5. I came to the United States in 1964. Actually, July of 1964. That was the first time I was taking a plane. It was the first time I left Haiti…it was sad because I knew I was leaving my house, my friends, and my family members…my father had left the year before. The reason why we left Haiti was for political reasons. What happened was that my father was an officer in the Haitian army…he was a major.