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When I was a child I was an athletic girl. I used to play some sports at school. I played soccer, softball, and volleyball. I won many competitions and I got some trophies and some medals. I remember those days when I didn’t have anything to be worried about, even though I came from a very poor family.
I didn’t know how much my father and my mother had to work for my sisters my brother and me. My grand parents took care of us while my mother was working. That’s why I called my grand parents "mother and father". My grandmother died when I was fifteen, and my grand father is still alive. My grand father is the most generous person I know. He likes to help his family as much as his friends. My family didn’t have enough money to buy us clothes, shoes, or toys. Instead we used to find old toys in the garbage, or we transformed things to pretend they were toys. But I remember I was the happiest girl in the world.
jocotes
In those days my country was safer than now. I used to play hide and seek with my friends at night or go to the forest and pick up fruits such as mangoes, jocotes(Spanish word), guavas, and other fruits. These days, however, my country El Salvador is dangerous and children can’t do the same things as before.
Now I’m here in the US and I see how children grow up. They spend too much time playing video games, on the internet, or listening to music. But children are not happy. Sometimes they say "I’m bored". Maybe that's because they don’t have the same feeling as if they were playing outside or in the park.
"Chico", my Guacamaya
My story is about the pets I used to have in Mexico. When I came to the USA, I left all my pets in Mexico because my grandparents don't like animals too much.
In Mexico, I have three dogs, three rabbits, one guacamaya, two parrots, one turtle, like ten hamsters, and eight parakeets. Now that I'm here I miss them so much. I was used to all their noises in the mornings; the dogs barking, the rabbits jumping all around, the guacamaya, and the parrots screaming because they wanted to eat, the hamsters with all those little noises when they were playing or sometimes fighting, and the parrakeets singing.
I miss my oldest dog the most. Her name is Mimi. She was always playing with me and following me all around. Also when I was sad, she was always there as though she knew I needed someone with me. Sometimes she started to lick me so she could make me laugh and be happy. That’s why she’s one of my pets I miss the most.
Another one is my rabbit, Konan. He was so funny because he acted like he was another dog. He was always following my mother because he wanted to eat. My mom gave him lettuce, carrots and celery. He always ate everything, but when my mom went upstairs to feed the dogs, Konan followed her and then she started to eat the dog's food. So because of that, now my mom gives him a little of the food of the dogs on another plate so the dogs don't bite him. And when you call him by his name he understands and comes to you the fastest he can because he thinks you are going to give him food.
At night my Mom puts all the rabbits in cages, because if she leaves the rabbits out, they would eat all her plants and she would get mad. And in the morning, my brothers let them out with the dogs and sometimes they start playing. Sometimes, the rabbits hide from the dogs and the dogs look for them. They look so funny when they play "Hide and Seek".
The guacamaya named “Chico” always tries to get my mothers attention. He starts to scream “mama” so my mother goes where he is and start talking with him. Also he is always mad with all of us. He always tries to bite us when we want to fed him, but when my mother goes he doesn’t do anything to her, he always moves over so my mother can get his plate.
Our teacher asked me if I could tell about the development in Europe in the last sixty years. What about the time after world war II, from 1945 until now? The question is: why is the European, especially the German economy better, than the American economy? To begin with, I have to say that I'm not an economist, but our family is very interested in politics and economics.
I want to start by talking about education. I think a quality education is a "treasure" for every nation. In Germany there are two branches of education. The first branch is for very smart students. They go 12 years to school. After the exam, the special name is "Abitur", these students usually enroll for a study at a university. A few years ago a uniform exam was introduced, the "Central-Abitur" for all students in entire Germany.
The second branch is for most of the students. They go 10 years to school, and they have to pass an exam as though for a high-school-diploma. After that school program, almost all young people in Germany get job training. It takes 2-3 years. The job training is specialized. It depends on the profession the students want to follow in the future. The pupils become qualified in companies, factories, restaurants, hospitals, etcetera, and in addition they get theoretical instruction in special schools for plumbers, electricians, or in special schools for nurses, etcetera. That is very important. It is like a school program. After 2 or 3 years the students have to pass an assessment test, and then it is possible for them to apply for a position in their field.
In fact almost all students learn a specialized profession. Now I try to explain the different economies in Europe as a whole. In Europe there is a single (internal) market, with a standardized system of law for example: no taxes between the European countries. Since we have established the uniform European currency, the import and export is much easier. Almost all European states are united to the "European Union". It is an economic and political union or confederation of 27 member states.
The EU (European Union) works though a system of special institutions and intern-governmental negotiated decisions by the member states. The foundation of EU was already created 1958 with 6 states. After world war II our country got a huge support from the USA through the "Marshall plan". In the present day in Germany the social partnership exists. That means employees and employer work together as co-managers or workers' participation. We work in a social market economy, that is balancing the interests between enterprise and employees. Our small and medium sized companies are very important. They are named the "Backbone of German economy". These companies get financial support from the government because it is harder for small concerns to exist than a huge company like "Volkswagen" or "Siemens" or "Bayer" (pharmaceutical c.).
The small and medium sized companies are family owned and they are especially closely related to their employees. These companies have a high flexibility. This means for example if there are not enough contracts or work the employees don't get laid off immediately. In that case, the working-hours will be reduced for less money. Germany organizes special programs for women. The small companies are very creative and innovative thus stimulating jobs. They have a lot of interesting ideas. In times of crises, these companies try to survive in this manner, which is explained above.
