Ruben is a dishwasher at a restaurant my boyfriend manages. I didn’t really know him before this interview, but when I approached him about doing an interview, he was more than willing. His command of English was pretty good, but some of the questions he had a hard time understanding and some of his answers I had a hard time understanding. But after interviewing him, I had so much more respect for him for what he endured to come to the United States in hopes of a better life. It really is amazing how once you start asking someone about their life, a seemingly ordinary person has extraordinary stories.
“I came to America ten years ago from Puebla, Mexico. Life was very hard in Mexico. The economy isn’t good and it is hard to work there and make money. I decided to come to America in hopes of getting a better job and having an easier life. Getting across the border from Mexico to the U.S. was very hard. It took three weeks to finally cross the border. Many people died trying to cross the border from no food, water, or from all the snakes. I had to live for those three weeks with no shelter and little food or water. On top of battling these issues was the issue of the mafia smuggling drugs across the border. They killed a lot of people and would make people crossing the border smuggle drugs for them. If you didn’t do what they told you they’d kill you. I managed to get away from the mafia and didn’t take any drugs over. I was lucky to have made it across.
After crossing the border through Arizona I got a hold of a friend who lived in NY and he told me to come there and he would help me. It took a month for me to get from Arizona to NY. I didn’t know English when I came to America, and it has been hard learning it. I’ve worked in housekeeping and in restaurants as dishwasher which is what I am currently doing. To become a citizen, I married an American girl who I was friends with. We got divorced three years later. I had a baby with her and now I have to pay child support.
My culture is still very important to me and I will always love my home country. I still have family back in Mexico and I go back to visit for Christmas. Teaching my child about my culture and Mexico is also important to me. America is very different than I thought it would be though. It is worse than I thought. I still would not ever move back to Mexico because jobs, food, and clothes are better in America, but it is not as good as I thought it would be. There is a lot of discrimination against Mexicans in America especially about them “taking over” everything. In a way I see myself as Mexican and American because I’ve lived here for ten years now, but I still feel like an immigrant and I don’t feel America is my home country. Overall I am happy to live in America and I am very grateful to have a job and a better life than many."
“I came to America ten years ago from Puebla, Mexico. Life was very hard in Mexico. The economy isn’t good and it is hard to work there and make money. I decided to come to America in hopes of getting a better job and having an easier life. Getting across the border from Mexico to the U.S. was very hard. It took three weeks to finally cross the border. Many people died trying to cross the border from no food, water, or from all the snakes. I had to live for those three weeks with no shelter and little food or water. On top of battling these issues was the issue of the mafia smuggling drugs across the border. They killed a lot of people and would make people crossing the border smuggle drugs for them. If you didn’t do what they told you they’d kill you. I managed to get away from the mafia and didn’t take any drugs over. I was lucky to have made it across.
After crossing the border through Arizona I got a hold of a friend who lived in NY and he told me to come there and he would help me. It took a month for me to get from Arizona to NY. I didn’t know English when I came to America, and it has been hard learning it. I’ve worked in housekeeping and in restaurants as dishwasher which is what I am currently doing. To become a citizen, I married an American girl who I was friends with. We got divorced three years later. I had a baby with her and now I have to pay child support.
My culture is still very important to me and I will always love my home country. I still have family back in Mexico and I go back to visit for Christmas. Teaching my child about my culture and Mexico is also important to me. America is very different than I thought it would be though. It is worse than I thought. I still would not ever move back to Mexico because jobs, food, and clothes are better in America, but it is not as good as I thought it would be. There is a lot of discrimination against Mexicans in America especially about them “taking over” everything. In a way I see myself as Mexican and American because I’ve lived here for ten years now, but I still feel like an immigrant and I don’t feel America is my home country. Overall I am happy to live in America and I am very grateful to have a job and a better life than many."
No comments:
Post a Comment