Maria, my mother, has always been a driven and diligent person. She was raised in a small Mexican town. She was living in Mexico City where chances of getting educated were little to none because daily life was challenging. The reason life was so hard was because her family was very poor and had no money for anything. ... Read More »
I was a teenager, only 15 years old. I was a person looking for a better future and a better way of living. Me, my mom, and my step dad left Michoacan, Mexico to live in the United States. My parents and I were living in Mexico, Michoacan 1978, which was in the center. Durante este tiempo el aire estaba ... Read More »
My life was about to change. It could be for the best or for the worse but it was a risk I was willing to take. As a child, I lived in a little one-floor house with 2 rooms. Located in the hills of a valley. The valley was located in a small city called Veracruz, Mexico. There were house ... Read More »
The first person who came to mind when this assignment was presented was my eldest Aunt on my mother’s side, “Betty.” Out of her 5 siblings she was the only one who was not born in America and wasn’t a citizen until her adult life. To protect anonymity, all names have been changed. She and I have never had ... Read More »
My mother is Amy Li (name changed), who grows up in China. She has immigrated to the United States in 1996 and started her new life in Boston. This is her American story. She told me that the experience of immigration led her to see the wider world and meet more kind people. In ... Read More »
I interviewed my step-grandfather, Juan Herrera. He came into my family’s life in the mid-90s by marrying my biological grandmother on my mother’s side; however, his journey before joining my family is quite inspiring. He came to the United States in the 1980s as an undocumented immigrant to create a better life for himself and escape the poverty he was ... Read More »
I will share the story of my handsome husband, NK (who prefers to go by his initials only), and his immigration to the United States. NK immigrated in 1999 from Chennai, India, when he was 29. He began his life in the USA, in Sunnyvale, CA. Much of his education was in English, so speaking the language was natural for ... Read More »
We arrived in lovely Laramie, Wyoming, so my father could obtain his Ph.D. in meteorology. Yes, we stayed there until the completion of his degree, and then we moved to greener pastures. Quite literally there was no green and Laramie. It was either frozen or dirty, thank you very much. Then we moved to Mexico. My father was a ... 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 »
Tom Chiu is a first-generation immigrant who has lived in the Bay Area for more than 40 years. He is currently a resident of San Jose. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chiu came to the U.S. on a F1 student Visa after graduating from high school. Tom later graduated from San José State University. His career path has been ... Read More »