The EU produces a lot of high quality products. Our opinion is that with these products it is much better and easier to react to problems of the world (global) market than strictly financial companies can react. You can see it is a very complex, difficult, and interesting topic.
"Junk Food Aisle"
The way you live effects the way you eat. Sometimes when people change their lifestyle, they change their eating habits too. For many years, people don’t worry about themselves. They don’t pay attention to the fact that junk food is not healthy. Long time ago people from Greece used to say “healthy mind and a healthy body.”
This is expression has become a true reality in nowadays. For instance , our children are suffering in many ways. First, every time they eat candies, sodas and many kinds of chips, they are hurting their body. For a while they don’t like those things, but then they love them too much and they become addicted. Their addiction sometimes leads to serious illnes. For example, my daughter used to trick me. She does well in her studying and then orders me to reward her work. I asked her what she wanted. She responded by saying she wanted me to buy some candies for her. During past years, I always wondered what little details through time will affect my daughter. One night, she woke up with a lot pain. She was suffering. She felt something in her stomach that was bothering her. When I saw her face , she was panicked. “Please, Dad, would you take me to the hospital?” Right away I got dressed, and drove my car little faster than I used to . I took her to the emergency room then the doctor told me that she needs surgery right away. He said that she had a stone, something that required immediate attention. The injury in her stomach can affect the entire body and brain. I remembered when the nurse came with a bunches of paper work that I need to signed in order the hospital policy the doctor can do his duties. It was a risk. I never thought that my daughter’s life can be in dangerous situation only because I couldn’t advise her before and I felt guilty about that.
Another example, bad habits can take a life away. My uncle Luis who died 3 years ago also, he paid the price. I used to eat any kind of food out. I used to go with him to some different restaurants. He bought food outside on the street. He rarely ate at home. He didn’t like to do exercises. He liked to watch to TV a lot. He didn’t smoke but he loved to eat. He never visited a doctor, but one day he started to feel pain By the time that happened he couldn’ t get up from bed. Finally, a doctor checked on him and told us that my uncle had a cancer, and he had only few days to live. The news impacted our life forever. It was terrible, I still remember my uncle face before he died.
In conclusion, it is good to eat good vegetables and different kind of minerals and proteins for our body. We should practice exercise like yoga, run in the park or just go to the gym. We should have a balanced diet. We need to be careful about what we give to our children. The education and habits must start in our home. We should get information from magazines, internet, libraries, or any other resources. If we practice good habits we may live longer and be healthy.
Today, I want to tell you about my life as a Travel Agent. When I was in high school I wanted to travel around the world. So, I started to study Airlines and Travel Agencies Administration.
After I finished the practice hours, I began to work in the most important travel Agency in Colombia called Aviatur. It has more than two hundred agencies within Colombia.
At the beginning was a little difficult because I was studying and working at the same time. But, after two years I had more experience, and my work was more relaxing. The first job I had to do was to help one hundred people who were traveling to Jamaica for a Sales Convention. It was very hard because I had to resolve every problem with the logistics of the event. Then, I got my American visa and went to Miami for a hotels inspection. Little by little, I got to know Europe, the Caribbean Islands, as well as many countries in South America and North America.
Every time I took vacation, I choose a different place for research. I’ve enjoyed their cultures and gastronomy. The most beautiful place that I’ve known is Greece. It is really fascinating. I think it’s the best place for honeymoon, but, I went for work.
Finally, three years ago, an important airline invited me to Mexico for “Fiestas Patrias “ and there I met my husband. We started to chat and speak every day. Two months later he came to Colombia to visit me. Then I went to Sacramento to visit him, and after two years, he moved to San Francisco for his job, and we decided to get married. I am really happy. I think San Francisco is the best city in the United States. Now I hope to learn English quickly because I’ve realized it is very important to know English well for life and work in the United States.
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I am a city girl. My childhood was around a collective houses in Peru where mostly everybody knows each other. In the mornings, I usually attended school classes from 8 am. to 2 pm. I enjoyed being at school every morning because my classmates and teachers were very friendly. I remember taking classes in cooking, sewing, dancing besides the academic classes. But, I can say, the school was a religious one, so every Friday we went to the chapel to pray for a short time. During vacations when the classes were over, we would travel to visit my grandparents. They lived in a rural area, far away from my city, so we traveled there by plane. That was really fantastic! My whole family traveled to the Valley of Huancaray where we saw rivers, and crops of different plants that looked like a lively mosaic on the ground. I had the chance to ride horses, feed ducks and chickens, as well as climb the trees to catch the best and sweetest fruits. The lakes and rivers were clear as a mirror and I was able to catch delicious varieties of fish. I think this experience with nature made me have a great sense of caring of our environment.
The vacation also had a touch of craziness when the Carnivals were celebrated with music and dances all day for three consecutive days. At that time we played, throwing water balloons at each other or painting faces with talc. Food and beverages were offered during the carnivals at no cost because the community celebrated together and ate together. After returning from vacations, we came back home with loads of presents from our relatives and the remarkable experience carved in my memory.
OTHER ARTICLES BY FLOR MONTEZA:
"Loving Science and My Family", by Flor Monteza
"What Impresses Me About Martin Luther King Jr." by Flor Monteza
It was 11 years ago. Do you know of a country in which women don’t love? I arrived in the USA from Russia 11 years ago. This is my story about how dogs don’t bite, and women don’t love.
