When Lang opened the door to her new home, she found the house fully furnished, the refrigerator and cupboards stocked with Vietnamese food, rice, bowls, even chopsticks! The church would take turns sitting with the kids whenever they went to ESL classes, even giving them a ride to the classes. Back in Vietnam, “we lived a very good life,” said ... Read More »
1. How old were you when you first thought of crossing over? A: I was 15 years old and still in high school. I had heard stories about other people having success “up north”. I wanted to explore the United States and see what could be out there for me. 2. When did you actually make ... Read More »
Stan Ng recalls that in his 1960s and 70s Los Angeles childhood, one of the main activities his family enjoyed was to simply get out on the open road and drive. His dad would go up and down the 101, or make his way towards Santa Monica and drive past the Hollywood landmarks ... Read More »
This is my grandfather Judge Dennis Cantrell II. I was born on June 3rd, 1919 in Gainesville Georgia. I was born into a family of 9 and poverty. Not long after I was born, my family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, the things I saw were different than what I had saw in Georgia, or at least what I had remembered. ... Read More »
There are many unique immigration stories, but none are exactly like my dad’s story. It consists of many hardships and much patience. Although there were a lot of responsibilities and much loneliness, I must say that my dad conquered them all. My father was from Southern Vietnam and lived quite a normal life with his family. That is until, suddenly, ... Read More »
Guillermo Ortiz (name changed), is 45 years old and was born and raised in Nueva Italia Michoacan. He immigrated from Tijuana, Mexico to San Fernando, California in the span of three days. He is currently a mechanic in gardening equipment and he likes to watch soccer and play his guitar as well as sing to pass time. I chose this ... Read More »
Usually in those days, the man of the family made the decisions so everyone just had to follow through. My name is Gary Neuman. I grew up in Gothenburg, a fairly big city in Sweden. It was always cold, especially in Winter. I lived in a very small apartment – only 2 bedrooms – one for my mom and dad ... Read More »
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 »
For the most part my family comes from the British Isles. We have been on this continent for 300 plus years, that I have been able to document. For the bulk of that, in what is now Grayson County, Virginia and just over the border in Ashe County, North Carolina. All came here due to religious presecution and generally getting ... Read More »
I was born in North Korea and moved to South Korea when I was 7 years old. Although I was young, I remember it being a very difficult move. I studied home economics at the university where I met my husband. We got married and had 2 children. My side of the family was wealthy- they were pretty well off ... Read More »