Throughout her childhood and adulthood she was exposed to many cultures due to the moving. She was mostly exposed to military life but when she lived in Camp Pendleton North Carolina she talked about how her husband's squadron felt more like family to her than what she was exposed to in her childhood. From the many cultures she got to see she really valued having large dinners with her husband's squadron and kids. During these dinners she valued listening to people's stories about where they came from and what they have seen while being in the military. Language had a small role, when she was a child her grandfather would speak greek but once she moved back home it was english only. Since her father did not approve she was not allowed to use
Once the war got worse and worse, things began changing. She had seen some things and had to do some things that would’ve been hard for a twelve year old. She watched some of the people from her town be taken away as hostages, the people she walked by everyday in town, people she went to church with and
The first question I asked her as, “What was the most difficult challenge she faced being an immigrant in America?” She replied it was difficult because she was alone at first and didn’t really get along with the family she was employed for. It was a struggle because she had to learn a new language and was taught by the family themselves. When she was in Los Angeles she took an actual class to teach her more formal English.
On her short visit home, how did her former life compare to her new life?
Her father brought Ah’Lexus and her family here to Virginia. Back in 2005, he received orders to PCS to Virginia, from St. Louis, Missouri. Her family made the journey across the country. It was not an easy transition. The family endured lots of hardship, especially having Ah’Lexus, move from school to school with her father being in the military. It was not easy for her as she was an only child in the family.
Joanna moved around a lot growing up because her dad was in the Armed Forces. Joanna was half Korean because her mother was Korean. Growing up Joanna knew she was always different from other people, but no one ever said anything; until she got older. Since she moved around a
doing from her country and how she hasn't completely gotten used to the American culture. In this story
When schooling was first created in the US, there were not nearly as many rules. One-room schoolhouses where there were all different kinds of ages and education levels were the norm, and the type of education that was given to students was far different than what they receive today. As education developed and various needs came to light, larger schools were built and students were segregated based on criteria such as age. Separate schooling based on learning ability (special education) was something that came later, but it was eventually developed. The system that is available today is working well in many cases, but there are areas in which it is still failing the students - mainly because there are still too many countries getting ahead of the US in areas such as science and mathematics (Darling-Hammond, 2001; Figlio, 2002). Until the US takes back the number one spot, today's students will be at a disadvantage based on what they are learning and how they can put that education to use in the job market (Collins, 1999; Darling-Hammond, 2001).
I started my interview off asking her when she immigrated to the United States and where in Greece she lived. Betty lived in Athens, Greece and moved to America when she was 26. Therefore she lived her whole childhood and some of her adulthood in Greece. Her family was middle class, Orthodox Christian, and strict. Betty explained to me that she did not face any significant issues living in Greece. She told me money was never an issue in her family so she did not have many hardships living there. She said it was a little tough leaving her family and moving to America. Once she met her husband, who also lived in Greece, they fell instantly in love and decided
Recalling her experiences in Syria, she pointed to the fact that Syrians weren’t ready to accept the war and how they didn’t want to leave their houses at first. She also talked about how her time in Rwanda was horrific and described how bodies of people were piled up on each other as tall as her
A couple of themes related to my mom’s story are her experiences with fleeing from Vietnam to Hong Kong as a refugee, immigrating to the United States, and obtaining citizenship. For starters, my mom was born in 1962. She was born in Vietnam, and fled the country with her family in the 1970s. Her family was comprised of eight members with four sisters, one brother, a father and a mother, and herself. During the interview, I found out that my mom was born in Haiphong,
After a year living here, she realized the “America Dream” would not come true, if she does not go to the school and get a career. So she did it!. she started taking two classes at night, then three. After almost 6 years she finally graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management. Then she starts working as a banquet's supervisor at the hotel Holiday Inn in Stamford, Ct. After a little while, she was promoted to banquet manager. Mery made a tremendous effort doing all this, but at the end she felt that it was worth it. Now she has a better life than before, and she can give her family the stability that they need. She said that immigrating with her family was not easy, because she had more responsibilities than others, but it did not stop her and they were the reason that pushed to achieve her dream.
In my Anthropology class we had to choose someone to do a project on in which we tell their story in order to discuss their values, events in their lives, and reevaluate their memories in order to represent a person's life story. For my life history project, I have decided to do my aunt, Nilda, because she is someone who is beyond incredible in multiple ways and I believe this is the perfect chance to tell her story. By me telling her story not only is a way for me to learn about her in ways I did not before but also for her to be able to regain all of the memories which were stuck in the back of her head. A reoccuring thesis throughout my interview was being able to adapt to the American culture. To tell this story of her life I would need to start from the very root of how it all started.
The topic focus of this interview paper is, the slow loss or overshadowing of one's own culture, due to the influence of the American core. So, how does one begin to lose connection with their heritage, by removing the things which we have a connection to that culture? Along, with the overwhelming Anglo-Saxon influence that is saturated into the United States. One would certainly have a difficult time in trying to keep in touch with their roots. Keeping in touch can be especially difficult when that individual was overly surrounded by one ethnicity of their family in comparison to that of the other ethnic background of the family due to the distance between one another. Coupled with the fact they barely receive any contact from the Mexican American side of the family. Of course, there are some things which you will always keep, such as the family menudo and pozole recipes, or the proper way to cook each dish. Food is one thing, it is easier to teach and pass down cooking skills and recipes. Hell, nearly all of our dinners are Mexican or more Tex-Mex style, we like crispy chili
She talked about the cultural
She had little schooling, but she had run businesses. She had managed on her own, with a husband and sons, in a country that didn’t care for her or her culture, but only for their aggrandized version of it. Her experiences were rightful cause to be jaded and hard, and yet she saw brightness and she saw brightness in me. She saw the great things in life, she loved hard and appreciated the little things — us going for a walk together or just sitting in the sun on a warm day.