Immigrant Interviews

1
Immigrant Interviews

• Brief Oral Histories from the Immigrants of Today
• 2005-2006

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Reporter Kinverly

• I interviewed my mom whose name is Rosa. My mom
  was born in the Dominican Republic and lived
  there. My mom worked in beauty salon. What is
  special about her country is Mothers Day on May
  30th.
  
• She came to America on September 3, 2002 and
  she traveled with my two sisters and me. The
  hardest part for my mom was leaving her friends
  and the people she loves. My mom came here for
  better life and an education.
• Her friends are Ana, Rosany and Lucia and it
  wasnt difficult for her to fit in because she
  gets along with everyone. It wasnt hard for her
  when she first came. She is happy that she moved
  here because life is much easier here.

3
Reporter Alex

• I interviewed my dad. His name is Victor. He
  was born in Guatemala. My dad worked on a farm
  when lived there. One special thing about his
  country was the food that his mom made.
• My dad did not come with anyone to America. He
  traveled on a bus. The hardest part for him was
  to leave his mom and dad.
• He came to America to work and to earn more
  money. My dad made friends with the Americans. It
  was difficult for him to fit at first because he
  could not speak English. America is different
  from his country because he was able to choose
  what job he wanted. He is glad that he came to
  America because of all the opportunities
  available.

4
Reporter Euris

• The person I interviewed is Rigoberto. He was
  born in Guatemala. He lived in Mola. He worked
  as a construction worker. Something special
  about his Country is making typical clothing, and
  playing marimba.
  
  
• He came to America in the year of
  1997. He traveled with his parents and
  grandparents. The hardest part of the trip was
  waiting for the airplane. He came to America for
  a better living.
• It was difficult to make friends when he came to
  America because he did not understand English.
  It was not difficult to fit in here. It is a lot
  different here than in Guatemala, and he misses a
  lot of things. Is better here because he has a
  better life.

5
Reporter Gilbert

• I interviewed my neighbor, Sandra. She was born
  in Colombia. She was a saleswoman in her
  country. Something special about her country are
  the beautiful flowers.
• She traveled to America with her husband, and
  her two children. She traveled in an airplane.
• The hardest thing about coming to America was
  the language barrier. She has a few friends here
  in the United States. Her country is very
  different than the United States because it looks
  very different. She is glad that she moved to
  America, but she misses her country.

6
Reporter Joann

•  
• The person I interviewed was my dad, whose name
  is Jose. My dad was born in 1964 and he lived in
  Dominican Republic. He worked at a bakery as a
  bread maker in the Dominican Republic. The
  special things about his country are the oceans
  and river.
• My dad traveled to America by himself and he
  came 17 years ago. He traveled by an airplane.
  The hardest part was that it was the first time
  going on a plane. My dad came to America to get a
  better life.
• His friend is his brother. It was very hard for
  him when he first came because he didnt know
  English and didnt know anything about America.
  It was also difficult because he didnt have any
  friends or family here either. It is different in
  the United States because here you can find jobs
  faster and better and in the Dominican Republic
  it is very difficult. He says he is happy that he
  moved here because he has a family here and he
  has a great job too.

7
Reporter Kelvin

• The person I interviewed was my mom. Her name
  is Maria. She was born in Guatemala and she lived
  in Peten. Her job in her country was to keep the
  house clean. One thing special from her country
  is there are a lot of nice mountains.
•   My mom came to the United States in 1987 and
  she traveled alone. She traveled on foot. The
  hardest part about leaving her country was
  leaving her three daughters and starving on the
  way.
• She came to the United States to work and to
  give her children a better life. My moms
  favorite friends are her children. It was
  difficult for my mom to make new friends when she
  first came because she didnt now anyone and
  nobody knew her. It is much better here in the
  United States than in Guatemala and she is happy
  that she moved here.

8
Reporter Chris

• I interviewed my neighbor Jose. Jose was born
  in Colombia. His job was to sell boxes. One
  special thing about his country is the beautiful
  colors of the houses.
• He traveled to the United States with his mom
  and dad in January 1999. He traveled by airplane
  to America. The hardest part of the trip was
  leaving his country.
• He came to America for a better life. It was
  difficult to make friends because he was afraid
  that they wouldnt understand him. He is glad to
  be here because he has a better life, and a new
  house.

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Reporter Lesdin

• The person I interviewed was my mom. Her name
  is Maria. My mom was born and raised in
  Guatemala. She worked in a company that makes
  juice. Something special about her country is
  that there is a holiday called Semana Santa.
• My mom came here on September 4, 1999. She
  traveled here alone. My mom traveled to the U.S.A
  on land. The hardest part of her trip was
  traveling through the desert.
• She came to America for a better life. My
  moms friends are the people at her job. It was
  difficult for her to make friends here because
  she didnt understand the language. It was
  difficult moving to America because she had to be
  separated from her mother and father. Living in
  the U.S.A is different from living in her country
  because here she has more job opportunities, and
  she can make money. In her country, men work
  while the women stay at home doing housework.

