t get my head about me.  We had been standing out here in this rainy, windy night for what must have been a grand passing of time.  I was hovering over my little brother holding out my coat, so as to shelter him.  Our parents stood huddled together with as much enjoyment as one can muster being paired with someone they despise.  I watched them with such curiosity, as I often did, when my gaze was carried upward and I had to adjust my eyes against the terribly harsh rains and fog over the water.  Slowly approaching the pier was a ship with sails that seemed to disappear into the fog.  With a lurch forward, the ship completed its present voyage almost directly in front of us.  The plank was dropped with a loud clap.  The sheer mass of the huge piece of wood drove a wave of water over my entire family.  We were all soaked to the bone, cold, and tired.   Needless to say our spirits were lacking at that moment.  It was then that we began the long, arduous process of immigrating to America. 

            Beginning with Vati, he trudged up the plank in his leather boots splashing the whole way and Mama followed like a soaking wet mouse.  Then Haaden and myself made our way up the plank.  Our shoes felt smooth on the wood and the sounds were of soft thuds with each footfall mixed with the shouts and calls to one another by the crew operating the vessel.  There was a  number of various means of shelter out of the driving force from the sky, none of which were we offered.  A sharp “Nein, Bethe!” snapped through the air as Mama responded to having caught me attempting to bribe one of the crew members for access to the lower deck.  Vati looked at me so fiercely I had to force myself not to begin the overflow of emotions I was anticipating with the punishment I would receive once we landed.  My family huddled on a bench in the aft starboard part of the ship, again trying to shield ourselves from the barrage of water coming at us from what seemed like every which way possible.