My name is Meandro Antonakos, I'm 33 years old and I live in Greece. I'm going to America to become rich. I had to come on a ship, which took 1-2 weeks. There were 3000 people on the ships. Some were in the upper class so they got to be on top of the ship. Some, like me, were in lower class so they had to stay on the bottom of the ship.

We arrived in New York Harbor and people had to be inspected for diseases. So if we weren't sick & passed, we could get off the ship. We got on a fairy boat and went to Ellis Island for the immigration processing

I got off the boat and the docks were filled with people. I brought my bags to the baggage room where I had to leave them until I was done with my inspection. Everything I owned was in my bag.

Next, we had to climb the winding stairs to the registry room. Doctors watched each person as we slowly climbed the stairs. They looked for people who showed signs of health problems.

I had to go to the registry room which is a room where they checked to see if we were healthy enough to enter the country or go to the detention room. Thankfully, I didn't have to go back to the detention room. I didn't have any medical problems and my legal papers were all in order.

During the legal inspection, I needed an interpreter to help me understand the questions they asked me. I was very nervous, but I got all the questions right. Many people didn't get to leave and were sent to the detention area.

I headed to the stairs of separation. I had to exchange my 8,500 drachmas to U.S Dollars. I had $1,700 to start my new life in New York. The first thing I needed to do was get a bus ticket to the offices of my shipping company where I would be working.

When I got off Ellis Island, I worked hard for the shipping company and became prosperous. FinalIy, after two years I had sent for my sweetheart and she's on her way to meet me here at the kissing post. I can't wait to see her. We're going to get married and live happily ever after in New York City