It happened one morning after one week living in America. I've liked to run all my life, and it’s very good for your health. I put on my running suit and left from my apartment. During this time, we lived 2 blocks from Golden Gate Park. The weather was so beautiful because, as I know now, we have spring all the time in the city.
After running for fifteen minutes, I was in the field which is very close to the Polo Stadium. I could see many people that liked to run like me but also people with many dogs. They walk dogs and play with them. Now I know that they were not only owners, but also people who walk dogs as a job.
In one moment I saw that maybe 7 dogs ran up to me. I have experience in my country. These dogs want to bite me. I know precisely that I shouldn't run. I need to stand straight and look as large as possible. I did that and began to look at dogs tremblingly. The largest dog ran up to me first and began to lick my hands, and everybody around smiled. At that time I didn't know how to say “Hi” and “Thanks” all the time; however, I was not bitten.
I remember only that after that I was back home and called my friend. He listened to me and then told to me a phrase which I have remembered ever since, "Igor, America it is the country where dogs don't bite, flowers don't smell, women don't love".
Now I know more and more about this great country and can answer him. It’s not true. In this county dogs bite, flowers smell, women love but they do that differently.
Au Pair Logo
My name is Ewelina, and I come from Poland. I am 19 years old. I used to live in a village in the southern part of Poland. I love my country and the people there. I am proud that I am Polish. I guess that my childhood was nice but a little bit difficult. Before I came to the U.S, I lived with my family of five: My Mom, Dad, brother, my grandma, and I. When I was a kid, I always wanted to do everything by myself. My mom told me many times that I was really a stubborn person, and she did not have any of her strength to change it. I was a quiet but a difficult kid. My brother used to experience the consequences instead of me, although I should have had them.
A view of Krakow Castle, Krakow, Southern Poland
This photo of Southern Poland is courtesy of TripAdvisor.
At school the teachers gave me a lot of time out. In primary school, I made a friendship with a girl who was born in New York. Her parents were Polish. She was bi-lingual. She spoke English and Polish fluently. She was great. We sat at the same desk for 6 years! When some of these years went by, I told her I noticed that sometimes I do something in exactly the same way she does and vice versa. I loved to observe her ‘American style’. I have always loved the American accent and sometimes when she spoke in English, I listened to her carefully. I know that America has so many accents that for me it is interesting. Today my friend Jessica and I do not keep in touch. That makes me a little bit sad, but I hope that we'll meet somewhere in U.S or where I am living now.
I know that just after being a student in high school, I have to come to California. Through those three years I just was thinking about California and how much I could do there. At that time, I did not have any idea how to come to America. I did not have money. Luckily one day when I had an English class at my friend’s place, she told me about program called Au Pair. I could live with an American family, take of her kids, and study English in an American college. This was good option for me. Now I am happy because I am in California and I live with a wonderful family. I am taking care of one kid, Sydney. I am lucky that I can live in San Francisco and see so many subcultures that for me is amazing as I am involved in one of them. Now I am making so many plans for the future.
A Village in Southern Poland
Pine Trees and Banana Trees in Honduras
My name is Carolina Velasquez. I was born in Honduras,and I grew up in small urban town that was beautiful, with hot weather and a lot of pine trees. The biggest town just has a small elementary school, and one preschool, a middle school, a high school, and a health center. I remember playing with my relatives and friends in the evening. They were great moments. I have seven siblings. When I had to move to the capital,I was sad at first, but later I felt comfortable, and I enjoyed the city. I lived in my aunt's house. I went to college and got my GED. After that, I got a job in a bank as a teller. I worked there for eight months and then decided to come to the U.S.A. I ended up in San Francisco. I have lived here seven years and now I can come to school to improve my English. Every day I come to school to learn and practice. I would like to speak clearly and correct my mistakes, but it is taking me a lot of time. I wish some day my dream will come true, and I will feel confident in my ability to speak English.
"Junk Food Aisle"
The way you live effects the way you eat. Sometimes when people change their lifestyle, they change their eating habits too. For many years, people don’t worry about themselves. They don’t pay attention to the fact that junk food is not healthy. Long time ago people from Greece used to say “healthy mind and a healthy body.”
This is expression has become a true reality in nowadays. For instance , our children are suffering in many ways. First, every time they eat candies, sodas and many kinds of chips, they are hurting their body. For a while they don’t like those things, but then they love them too much and they become addicted. Their addiction sometimes leads to serious illnes. For example, my daughter used to trick me. She does well in her studying and then orders me to reward her work. I asked her what she wanted. She responded by saying she wanted me to buy some candies for her. During past years, I always wondered what little details through time will affect my daughter. One night, she woke up with a lot pain. She was suffering. She felt something in her stomach that was bothering her. When I saw her face , she was panicked. “Please, Dad, would you take me to the hospital?” Right away I got dressed, and drove my car little faster than I used to . I took her to the emergency room then the doctor told me that she needs surgery right away. He said that she had a stone, something that required immediate attention. The injury in her stomach can affect the entire body and brain. I remembered when the nurse came with a bunches of paper work that I need to signed in order the hospital policy the doctor can do his duties. It was a risk. I never thought that my daughter’s life can be in dangerous situation only because I couldn’t advise her before and I felt guilty about that.