10
Reporter Lizeth

• The person I interviewed was my dad. His name
  is Jorge. He was born in Colombia. Something
  special about his country is the culture.
• My dad came to America in 2001 with my
  sisters, his wife, and me. My dad traveled by
  plane. He was scared because it was his first
  time being in a plane.
• He came to America because in his country there
  are no jobs. It was difficult for him to come to
  America because he had to leave all his friends.
  He moved here because there are more
  opportunities, and for a better living.

11
Reporter Luis

• I interviewed my mom, Aura. She was born in
  Guatemala and lived there for fifteen years. She
  did not work because she was in school. Something
  special about her country is the food.
• My mom traveled here by herself. She traveled
  on an airplane.
• She came to America to work. It was not
  difficult for her to make friends. She is glad
  that she moved here because she has a better
  life.

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ReporterMichelle

• The person I interviewed was my mom. Her name
  is Rosa. She was born in Dominican Republic. She
  worked as a house cleaner. Her favorite thing
  from her country was the food and weather.
• My interviewee, Rosa, came to America 11 years
  ago with her husband. Rosa traveled here by
  plane. The hardest part of her trip was leaving
  her family.
• Rosa came here for a better living. My moms
  friends are the people she works with and her
  family. It was hard for her when she first came
  because she did not speak English. My mom is so
  happy to be in America because her life is much
  better and her family is better off here.

13
Reporter Victor

• The person I interviewed was Diego. Diego was
  born in Colombia. Diego worked as a mechanic.
  He also liked to drive taxis in Colombia.
• He traveled to the United States on an airplane
  with his wife and children. The hardest thing for
  him was when he left his family in Colombia.
• He came to America for a better future. He
  was living a comfortable life in Colombia because
  everything was quiet around him, but he didnt
  have work. He came to America to get work and a
  better life. He is happy that he came and his
  life is better here.

14
Reporter Kyara

• I interviewed my dads friend whose name is
  Geraldo. He was born and lived in the Dominican
  Republic. Geraldo lived with his mom and dad. He
  worked selling bottles in the Dominican Republic.
  In his country the special things are the beaches
  and rivers.
• He came alone to the United States. Geraldo came
  to America in 1990. He traveled by an airplane.
  He felt sad to leave his country. The hardest
  part for him was leaving his parents.
• Geraldo came to America to have a better life.
  He has a lot of friends in the United States to
  talk to. It was difficult for him when he first
  came because he did not speak English. It is
  different here because the economy is better. He
  is glad he moved here because he has a better
  life.

15
Reporter Kiara

• I interviewed my mom, Joany. My mom was born
  in the Dominican Republic. She did not work
  because she was in school. In her country, every
  year they celebrate in the month of February.
• My mom came here on December 25,1994. She came
  by airplane with her family. The hardest part of
  her trip was when the plane had landed.
• My mom came to America for a better life. My
  mom has friends from work but she felt shy when
  she started to work. My mom didnt find moving
  here difficult because she came with her family.
  My moms country is different from the United
  States because here it snows and in Dominican
  Republic it doesnt. My mom is glad she moved
  here because she owns a house.

16
Reporter Carlos V

• The person I interviewed was Cortez. Cortez was
  born in Colombia. He fixed engines from trucks
  and built houses. Something special for him from
  his country is his house color.
• Cortez came to the United States in 1996 he
  traveled in an airplane with his family. The
  hardest part of his trip was leaving his
  beautiful house and garden.
• He came here because there was a tornado in
  Colombia and everything he had was destroyed.
  They went to a building to sign up to go to the
  United States to stay. Cortez was scared to meet
  people when he first came because he didnt know
  the people in the United States. It is different
  here because there are different cars, different
  language and different houses. He is glad that he
  has a place to live here and he has a better life
  for his family.

17

• The person I interviewed was Viviana. My mom
  was born in Colombia. She worked with my grandpa
  in a store.
• She came to the United States of America because
  she wanted to see my grandpa. He moved to the
  United States in 2000 and she didnt see him for
  a long time.
• The hardest thing was when she left her friends
  in Colombia. My mom came to the United States for
  a better life. She was happy that she came to the
  United States.

18
Reporter Clara

• The person I interviewed was my mom whose name
  is Monica. She was born in Colombia. She worked
  as an owner of a baby business. She sold things
  for babies. Something special about her country
  is a special parade of dresses with flowers.
• She came to the United States in 1998 and she
  traveled with my aunt and me. My mom came to
  America in an airplane. The hardest part for her
  was that she knew she was not going back to
  Colombia.
• She came to America for a better life. Her
  friends here are her family and she does not have
  any friends at all for real. It was difficult
  for her when she first came because she couldnt
  even understand the language here at all. One
  thing that she likes about living here in the
  United States is there is more security than in
  Colombia. Colombia is famous for the gold it
  has. There are many who steal the gold and it
  makes life miserable. She is glad she moved to
  the United States because she lives much better
  here.