What was your family situation like where you were from? Respondent: My family was large and wealthy. My father was employed in a public office, which meant that he was in a position to provide for a large family. What was your family situation like then when you came here? Respondent: My family faced a political tragedy as my father ... Read More »
How was life in Soviet Russia for my Mom? Life in Soviet Russia was not easy but they didn’t know how to live any other way. Everybody lived very simply; there was not much food to go around, clothing was all the same, nobody had excess clothing, and they lived in small apartments. After the fall of the Soviet Union, ... Read More »
When she immigrated from Pakistan, Siddique initially come to Michigan to support her husband who was pursuing his master’s in electrical engineering. Later, she was able to become a medical technician at the former Lexington Brothers Hospital in San Jose, California. Working as a medical technician allowed her to find her passion of helping others ... Read More »
What was your life like in South Korea? My life centered around my role as a mother of two children, and a secondary science teacher at public middle schools. I taught over 11 yrs. When and why did you decide to leave? After I earned my master’s degree in 2013, I was debating between whether to further my doctoral program ... Read More »
I sat on the edge of the bed waiting for Mama to settle herself in the room. She sat down with her cup of green tea in her hands which she drinks at least twice a day. Her bedroom was quite small and crowded, but we had no other place but here to have a conversation without our guests and ... Read More »
Both of my parents come from the same city in Poland, so I assumed their experiences would be fairly similar based on the little information I had. Although, for this interview, I decided to sit down with my mother and hear her side of her experience, since we had never once discussed it throughout my life. Ania, my mother, was ... Read More »
I am from teavana in my favorite jarrito’s mug but that’s not how my original story started. I was a 4 year old leaving Mexico and migrating to Chicago, IL knowing I had family waiting for me and my family was ready to start a “new life” as everyone calls it. My story starts in a small Mexican town ... Read More »
Neither of my parents were of the type that shared much about their growing up in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Both were born shortly before the Great Depression. Pictures of both appear to reflect that they each led hard-scrabble lives. Because they didn’t volunteer much, I wasn’t too curious as we later led ... Read More »
Does your culture define who you really are? Can you choose a place you call home? To answer these existentialist questions, I have had to compromise who I really am. Sharing this was a tough decision to make as these thoughts had never traveled beyond the metal, cold walls of my mind… it is an intimate story of a journey ... Read More »
“I was running as fast as I could. My mother on her blue bicycle, followed my father as we made our way in the direction of the water. My brothers and sisters ran alongside my parents as we raced towards the end of the West Pier of Dun Laoghaire Harbor. I ... Read More »