Another example, bad habits can take a life away. My uncle Luis who died 3 years ago also, he paid the price. I used to eat any kind of food out. I used to go with him to some different restaurants. He bought food outside on the street. He rarely ate at home. He didn’t like to do exercises. He liked to watch to TV a lot. He didn’t smoke but he loved to eat. He never visited a doctor, but one day he started to feel pain By the time that happened he couldn’ t get up from bed. Finally, a doctor checked on him and told us that my uncle had a cancer, and he had only few days to live. The news impacted our life forever. It was terrible, I still remember my uncle face before he died.
In conclusion, it is good to eat good vegetables and different kind of minerals and proteins for our body. We should practice exercise like yoga, run in the park or just go to the gym. We should have a balanced diet. We need to be careful about what we give to our children. The education and habits must start in our home. We should get information from magazines, internet, libraries, or any other resources. If we practice good habits we may live longer and be healthy.
My name is Irene Clark. I would like to tell you something that happened to me when I started to work in this country. My cousin's husband was a hostess at a restaurant and he found a job for me in the morning, cleaning the bar. He was working at night so we didn't see each other. My cousin showed me where to take the bus to go to work and where to get off and also how to get back home. The first day I went to work, my aunt gave me 50 cents: one quarter to go to work, and one quarter to come back home. When I got off the bus, I was tossing a quarter in my hand and I dropped my quarter in the sewer, but I wasn't paying much attention to it. After I finished working, I went out to the street and that was when I remembered I didn't have the quarter to get back home. So I kept looking at the street and asking myself how I was going to get back home. I didn't know my way home except by taking the bus. For a little while, I was thinking and I thought if I followed the bus, I would be able to get back home. I waited for the bus to see the way the bus was going and how I could follow it. So, I started to walk behind the bus until I couldn't see it anymore. Then, I waited for another one and did the same. By the time I got home, it was very late and my family was very worried because they had been looking for me without knowing where I had been. They called my work and my boss told them I had left at 4:00 pm. It was 7:00 pm when I finally got home. They were mad at me because they couldn't understand why I hadn't called home or asked somebody for a quarter. But I was embarrassed to ask for a quarter or tell them what had happened. The next day, when I came to work, my boss knew what had happened to me, and he was laughing. I didn't like it, but I couldn't do anything about it because it was my fault.
I want to call this composition,"My first Car in America". To my fellow friends of the City College of San Francisco, I want you to know, I am Eduardo Cisneros. First, I want to tell you that this is my third composition to be published on "The New Mission Journal of San Francisco". I have already written two other ones. I hope that you will enjoy this one, too. The first story I wrote was called, "How a Little Poor Kid Helped His Mother" to raise his brothers and sisters. I called the second one, "The Childhood of Eddy Cisneros", and the third I will call "My First Car in America." This time, I want to write about something that can happen to anybody who comes to "America"for the first time. First, we go to see and have fun at many places in San Francisco, such as Ocean Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, the Zoo of San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, and so on. These places make you excited, and you'll never forget them as long as you live. Besides these places, also in your mind is something you remember about first coming to the United States, and this is what you're going to hear about.
With an empty pocket, with no money, and wearing somebody else's clothes who lent them to you, these are embarrassing moments. This was how our life in this country began. We came here because we wanted good work opportunities. Of course, in some places our choices don't matter. You naturally will work wherever you find work first. This was how it happened with me in the beginning, when I couldn't speak English at all. My priority at that time was to get a job, no matter how or what. Secondly, I had to find a place to live. I say that because mostly a new immigrant has to live first in the house of somebody else like your mother's house, your brother's house, your sister's house or a shelter. Nothing is more important for us than to find our own place, so that you can do whatever you want to do according to your own lifestyle. I remember when I lived in my older sister's apartment, where she didn't have place for me. I had to sleep on the sofa in the living room for months. Also she felt she had to do something for me like my mom: prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes, on the weekends, I went to my girlfriend's house too. She and her sister helped me to look for a job, and my brother-in-law took time to show me the city by bus and train, because some day I would have to do it by myself. I needed to learn all of this, because otherwise I would have to put up with my sister and brother treating me like a child, and that was really the most embarrassing time in my life, because I considered myself a grown up.
But enough of that! Let's go back and continue the most important part of this composition. It happened when I was working for several months in a restaurant called "Little Mama's" in North Beach. I worked there for many months. I did two kinds of jobs, one in the morning doing dishes and the other in evening, cleaning the restaurant as janitor. I did this job for months in that place and later on they transferred me to their other restaurant which was in downtown San Francisco. That is how I bought my first car, because I was working hard to save some money, and to find something I could use to go to work. At that time they paid me a low salary: the minimum wage, and that was the reason I had to work hard in two jobs. But no matter. When you have a family to support too with kids, you need to work two jobs. It's okay because sometime or other in everyone's life is tough, isn't it?
Ford Fairlane, 1957
But I guess I've been talking too much? But to start I'm going to be honest and tell you guys, I used to have another car in my country that I bought many years before. I was 26 years old. It was a Ford Fairlane, 4 doors, 6 cylinders, black, 5 passenger seats and the interior was red color. That car was very nice. The body was made of steel. The bumpers were strong too. It looked like that car was never going to die easily. It was a car made to last forever. Many people liked to preserve that kind of car. They kept it cleaned and later on they converted these cars into collectible cars and sold them for a lot of money. But also I don't want to forget how I got the money to buy that car. In that time where was living in my country, Peru, when we didn't have the chance to get good job, where a place doesn't exist to work and so you can't dream about getting a good salary and they couldn't pay a good salary. They are rich but they don't pay us enough money to buy something good and useful, neither a bicycle nor a motorcycle. In the early 80's when I was a handsome young man, I was working for a company where they made packaged products, food for pets. My job was as salesman, I had to go to the stores, markets and many places to sell the product. They paid me a good salary and good commissions too. That was when I learned to save money. It's good to have money saved because one day you'll need it, as when I bought my first car in my country, Peru.
