by Thierno Diallo

I moved to the United States in 2014. After one month I had a job. My first job was in an African clothing store.  My job was to watch the merchandise inside the store. But I had a big problem with the customers because I didn’t understand English and Spanish.

The first day the boss explained the job to me.  He said, “You have to clean the store every morning.”

I remember the first customer was a woman with three boys. She asked me about the t-shirt and shoes.  I didn’t understand what she wanted.
She asked, “What kind of t-shirt do you have?”  I didn’t say anything.

She asked if it was cheap.

I said yes.  I didn’t know what she meant.  She didn’t buy the cheap t-shirt.  After she left, the boss called me inside.

He asked why the customer was sad.  I didn’t know what to say.
The boss reminded me to do a good job before he closed the store.  If I did bad work, I would have to pay for the merchandise.

I was very nervous with my boss.  My first job was a very difficult job.

Thierno Diallo was born on 1989 in Conakry,  Guinea.  He has been in the United States in 2014. He is single and likes to read Internet news stories.  He has a sister and brother in Conakry. He lives alone in the Bronx and is employed at a famous Italian restaurant in Manhattan.  He studies English at Harlem Library.  In the summer he will go to the CLIP  program at the Bronx Community College