Chasing the American Dream: Charles Thuo’s journey from engineer, army man to trucker in the US

Charles Thuo left Kenya in 1999 to pursue university education in the United States of America.

Three decades later, Charles says that his sojourn to the land of opportunities has been mixed bug of good, challenging and a little challenging.

Charles spoke to Citizen Digital about his journey in America – the lessons he drew – the missteps and the smiles.

“I moved to the United States of America in 2010. I remember I had just completed my first year at Kenyatta University when I got the opportunity to transition abroad,” says Charles.

“Let’s just say that I was looking for opportunities, and that’s because we grew up admiring the West,” he says.

Charles says he had to ‘borrow’ a bank statement from a family friend. So, him and two of his friends agreed.

“It helped that he himself had attended university in the U.S., and so he understood, although he felt it would proper if I went after my completing my undergraduate, but I was determined to go,” says Charles – noting that no one in his family had ever been to the US.

After clearance at the U.S. Embassy office in Nairobi – running up and down sorting documents – and completing the first visa interview – the beautiful door of opportunity opened for Charles.

“I remember the U.S. Embassy taking time to verify my KCSE certificates, which were very good. They wanted why I wanted to move to the U.S. when I had already been admitted to the university to study civil engineering.

“I said Kenya had very bad roads, and that I wanted to go to the U.S., study Civil Engineering then come back and change my country. I got the visa after the about-three-minute interview.

Charles had only two weeks to prepare and travel in time for the start of the semester.

Life in the U.S. was fast-paced – a proper 24-hour economy.

“The food, I couldn’t find ugali, or other Kenyan foods, and I had to deal with how people interact with each other. In Africa people have this sense of community, not over there,” says Charles.

His first job after arriving in the US was at a warehouse, picking orders from convenience stores.

“I would attend school from 3 pm until 9 pm when the learning centre would be closed, then proceed to the warehouse where I would work from 10 pm to 4 am.  I would sleep three to four hours, you literally have no life.

“That is why many people who go to the U.S. will go and stay for four to five years, then come back home because there is no rest,” says Charles, basing on his experience.

It’s tough is you are a student and you have to juggle between studies, three jobs, and activities of life as a young person.

“It can be isolating, unless you do the same job with your friends, otherwise people only meet during thanksgiving events, Christmas because people are working all the time,” says Charles.

Charles opens up about the notion that life in the U.S. is not a bed of roses, noting that there are many opportunities, which however come at a cost; for instance, you don’t get to have a social life.

Today, Charles runs a trucking business, having dropped his engineering hat after transitioning through a cocktail of jobs.

Watch the full video on Citizen Digital.