I am a stranger in this land, very recently come to live among you all. I was born in a distant land to the east, a place the people there call the Land of the Rising Sun (although, from my experience, you can see the rising sun just about anywhere, so that doesn't mean a whole lot). My people themselves are not from there, but traveled there from a small, once-fertile area east of Egypt. Some having wanderlust, perhaps, a group migrated east until they came to a fertile island. I grew up there and learned both the language of my people and the language of the people there. But I was not happy there. I heard the stories of my people and longed to see the land where they once lived, where their history took place. Others agreed with me, and so when I was sixteen, we left and made the long journey back, retracing the steps of our parents' parents.
Sadly, when we found our way back to our true home after several years and much adventure and hardship, we were stunned to find it nearly deserted, and nearly a desert, for that matter. Severe famine had taken its toll on the land, and many of our people had taken refuge in other lands, including Egypt. I and a few others decided to go to Egypt as well and seek our fortune there, while the rest scattered elsewhere. But we all vowed never to forget our people, and to return to our land when the famine was over.
And now, at twenty-three, I am here, to learn what I can, to give what I can, and to make a difference, if possible. I am Meidori in my childhood language, meaning "beautiful bird," but in my people's language, I am called Meital, meaning "dew drops". Either way, you can call me Mei (pron: 'May'). I look forward to meeting many people.