Immigration Questions

my friend interviewed me for her AP Hug essay about immigrants. I wrote a lot for my responses so I decided to post it on tumblr.

1. Where and when were you born?

2. What year did you emigrate? When did you arrive in the United States? How old were you?

3. Describe your homeland. What were your house, food, clothing, and life like there? What do you miss about your homeland?

4. Why did you or your family leave your native country? What factors “pushed” or “pulled” you? What experiences did you have in your journey? What obstacles did you overcome?

5. What did you think life in the U.S. would be like? Is your life now different than what you expected?

6. What challenges did you face adjusting to life in the U.S.? Did your eating habits, dress, family relationships, or leisure activities change? How?

7. Have you experienced any type of discrimination in the U.S.? Explain, please.

8. What challenges has learning English created for you? How has your use of your native language changed?

9. What does it mean to be “an American”? Do you feel mostly American, or something else? Can a person be an American and still keep his or her native culture? Why or why not?

10. What laws should the U.S. have towards immigration and immigrants? Should the U.S. be open to all immigrants, or should immigration be limited? Why?

11. What advice would you give to someone thinking of moving to the U.S.?

…
1. I was born in Busan. South Korea on 8/31/1994.

2. We migrated to the U.S.A. on August 15th 2001. I was 6 years old.

3. I’m guessing homeland as in the place I lived, not Korea in general. My family lived in the rural side of Korea. Korea’s rural and urban areas are completely different from each other. The cities like Seoul and Busan are mega modern and high tech cities, while rural areas keep customs and traditions of the past. I lived in a little village in Miryang called Gojung. Miryang is known for its natural beauties in Korea, and it really lives up to it. The air is fresh, the stars can be seen clearly, and its located in the heart of a mountain range. Small rice and crop fields were scattered around. There was an old cemetery (you could tell it was old since they were dirt mounds instead of grave markers) in the front of one mountain entrance. There were a few old abandoned buildings scattered around too. The mountains grew chestnut and persimmon trees that people would pick and eat. We had a lake that people would fish and swim at.

Our family had a brick house that our church members helped us build. Most of the buildings there were houses that had been built in the traditional korean style. Some of the houses were falling apart and rundown. Most of the people dressed no differently from Americans. Well, I guess the old ladies dressed in their grandma clothes, but that doesn’t really count. Most of the food we bought and ate were fresh and almost never packaged. Only thing packaged would be like chips and dumplings. A korean meal consists of a main dish (meat, fish, or a soup) , side dishes (various pickled vegetables, korean pancakes, other vegetables and smaller fish), and rice. The main dishes change, but the sides are always brought out at every meal and always the same.

My life there was much different from the life I lived here as a child. I spent my days outside playing in the mountains, picking herbs, exploring cemeteries and buildings, swimming in the lake, and playing with the various farm animals. I went to school every day except for sunday. The teachers could physically abuse you, but that’s the norm there. The teachers give kids more freedom, like we could be dismissed for lunch and the kids would go to the cafeteria by themselves or would go to the neighboring shops to eat. The classrooms and bleak and colorless, with rows of perfectly straight desks. Indoor shoes are required when entering the building. I guess what I miss is the natural beauty. I never knew how truly beautiful it was until I went back there for the first time last year.


4. Our family left because my dad believed that God was calling him to start ministry in the States. Getting into America isn’t an easy task. The U.S.A only allow so many permanent stayers. A few of my dad’s pastor friends were also trying to go to the states, only to have their requests revoked. The ones who couldn’t come to the States went to Canada.

I guess the obstacles were learning English and over coming racism and stereotypes. Well, I guess you can never overcome racism or stereotyping, but I guess you learn to make yourself resilient towards them. I remember when I used to live in Indiana and our family went for a drive once. A tornado had been spotted and we were lost in downtown. None of us knew how to speak english so we couldn’t ask for directing either. We ended up roaming for like 3 hours. Another time we went to order pizza, but we couldn’t speak english. So we just showed up at pizza hut and then left because we didn’t know how to order.

5. I really didn’t think much about what my life would have been like in the states. I guess when I thought about living in America, the only things that I could think of was visiting the Statue of Liberty and Niagara Falls.

6. Adjusting was kind of difficult. I guess the only hard one was learning the customs. My sister and I started eating American food at school (then she gained like 50lbs in 1 year, go America), besides that we still ate Korean food. The only difference was we couldn’t eat everything we wanted. Ingredients were limited and the ones available was over priced and expensive. We didn’t dress any differently. Leisure activities was the hardest to change. I mean, you’re telling children - who played in the mountains and swam in lakes all their lives - to sit down and watch TV for fun, or go for a nice stroll. The beginning was fun, since we were captivated by the dangerous beauties of television and the astonishing differences from rural village to an american town. Family is important in Korean culture, my sister and I were mortified from leaving behind our entire family. We were closed to our external families and were close friends with the kids.

7. Oh my god, you don’t know how many times someone has gone up to me and screamed “ching chong” in my face. Or how often someone calls me chinese or brings up stereotypes. Or how many times someone has squinted their eyes and made fun of your heritage.

8. English has given me a second language. Being submerged in America, my korean has dwindled from less than perfect. My vocabulary is limited to those of a first grader,

9. I’m legally a naturalized citizen, but I don’t feel American. I still feel Korean and I’m proud of my heritage. I definitely think someone can be American but keep their native culture. I mean, America is nothing but a country full of immigrants. It would be hypocritical if you deny anothers rights.

10. I don’t know about the laws that should be past, but immigration should be limited.

11. Don’t be nervous, but don’t get too comfortable. Be ready to deal with complete morons and the dumbest people in the world. Try to learn English and the customs fast. People are jealous and intrigued by your culture, share with the ones who care to know and ignore the ones who make fun of it.