My Experience With The Filipino Community

Both of my grandparents on each side would transport back and forth from Mexico to the United States to work. These low wage jobs in the agricultural fields supported families of 8 to 9, but unfortunately wore my grandparents out by the cruel sun and stiff job conditions. Eventually deciding to move to the United States, my grandparents brought their families and settled in Woodburn. At age 14, both of my parents came to the little town of Woodburn in Oregon and would attend Woodburn High. Speaking no english and coming into a completely altered society, they were overwhelmed by the significant changes.

“I am Korean. South Korean to be exact.” These were the words I would always use to describe myself during new encounters. My race seemed to be what people noticed about me first. Whether I was at a leadership conference, church, or cross country event, there was always someone asking where I was from. For this reason, being an immigrant from Korea has been a big part of my identity as an individual and student.

I was 14-year-old when I left my country to move to America in March 2012. When I heard I was moving to the United States, I was so delighted words cannot even describe how excited I was that day. I remember the night before my trip I could not sleep. I was excited because my whole family was going to be with me. My dad migrated to Florida four years before we came, therefore, I could not wait to see him again.

Looking back on it now, my parents did a lot to get us here in the United States we immigrated from Montego Bay Jamaica to Jacksonville Fl. When I was about six years old. It was my mother, father, my two older sisters and I who all came together it was a long process but well worth the wait, there is a lot of paper works, shots and pictures that had to be taken just to leave my homeland, man it was so tiring watching my parents fill out paper after paper about each one of us individually.

It seems like just yesterday Mom was telling me to pack my bags. We were living in a small farming town just outside Catarina, Mexico. Times were really tough and Dad had lost his job. My family knew of people moving to the United States for work, but my family never considered it. Our entire family resides in Mexico; the thought of moving was unbearable.

Some were simply fleeing violence from gangs and deadly drug violence. As with many others, my parents sought to give their children a better life than they had. They knew that America had many more opportunities that could be offered in our home country. If it weren’t for the numerous sacrifices my parents made for me, I wouldn’t have the hardworking mentality that I implement in everything I do. I am very thankful and blessed to be able to attend college in a country where there is a tremendous amount of support to those who cannot completely afford

I was nine years old when I moved to California from Japan, all the way across the world. Moving to California was quite possibly the weirdest experience that has happened to me as a child. Trying to move from a place that I pretty much spent my life in than literally going across the world without knowing anything about it was very foreign to me, however my parents used to live in california for about one or two decades.

My parents and I emigrated from Mexico when I was very young. I was born in Zapotlanejo, Jalisco, Mexico. There my father, my mother and I lived in a shaggy one bedroom brick shack that lacked all the common utilities we take for granted here. There was no electricity nor was there plumbing inside the house. During the night time we had to light up oil lamps only when absolutely necessary and everything that required water usage was done outside. When my parents discovered my mother was expecting another child they finally decide that was not the life they wanted for their children. They left behind

My father moved to the United States before I was born. The reason is simple, like any other father he wanted the best for his family and that meant searching for new opportunities in this country. As my third birthday approached my mother and I prepared for the transition. At that time my father worked on a forklift in a recycling company. Years later he got laid off because companies no longer wanted to risk being

Our family moved to the United States of America when I was ten. My sister was 15 and although she was young, she was mature. I on the other hand was not, I was stubborn. With the experiences of education in our motherland, my sister found America is a great place for education. On the other hand, I refused to go to school because I was scared of not being

I was about nine years old when I first came to the United States from Haiti. Although I was old enough to understand that we were moving, I did not quite understand the importance of the move and why my mom kept referring to America as the land of opportunities. In the beginning, I hated everything, I did not know the language, I missed my friends, I missed Haiti, I missed the familiarity of things. However, my mom constantly reminded me that this is for the best, that our lives have changed for the better. So, I nodded and continued to be unhappy until I started to understand the language, until I started making new friends, until I missed Haiti less and less, and until the United States became home.

When my father came to my room to tell me that we were going to move to the U.S. I was very happy but also very sad, because I was going to leave my friends and my family. I ask him why we were leaving and he told me that we need to go because the insecurity in Venezuela was horrible. Also, he wanted for my sister and I to have a better future, because in Venezuela it was very dificult to live, because of the problems that it have. So, that is the reason why we came to the United States.

My parents wanted their kids to have a better life where they wouldn’t have to worry about getting killed one afternoon or attain affiliation with a gang at the age of 5; they came up with the idea to move us to America. At first they struggled to acquire the money because the economy in El, Salvador is horrible, but when they finally made enough to move our whole family they took the first opportunity they could take.

After a short while, it became a bit of a family tradition to take trips down to the sandy beaches of Mexico, and see what new things we could discover. Yet, that wasn't enough for my father, so when I turned eight, my parents sold everything, bought a sailboat, and we moved aboard. Having grown up abroad, seeing new people, learning how to speak Spanish, adapting to new cultures, my childhood overseas has given me the chance to see the earth from a whole new perspective.

My experience of moving to the USA included a couple of steps such as preparing, arriving, and adopting. Moving to America was one of the most thrilling and exciting experiences I have ever had in my life. It all started after I graduated from high school. I had always dreamed of going to abroad to study in a better school to be successful in life. My dad was leaving me hints here and there that he was going to send me America for school, but I was sure that it wasn’t going to happen because getting a student visa was tough back then. However, that summer when I saw that letter in my mail from the immigration department of USA for an interview, I was speechless.