About 20 years later, when I was living and working in San Francisco, I decided to buy a car. I was a little confused, because I wasn't sure where I was going to park the car once I bought it. But I needed the car to go to work. I was looking in the newspaper and magazines and I didn't find anything. I was looking for a car similar or the same as the car I used to have in my country, and finally my brother-in-law found a cheap car but it had mechanical problems. That didn't bother me because I had personal knowledge about the machinery of old cars.
For me, it was an interesting car because it was a 1967 Red Mustang. It had 2 doors, a very nice black interior, and it hadn't been driven too much. It didn't have many miles on it, and it looked fine to me. The problem was, it had a broken a piston. Now you may say this guy is crazy or stupid to buy this car. He's going to buy a car with a broken piston? No way! But I did buy it because I know a lot about the mechanics of it and because I love sports cars. I learned how to be a mechanic when I lived in Venezuela. There I was a mechanic's helper and I learned how to fix clutches, brakes, points, spark plugs, and how to repair old cars. I know it's going to be a piece of cake for me to fix, but another problem was that car had stick shift. Its transmission wasn't automatic at that time. I didn't know much about how to drive that kind of car. The car cost almost 800.00 bucks. We took it home, but I didn't drive, my brother-in-law drove it.
I guess the price wasn't too much for me. It was affordable at that time for my pocket, no problem. But what I didn't realize was that I was going to enjoy this car for many years of my life. 800 bucks. A 67 Mustang at that price was rare and that car give me a lot of satisfaction in my life. One day, I went to San Diego. I was in Hollywood. I experienced the beaches of California, but mostly I enjoyed the time we went to Nevada City to visit my old friends when they lived there. We went to Reno's Casinos, Lake Tahoe, and many Native American Casinos, and Sacramento too. This car, I tell you, I have a lot of fun with it, and I'm never going to forget it I until I die.
My friends and neighbors also liked my car very much, and they liked to watch me when I was fixing my car in the street or washing it, or polishing it. I was doing many things with the car, and they wanted always to know what I was doing. Why were they so curious? But anyway, this car I still have, I haven't sold it yet. There are a few days left in its life. I guess I will put it up for sale one of these days. When I've driven my old car, some people ask me when I'm going to sell it. I say not yet, but one day maybe. It happens every single day, on the street of some places or many places, I get asked, "Hey, what year is your Mustang? 67 right? It's very nice. I like it." Can you believe it happens every single day? Can't you believe it?
When my daughter was a little girl, she would draw 3 people and a dog. She would always ask me and my husband if she could have a dog. so one of my nephews called my husband to tell him that he had a dog and was going to give it to my daughter as a present. My nephew gave her the dog as a surprise 4 1/2 years ago. She was very happy to see the dog.
At first, I was not happy because I didn't want a mess in the living room or in the kitchen, but then I got used to the dog and I'm happy now that I have a dog. The dog's name is Chealsy. Chealsy tries to make me happy by getting her toy ball and tossing me the ball with her nose. Sometimes when I don't pay attention to her, she keeps on bothering me until I pet her or play with her. When I used to be depressed, she would look at me and cheer me up. Also she would do funny stuff that would make me laugh. I'm glad I met this dog. Now my life changes when she is around. I take a lot of pictures of her because she is so adorable. Now Chealsy is always with us. Even on the weekend when we go places, she comes with us in the car. She likes the car, and she is just happy when she goes outside or gets a ride in the car. We spend a lot of money on her food, treats, biscuits, toys, and medicine. We sometimes cut her hair and give her a hair cut.
Berkeley Law School
I was born in El Salvador.
I came to the United States a long time ago. Since I came to this country, I haven’t had time to come to school. When I came here the most important thing was getting a job, which was really hard to find. I remember the first place that I was looking for a job was at a restaurant. When I went to the restaurant and asked for a job, the answer was, "Are you a resident?” when I said "No", they asked, “Do you know how to speak English?” When I said "No", they said "We are looking for someone who speaks English and also has immigration papers."
But I continued looking for job, and after four months, I got a job in a restaurant. The salary was too low, but I worked there for many years. When my children were born, I decided to change my schedule to work at night time because I wanted to take care my three beautiful sons and also I wanted to take them to school. I always explained to my sons that they had to study hard to be accepted in a good university, and they did. They worked hard and got good grades and they were accepted to U.C. Berkeley. Now my older son is a lawyer, and my second boy became an Engineer in computer science, and also my younger boy is studying at Berkeley Law School to become a lawyer too. So it was very hard for me when I came to this country, but now a feel happy that my sons are successful.
"Mother and Child" Pablo Picasso, 1921
My name is Maria Morales. I came to the United States with my family more than 20 years ago. When I came here, my oldest son was 2 and half years old, and my second son was 5 months old. At first, like many people, I lived with my relatives while my husband looked for a job. It was difficult for him to find a job because his English was not good. When he applied, the person who interviewed him said he needed to speak English fluently to work in the job he wanted. At first he had to work in a small liquor store at night and study English in the day time.
