Made Into America: Immigrant Stories Archive

The following interview was conducted at the Day Worker Center of Mountain View by Castilleja School students, Aimee An and Heejin Hahn. RICHARD: My name is Richard. My mom—she is from Sweden, Stockholm and my dad is from Samoa. Do you know Samoa? HH: I think so. A little bit. RICHARD: I will bring the map to show you. I’m ... Read More »

My name is Roberto. I grew up in Mexico where I studied and went to school, but only through primary school. I came to the United States just a little bit of time ago. I have been here for about five or ten years. I liked to live in Mexico more because it was more fun. There were opportunities, but ... Read More »

Lidiya was born in the Ukraine in July 1929. When Lidiya was a young child, she moved to Kharkov, Russia. The government there was oppressive, and they killed Lidiya’s father when she was only five years old. When Lidiya was ten, World War Two started. The Nazi party occupied Kharkov, and there was always a lot of fighting nearby. Despite ... Read More »

Chapter one is the Parents America is known as the land of opportunity. It certainly was that way around the turn of this century, when many people in China wanted to leave the country. My parents were no different. In 2001, Mom and Dad immigrated to Canada. There, they earned their master’s degree and P.H.D. degree, respectively, and eventually moved ... Read More »

The Chang-Urena family is one founded on immigration: the movement from Taiwan to Costa Rica and from Costa Rica to the United States. Upon setting foot on “Tico” ground in 1983, Liu started on a journey, one which brought him to America with his wife and two daughters. The initial purpose of his voyage to Costa Rica from Taiwan was ... Read More »

Jim Shelby was one of 8 featured storytellers at the Media Center’s October salon called “Foreign Correspondents: Immigrant Odysseys.”  He tells a love story about meeting his wife in Europe and then trying to imagine daily life through her eyes as a new immigrant to the U.S. Read More »

Ramses Bulatao shares his story about why did he come to US, his lifestyle and his viewpoints on education, youth and diversity here in US Shared by: Ruth Arriola Read More »

  English transcription of video: Hi my name is Paola Perez. I come from the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Prior to coming here, I lived in Oaxaca City for 5 years with my husband. The reason I made to decision to come to this country was because we had housing needs. We lived in a very small room and we ... Read More »

English transcription of video My name is Leticia Rios. I’m married. I’m from Mexico. I have five kids. When I came to the United States, it was very hard for me. Before coming here, my husband came first. When we had an earthquake in Mexico, and money was devalued, my husband was without a job. He used to work on ... Read More »

William talks about the challenge of learning English and not needing to when everyone around you speaks Spanish. He came from El Salvador and hopes to become a police officer. Read More »