The challenges of immigrants often extend beyond getting acclimated to having much to do with the trials encountered from immediate family members upon arrival in the United States of America. It was the summer of 2006 when I met my husband at a sporting event while he was vacationing in Jamaica. I was suddenly smitten by him masculinity and enticed by his charisma. Our relationship grew at a rapid pace and soon thereafter we repeated our pledge for better or worse. Having lived as a single mother for a number of years, being married was my fairytale, the tropical Jamaica climate had never made me felt better and it suddenly seems like the golden sunlight was even brighter. I was now humming to tunes of love songs and at times even singing …show more content…
My son was always excited to see him husband to see him as they have developed a father-son bond that was astounding. Over the has become the father he never had. At two years, old his biological father abandoned him shortly after I told him it was over between us. My husband was attentive, helpful and considerate. Many nights I would relax in his warm arms on a make-shift bench having drinks, counting stars while enjoying the beautiful moonlight in the cool country breeze. He would tell me many stories, some were true and most were made up to make me laugh. I would laugh so hard my head and jaws hurt as tears flow down my cheeks. I watched him with pure joy as he took long strides inside the house to pour us another drink. I would often shudder with absolute pleasure as I over evaluate his petite frame and golden skin. Often times I had to pinched my skin to convince myself I am awake and is married to the sexiest man on …show more content…
My husband grew up in a household with both parents where most of his siblings were girls and were responsible for all the household chores. My most significant observation of his family was the fact that while his dad was the sole breadwinner his mother only performs the duties of a traditional housewife. This shows me that my husband was accustomed to a specific lifestyle and I realized that he was not prepared to change his upbringing especially in the presence of his family. My husband obviously was cultured to believe a man only contribution to a marriage is being a provider. His annoying attitudes quickly becomes very overwhelming and tires me to the core. On many days, I would cook dinner before going to work and when I returned home the kitchen is a total mess waiting for me to clean. At times, I wonder if my husband believes he lives in a hotel with paid staff as oppose to a house with a working wife. I would often sneak to peak at his hand just to ensure his hands are functional as I often assume he might have broken them after I went to
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
There are many challenges that one must face as we go through life. I have faced a few myself, however, none proved more challenging than moving from my country; Jamaica, to the United States and subsequently moving to the state of Wisconsin. Deciding to leave behind family and friends is the hardest decision to make, however, there are a few things that I was not prepared for that made the transition more challenging than expected. Moving away from all that is familiar culturally, socially and economically can be even more of a daunting task than imagined. There are things that are taught to us by our parents and others that are more dictated by our environment than anything else, so when I immigrated to the United States I had three major challenges to overcome.
In 2009, I went to Italy to become an Au pair for two years. This was a difficult decision for me. I wasn’t able to speak Italian and had never lived abroad, away from my family and friends. I felt I needed this experience to push my boundaries and broaden my horizons. It was incredible to experience another country’s culture. Living in Italy made me realize how grateful, fortunate, and capable I am.
"Why did she sing when she can’t even pronounce the words right? Haha that F.O.B. is so stupid!" These were the haunting words that I overheard my classmate utter to her friend as I was walking off the stage from my solo singing performance, cold sweat trickling down my face and warm tears welling up as my vision got blurry. These words remained etched in my memory as I was constantly reminded of the fact that I needed to improve my American accent to conform and assimilate into the American society.
The subject of this paper is Liz, a 52-year old, 1.5 generation female immigrant from Hong Kong. What this means is that she immigrated to the United States when she was a child, around 7-years old (Feliciano Lec. 1/4/2016). As a child of a family that consists of five siblings and two parents that did not speak any English prior to immigrating, the focus of this paper will be on the legal processes that the family went through to become legal immigrants and the various factors that aided in her path towards assimilation.
However, there are some other interesting questions that struck me in the process of my writing, and I would like to find out about them sometime. As an immigrant, I know that I still have my country, but what happens to Afro-Americans? How do they feel about still being the minority in their own country? Does color really doesn’t matter? Are most American teenagers expecting to marry Asian women?