Sometimes I worked too in a small word processing company for a few months making tax forms. After almost one year of studying English and working in different areas, he found a job a City College of San Francisco as a Computer Analyst. I stayed at home to take care of the house and children. When my second child was in preschool, I tought I was ready to go back to work but became surprised that I was pregnant for a third time, and my dream of working disappeared again. My last pregnancy was very difficult because the whole time I was very sick and almost lost my daughter. She was born at 6 and a half months, weighing 3 pounds.
She had to stay in the hospital for almost 3 months, I visited her every day and then picked up my sons at school and go home. When the doctor released her, she was okay to go outside the hospital. I took care of her in my home. She grew up healthy and nobody thought she was premature.
After that, I continued to take care of my children and waited for them to grow up. My daughter and her second oldest brother graduated from College and my oldest son is finishing next year. After my second son finished his master degree, he got married and now has two sons. He is happy with his family.
Now I have time to go back to school to study English because in this country we need to communicate with other people and learn different things. Speaking English has helped me learn how to bake cakes, knit hand crafts and more. I look back on those years and I think they were difficult, but worth it. Staying at home to dedicate myself to take care of my children was the hardest but the most rewarding job I could ever have.
Snow in Denver
Beginning 1956 in Guatemala City, Central America, I believe one year after I got married, I celebrated the arrival of a beautiful baby girl, my wife and I named Miriam Elizabeth. At that time, I was working very hard, many hours a day, but the salary I was earning was not enough to keep up with the needs of the household. My best friend, Sal Ayala, and I had been friends since we were 12 years old, but he had left Guatemala two years earlier. He was lucky in this country. He always tried to encourage me to come to the United States, but I was always afraid to come to this country without speaking any English. At that time, he was bilingual and helped me with Spanish and English communication. He went to school for a few years and had a career in real estate.
Sal used to return to Guatemala every six months for business in a different car, selling it and returning by plane. He used to visit me and try to convince me to come to the United States, so I decided finally to pack my things and sell some of my belongings. It was hard for my wife to let me go, but she took a big chance and let me leave. People in my city thought that I would leave her forever. However, it certainly was not like that.
My trip was not very happy because there was not one English word in my vocabulary, and no communication with the people. I arrived in New Orleans in December. Another friend was waiting for me and let me stay at his house. The next day, I started my trip from New Orleans to Denver, Colorado. I did not know this trip would take about three days and two nights. Something that really surprised me was the discrimination against people from Mexico and Central America. Every time we stopped to eat, we had to go to a different restaurant, and we had to ride in the back of the bus.
I also had a little problem getting something to eat. My English was bad, and I could only order coffee and apple pie, so for three days, I couldn’t eat much. Now I am committed to helping the friends I have.
When I arrived in Denver, to my surprise the address I had was my friend's place of work. It was one of the luckiest days of my life because my friend was working that day. I went inside, and he was surprised to see me, and even more surprised to see me talking with my hands and arm signals. He gave me his apartment keys, and the taxi took me there.
In Denver I started to work as a dishwasher at night. It snowed day and night, and I had never seen snow in my life. Four months later three friends and I decided to go to San Francisco.
The week I arrived here, I started to work at American Poultry Company, where I worked forty years. Two years after I left my country my wife and daughter, Miriam, arrived in San Francisco, and Juliet and Mike Junior were born three years later.
They are all married now, and we have four grand kids; Angela, Jasmine, Javier and Math. Mike Jr. is an engineer in electronics with the U.S. Army, Airborne Division. Miriam graduated several years ago from S.F. State University in chemistry and biology and is now working at Summit Hospital in Oakland; and Juliet is a bookkeeper in a big company in San Francisco. My goals have been achieved, and I thank God for all the help He has always given me.
I am retired now. My plans for the future are to continue doing what I am doing at the moment; coming to school and studying computers, English, and computer repair and to have a diploma from City College of San Francisco. I have been trying to write a column in one of Guatemala's news papers together with my niece, and I feel competent to go into commercial business in computer repair. There is a lot of competition, and I have been trying to install some memory in my computer, but I think the memory card I have is not compatible with my PC.
I would like to tell you about the first day I arrived in the United States. I was happy and sad at the same time, happy because I was going to know the U.S. and sad because I was leaving my family and very nervous because it was my first time flying in an airplane. Oh my God, I got so sick throwing up all the time, I didn't eat anything on the plane, and when I saw the people's food and smelled it, I felt worse. In the airplane, the people were speaking only English and I didn't have any idea of what they were saying, but when I heard the flight attendant say "San Francisco" and saw the people standing up and getting in line to leave the airplane, I did too. I was one of the last ones to leave the airplane, and I didn't know where the people went. I started walking and asked anyone I found in the hallway. "San Francisco" was all I said and no one answered me. I kept walking and stopping people and saying "San Francisco." I continued walking and I ended up in the parking lot, then I came back inside.
I was shaking and almost ready to cry, I don't know how I found the counter, but all the counters were empty. I was very tired and my tears started coming out. I didn't know what to do and the airport looked so immense to me. I needed to go to the bathroom, but I didn't know where to go, and I was also afraid. Suddenly I saw a man open a door on one of the walls behind the counter. I ran to him and said "San Francisco." He looked at me, but didn't say anything. Then, he grabbed my hand and picked up a phone. He started to talk, but I didn't know what he was saying. Then he hung up the phone and pulled me inside the door from where I saw him coming out. I saw a hall way. We walked for a little while and then we went inside an elevator. We left the elevator and went inside another door. We walked a little bit until we arrived at the front of an airplane door. A lady was standing there. I was shaking all over, and I felt my heart pounding so hard it was as if it was coming out of my chest.
