No one there was waiting for me. No one knew my name or who I was. I had to go up to the counter and awkwardly explain that I was the going to be their new co-worker. The other employees workers, who were all approximately 50–year old women, stared at me with judgement and disapproval. After I told the aunties I was the new worker, they called the owner to make sure there my this situation wasn’t some kind of mistake. Once it was confirmed, they handed me a uniform; no welcome, no instruction, just an orange t-shirt and a black hat.

Most people’s first jobs come with hours of training, days of watching, and months of preparation. My first job came with eight hours of complete chaos. I picked up shifts working aThe job was working as a cashier in one of those traditional Chinese bakeries–the ones that are always packed with Chinese grandparents crowding the counters and waiting for their orders. It’s known that the food will be authentic when the bakery is filled with regular Chinese customers.

The menu at the bakery had a large variety of foods including over 100 different types of breads, buns, and desserts. I stepped into the building ready to work without knowing the name or price of a single item. I didn’t really apply for the position–I was asked to choose between options for a summer job, and the next thing I knew, I was walking into the store alone, completely unaware of what to expect.

Before this working experience, I had always heard and assumed that working in a bakery was hard. I believed my parents… At least, kind of. What I didn’t know was that it would be this hard. If working in a bakery without having the prices memorized wasn’t hard enough already, there was another challenge that almost made me give up: the language barrier.

The bakery is located in New York City, specifically in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Bensonhurst has a population of nearly 32,000 Chinese residents, making it the largest Chinese community in New York City. A large portion of bakery customers of the bakery speak Cantonese, and only Cantonese. I speak Mandarin and English, but everyone around me, including my coworkers, were all very familiar and fluent in the language. I was unable to ask questions or and, most importantly, I couldn’t communicate with others efficiently. The language barrier and the difference of cultural backgrounds made me feel like an outsider.

There were so many roles that came with the job of being a bakery worker. Most of the time, I was at the front desk, taking customer orders the orders of the customers. After I took the order, I would have to grab the right food, or make it if they wanted a drink like a smoothie or bubble tea. Next, I had to put all their food in a bag and provide them with napkins and utensilsa fork or spoon if needed. Finally, I was also supposed to take the money and find change for the customer. Not only was it required to take orders and find change, i In my free time, I was either restocking the shelves with more food, packaging desserts into containers, slicing bread using machines, or wiping and scraping dirty counters.

For the first few days, every shift felt like a whole year. I dreaded going to work and I found myself looking at the clock, wishing the time would pass by magically.

I remember coming home from my first shift ever and just simply collapsing onto the couch and bawling my eyes out. I was exhausted, confused and overwhelmed. I had no idea how I was going to manage this job. Honestly to this day, I still don’t know how I survived my first week. Little by little, I have started to find my place.

While truthfully speaking, I still cannot say that working long hours is enjoyable, even in a more familiar environment, I try to make the best out of my time there.

Over the last few days, I have slowly started to find my rhythm. I have asked questions and dedicated myself to learning the names and prices of the items. I have also become friends with some teenagers that have also recently joined the bakery, making me feel a little less alone.

I remember coming home from my first shift ever and just simply collapsing onto the couch and bawling my eyes out. I was exhausted, confused and overwhelmed. I had no idea how I was going to manage this job. Honestly to this day, I still don’t know how I survived my first week. Little by little, I have started to find my place. One of the most important concepts that I realized is that the things that made me feel like an outsider at first are now what I contribute to the team. I speak English while the aunties don’t, making me the translator and the go-to worker for helping American customers. Another thing that stands out about me is my height. I have used my height to help the aunties reach items on the top shelves. They would call out my name when they needed something, and it became our little routine. My differences are the same things that help me to grow and feel like part of the family at the bakery. What once felt like obstacles have become the reasons that I belong.