Fortunately, contrary to what we had originally thought we were one of the few lucky ones. Our family stayed together and as immigrants, we continue to struggle through the many negative stigmas. This is not the ending to our story but simply a story of new beginnings in a foreign country. As my parents say frequently “America is the land of opportunity” and this is an opportunity I will hold tightly and never let
Over the past years, Alice Antonovsky and her team of immigration lawyers have helped hundreds of immigrants from different countries achieve their immigration goals. We have been winning complex immigration cases along the road and we take great pride in sharing real-life success stories of immigrants that achieved the American dream. These stories are real and not just what you hear on the street.
Where I am from, coming to America is an unachievable dream for most people; however, that dream became attainable to me one summer. When my father told my family and me that we were moving to America, I was very excited and I thought about a lot of things. I thought about all of the opportunities there were in the U.S. and how rich everyone must be. I also thought that everyone in the U.S. lived in big houses, and every school had a swimming pool. Most of what I conceived about America came from watching television, and a month later I would find out how wrong I was.
At a young age, my teachers and parents taught me to believe that I could do and accomplish anything that I set my mind to. I grew up thinking that I was unstoppable and that the only limit to my achievements was the sky. However, during my second year in high school, I began to realize that I was not as unstoppable as I had thought. I began to experience the consequences of my parent’s decision of bringing me to the United States illegally. Among those consequences were, not being able to apply for a job, obtain a driver’s license or take advantage of the dual enrollment program at my high school, simply because I did not possess a social security number. I remember thinking that all of my hard work was in vain and that I was not going to
When the class was told to write an immigration story I was very biased and stereotypical toward it. I thought that it was mainly Hispanics that would be talking and writing about their stories. What was unknown to me is that anyone can have an immigration story. All my life I was fascinated with history, but I never looked into my own. I am the product of two cultures, Native American and Black. Both of my people were persecuted and still currently rejected in society. Until now I have never thought about my family’s immigration story. I asked my grandmother briefly about it, as well as my father. My tribes are the Navajo and I am a part of the Salt Clan. The other is Jemez Pueblo, descendants of a tribe from Mexico. As for my father, he is
There is a common consensus among people around the world that the United States of America is the greatest country in the world because it is the land of opportunity, and the land of immigrants. In fact, the United States of America has always been the epicenter for the world 's greatest minds, and where hard work is recognized and rewarded. A place where boys become the future leaders of the world. A place where everyone, regardless of the color of their skin and their religion collaborate to solve the world’s future/current problems. Recently though, many Americans claim that undocumented immigrants steal their jobs, don’t pay any taxes, and still reap the benefits such as free public schooling. However, the author of “My Life as an Undocumented
Generally, the women who took part in my interview talked positively about their post-immigration financial and social statuses but at the same time shared with me the hurdles they had to endure because they depended solely on their spouses. All of the women also said that they felt grateful now that they adapted to the American culture. The also shared that they have managed to keep their culture intact by interacting with others from the same background and practices in their predominantly Indo-Guyanese community. The women described that their primary reason for journeying to the United States was to offer the opportunities they could not get as a child, to their children. More so, they felt that their life experiences had certainly been affected in the process. Today they have improved their lives as well as their gender equality roles within the families, and now partake in decisions regarding social, financial, and other important
It is incomprehensible for one to grasp what life is like for an immigrant. However, for many individuals this is their reality. During this century, in the United States, Cubans, Dominicans, Haitians, Jamaicans, and Puerto
I decided to interview my stepfather because despite knowing him for ten years, I do not know much about him. Therefore, this project was the perfect opportunity not only to get to know him better, but it served as a bonding experience. When he was telling his journey from Vietnam to the United States, it made me realize how fortunate and privileged I am. As I compare his experience of immigrating to the United States and mine, I realized that I did not have to face as many challenges as he did. I was young when I move to the U.S., so it was easier to acculturate and learn English. On the other hand, his experiences consisted of numerous obstacles, but he never complained about any of them. The interview provided me with a new admiration of