The lady brought me to a seat and buckled my seat belt. Finally, I got to San Francisco and what a surprise. I looked all over trying to find my family but nobody was waiting for me because I was on another plane after I had missed the one I was on. I heard two men saying they were going to pick up their luggage, so I followed them and in a few minutes we were at the baggage claim but mine wasn't there. I saw a man with a baggage cart and he looked Spanish to me and I told him I didn't find my luggage and he asked me where I was coming from. After I told him, he brought me to an office, and there was my luggage. It was just a small suitcase, so I could carry it myself.
I went outside and stood on the sidewalk. It was a little cold, but I kept standing there, I don’t know for how long. Then, a man drove up in a yellow car, stopped, and said, “taxi”. I only looked at him because I was afraid. Then, he said, “Taxi, Senora?” I opened my eyes so wide with surprise because when I heard him say “senora,” I thought he spoke Spanish, but he didn’t. He asked me where I was going, and I made a motion with my head to him. Then, he said, “Casa?” and I moved my head again toward my dress pocket where I had the address written on a piece of paper. I gave it to him, and he grabbed my suitcase and motioned with his hand indicating I should follow him. He opened the door for me and put the suitcase in the trunk of the car.
It seemed as though he drove for a long time, and I was afraid because I didn’t know him, and I thought maybe he was going to take me to another place or even kill me. But after some time, he stopped and said, “Here.” I saw on the door, 3062, and I said, thank God I am home. He then said, “money.” But I didn’t do anything, so he showed me a dollar bill. I gave him the only 20 dollars I had and he gave me change. He left the cab, opened the door. I got out, and gave me my suitcase. He then drove off.
I started to walk up the stairs. I knocked on the door, but no one answered. Then, I saw the door bell, so I pushed the button. The light in the house came on and I heard someone say, “Don’t open the door. It might be a thief.” So, they didn’t open the door for me. So, I sat down on the stairs and cried. It was very cold, and then it started drizzling, then it started raining a little harder. I was so cold and very afraid on the street. I went up again and knocked on the door very hard. They turned on the light again and came to the door. The lady had a lamp in her hand, and she looked through the little glass window on the door, staring at me, and then she said, “It’s Irene.” After that, they ran to the door and opened it. I was crying. I went inside the house, and they gave me a towel and then they gave me a cup of warm milk. We all went to bed. The next day, we talked about the whole thing and they realized they had forgotten that I was coming that day.
Teacher's Comment: This is a wonderful story. It is humorous, honest, and terrifying at the same time. It is a very good example of what it must feel like to be a stranger in this very strange land. This story reminds me of the work of a great German short story writer and novelist, Franz Kafka. Here is an excerpt from Kafka's novel, "The Trial". How is this story of Kafka's similar to Irene Clark's? How is it different?
Before The Law - Franz Kafka:
Before the law sits a gatekeeper. To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law. But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment. The man thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to come in later on. “It is possible,” says the gatekeeper, “but not now.” At the moment the gate to the law stands open, as always, and the gatekeeper walks to the side, so the man bends over in order to see through the gate into the inside. When the gatekeeper notices that, he laughs and says: “If it tempts you so much, try it in spite of my prohibition. But take note: I am powerful. And I am only the most lowly gatekeeper. But from room to room stand gatekeepers, each more powerful than the other. I can’t endure even one glimpse of the third.” The man from the country has not expected such difficulties: the law should always be accessible for everyone, he thinks, but as he now looks more closely at the gatekeeper in his fur coat, at his large pointed nose and his long, thin, black Tartar’s beard, he decides that it would be better to wait until he gets permission to go inside. The gatekeeper gives him a stool and allows him to sit down at the side in front of the gate. There he sits for days and years. He makes many attempts to be let in, and he wears the gatekeeper out with his requests. The gatekeeper often interrogates him briefly, questioning him about his homeland and many other things, but they are indifferent questions, the kind great men put, and at the end he always tells him once more that he cannot let him inside yet. The man, who has equipped himself with many things for his journey, spends everything, no matter how valuable, to win over the gatekeeper. The latter takes it all but, as he does so, says, “I am taking this only so that you do not think you have failed to do anything.” During the many years the man observes the gatekeeper almost continuously. He forgets the other gatekeepers, and this one seems to him the only obstacle for entry into the law. He curses the unlucky circumstance, in the first years thoughtlessly and out loud, later, as he grows old, he still mumbles to himself. He becomes childish and, since in the long years studying the gatekeeper he has come to know the fleas in his fur collar, he even asks the fleas to help him persuade the gatekeeper. Finally his eyesight grows weak, and he does not know whether things are really darker around him or whether his eyes are merely deceiving him. But he recognizes now in the darkness an illumination which breaks inextinguishably out of the gateway to the law. Now he no longer has much time to live. Before his death he gathers in his head all his experiences of the entire time up into one question which he has not yet put to the gatekeeper. He waves to him, since he can no longer lift up his stiffening body. The gatekeeper has to bend way down to him, for the great difference has changed things to the disadvantage of the man. “What do you still want to know, then?” asks the gatekeeper. “You are insatiable.” “Everyone strives after the law,” says the man, “so how is that in these many years no one except me has requested entry?” The gatekeeper sees that the man is already dying and, in order to reach his diminishing sense of hearing, he shouts at him, “Here no one else can gain entry, since this entrance was assigned only to you. I’m going now to close it.”
