Category Archives: 1975 – 2000

Choosing California for its Diversity (Taiwan)

  He answered my questions while eating his favorite Taiwanese Boroh bread from his favorite Taiwanese bakery. The story started at his age of 30. At the age of 30, my dad’s name was still Jyhgwo Chang, a traditional Taiwanese name. After he became a U.S. citizen, he added a middle name Benson and change his name to Jyhgwo Benson ... Read More »

Just Married With a Vision for Better (Mexico)

              I am a plumber, and I am 54 years old, and I am born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico.  Why did you come to America? Interviewee: I came to America to give my wife and daughters better opportunities in life, I was determined to give them a life I did not have as ... Read More »

Seeking Better (El Salvador)

              I began the interview by asking my mother something I have asked about many times before – about her life in El Salvador. “Well I grew up very poor, my family did not have much. However we were happy, what we had made us happy, and even though we lived in poverty we ... Read More »

Leaving War Torn El Salvador

    My name is Alex Rodriguez and I am the Uncle of my interviewer.  I was born in El Salvador in 1983.  I was 8 years old when I was forced to immigrate to the USA for a better life, leaving some of my family in El Salvador. Now living in CA, I have a job and I am ... Read More »

Learning, Nature, and Baseball (Mexico)

Hesitation I didn’t want to leave. I was scared. What if I never saw my dad again? Nothing to guarantee that I would ever be this close to him again. I stood there confused and unsure in front of the large bright red letters of the El Gigante supermarket. I looked to my two older brothers as they turned back ... Read More »

Indomitable Will

    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 »

Opportunity to Set a New Course (Mexico)

  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 »

17 Year Old Leaves Poverty and Reunites Family (Mexico)

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 »

A Fearless Entrepreneur From Mexico

  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 »

Chinese-American Community Makes Immigration Easier

            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 »