On Sunday evening at 8:00 pm, I decided to take a bath. Before that, I took off all my jewelry and placed it on the desk where I usually put it every night. After I had taken my bath, I dried myself, then put my pajamas on. I studied while I was waiting for my husband to come home at 12:00 pm.
When he came home, he said "Hi" to me, then he went to the bathroom. Then, he sat down on his chair and he turned on the computer and checked his email to make him relaxed. At 1:00 pm he came to bed. We talked a little bit about how it was at work. Well, he said, it was a busy night and also stressful. We were in a continuous conversation until we slept. We are just such night owls.
At 8:00 am my alarm rang. It was time to wake up. I got up from bed, and turned the alarm off. I went to the bathroom, then walked to the kitchen and boiled water for the tea. After I made a cup of tea, I brought it to my desk near the jewelry. I was extremely surprised that my real wedding ring was missing, and his ring was set in place of my missing ring.
I asked him, "Look...look..what is happening? Why is your ring here and why also is my ring not here?" He answered, "I didn't do anything. Remember, last night we went to bed late." It was 9:00 am, and I hadn't taken a shower yet. So I took a shower and got ready for school. He repeated again, "Trust me, I didn't do it." I answered, "I know you don't wear your ring very often, and it's always in your desk drawer."
I was ready to go to school. "Okay," he said, "I'll drive you to school." We walked out the door to the car and rode to the front of Mission Campus without conversation. I got out of the car and thanked him for the ride. He left. After school, I walked home. At home I sat down and wondered, "What happened in this house?" He suddenly came home, he told me, he had been looking everywhere for my ring, but he hadn't found it.
I actually wasn't furious about my missing ring, but I was curious why his ring was on my desk in place of mine. He asked me to go to the jewelry store so he could buy me a new one, but that wasn't the same. Then, I accidentally felt my ring in my backpack pocket. I checked it right away. Yes, it was my ring! But who moved these things around? That's the first time this has happened in my life! It hadn't happened before.
I'm very lucky because before this real problem happened, I went to Mr. Robinson's computer lab Room 325. At that time I didn't use the computer. I just sat down on the chair front of the desk. I did my home work. I finished it. I was still fussing around his desk. He has many different copies of the stories for students to read. I saw the story "Nightwalkers". I grabbed one. It's interesting. I'm thankful to him because this story made me realize what had happened about my ring and it calmed me down. Until today my husband doesn't realize that he was a nightwalker that night.
Dear reader. Thank you for reading my true story and have fun.
I want you to tell you a funny and cute story that happened to me and my family 15 years ago. One Christmas day, December 30th, 1994 to be exact, my brother and I were outside of our house washing my mother's car. Suddenly we saw a small dog in the neighborhood. He saw us too, and started to wag his tail. He was a small, white dog with curly hair. We thought that he was lost because his hair was dirty. Then my brother told me we could give him some food, and that's what we did, we gave him the spaghetti that we had been eating for lunch. When the little dog smelled it, he ate it quickly. "Poor dog!" I said.
I ran into my house to tell my mother what was happening, and she was very angry because she didn't want any pets in the house because of the hair they left, and the food, and the trouble it would take to give them what they want and the medicines when they are sick. In other words, my mother said that we didn't have enough time or resources to take care of him.
My brother and I started to plead with her: "Please, please, please, we promise you that both of us will take care of him." We spent a lot of time telling my mom that we wanted that dog. She said, "Ask the neighbors who the dog's owner is. If he doesn't have one, you can take him." My brother and I ran to ask everybody and nobody knew the little puppy. We were very happy about that and we adopted him. We took him to the doctor, I prepared a bath, I bought medicines, his bed, his coat, and everything he could need. The doctor calculated his age at 1 year. He was a baby!!! And he was very healthy, according to the doctor!!! The watchman of my neighborhood told us that somebody had left him near my house. That person wanted to get rid of the dog and just did it. Good for us!!!
Over the years, we've seen that he is a good dog. If he wants to pee, he knocks on the door. His behavior is very nice. His name is Niño;, and my mother loves him. Now he is 16 years old, well, everybody in my house loves him. I do especially because he is my baby. I sleep with him, I take care of him. Now, because he has aged, he has started to feel bad. His stomach is not very good. He's started to go blind, and he has already lost all his teeth so that he can only eat soft food and water.
When I was planning to come here, I was thinking of Niño because I didn't know how much time he was going to live. I will return to my country in a few months, and I hope that he will be okay. I will buy some presents for him.
Everyday I write to my mother and ask about everyone in my family, including Niño, because he is one of my family. She said that he is very good. Sometimes he spends the time only sleeping, and wakes up to eat and then goes back to sleep. Sometimes he feels sick. I am very lucky because my mother is taking care of him like I do. For these and many reasons I love the movie MARLEY AND ME, it is about a dog's life, and everything that happens in that movie I have lived through myself with my Niño. When Niño dies, I don't want any other dog, because he is the only one for me.
That Christmas was one of the most special in my life.
I LOVE and miss you, Niño, PLEASE NEVER DIE !!!
