1 10 115 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/27477e5ba06c01a7008a39dee6c14337.png?Expires=1781740800&Signature=eUwJitwYKvTyEPAWxISMd3GGPI0pN9WbWh38rXb83tmzh3ni--EeEFrbCijKFtcIrklxx7d555p6JbZxnKn-8irGbxkDVpYQvuuAvnhHZewWq4Y5DDCSHZdDQ4aC4c6G2iJuL5BQ0gCcG8zKs5ZHjY0%7EZXra9ASu5Fzk4kRsjzOvnZiL-QeVxuq1Y6BRCmAsZr1iauD4ogGy6AXL9AfBtstYUVW9GNSy0kqcKIDpowPetCPlvw1Zw9HOb8tnoYUfDWWSlXKQjmv2tLE-MNIveT32NBgwlI862WtoiHSHvrT9OoKqwIxW6lI0bV0neRsylbpeL8Vk8qdmTC6C4Gv2YA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 7c1eeaf73a7efd1528441acae023166e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2024 Interviews Description An account of the resource Spring 2024 Interviews from Prof. Colleen Woods (IMMR400) and Prof. Anne Rush (HIST 465) at the University of Maryland. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Abigail I. Carbajal Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Cecia A. Turcios Location The location of the interview Lanham, Prince George’s County, Maryland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Cecia Turcios Description An account of the resource This interview between Abigail Carbajal and Cecia Turcios explores Turcios’ experiences as an immigrant to the United States of America from El Salvador. Her father had moved to the United States ten years before and was working to get them to move here. Eventually, he was able to obtain green cards for Turcios and her mother and moved them over here to start a better life. Turcios’s interview touches on her struggles with her educational dreams after moving and to find motivation to pursue her dreams in such a big country without knowing English. Until this day Turcios emphasizes the importance of having a person to teach you that education is important and how she continues to do this for her own kids. ***This interview is restricted to the University of Maryland College Park's campus. For more information, contact the Center for Global Migration Studies (globalmigration@umd.edu).*** This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST465 (Spring 2024). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Abigail I. Carbajal Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 9, 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Marjorie Antonio America earthquake education El Salvador school war https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/4f652c64a209589f7eb9a5b38980a63e.png?Expires=1781740800&Signature=jsduj120olaZa-6Gatx2FYeHcnAc8FxJMKCHJapxWOtgieIiWA1cjW9xLxDpDm0piKpNHcKUWjP5wx1i5SemQIIkQVwn83j2fbYvO1qQV7fcO2hJxiyWG2WgnsigCLGRK4QjMFp55wLC779cGfbG8Wbwhqta98q4A6dMrYzYZfzGhavFixaIMuUi3-xnF3D6kOuxIhkVZUGD2kA9mwCQ0nfyP0rKhKnjYgbSnP3ei9RhPop1OXGOrqkBYGKgZmJSt1bZUB5fm%7EyA%7EqAIsGl9PTe3BXpXHlFNwG0-FXZG1SWioo0l2xd6SfYBXqVCmkk607tF80RJvW0lpNogUxloYw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 7c1eeaf73a7efd1528441acae023166e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2024 Interviews Description An account of the resource Spring 2024 Interviews from Prof. Colleen Woods (IMMR400) and Prof. Anne Rush (HIST 465) at the University of Maryland. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Alexander Chen Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Manoharan Chelladurai Location The location of the interview Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, USA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Manoharan Chelladurai Description An account of the resource This interview between Alexander Chen and Manoharan Chelladurai explores Murali's experiences as an immigrant to the United States from Tamil Nadu, India. Chelladurai tells of his experiences growing up in a rural village in India and his educational upbringing. He also gives information of how he immigrated to United States to work at Wall Street in 2003 and later moved to the DMV area in 2013, to have a calmer way of life. Chelladurai’s interview focuses on the importance of education, and how his education allowed him to succeed, strive here in America, and why education should be highly valued in society. ***This interview is restricted to the University of Maryland College Park's campus. For more information, contact the Center for Global Migration Studies (globalmigration@umd.edu).*** This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST465 (Spring 2024). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alexander Chen Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1, 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Marjorie Antonio Computer Science India IT Tamil Nadu technology Wall Street https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/6829b79f89b459ee9e1010e658e83a7e.png?Expires=1781740800&Signature=oVVElJMIF-cPlFjccSFpGTDb7gHs-H44Z9aOCEfEkc7zqEmbHnQvpZZP9jJ1m4niYJmWTMWahQw5Mhi3rWEWEe-bvM4IEDyXPewDUXAkWzBBz1WPwWhSdWHjm3ZWzavc1H75echJuSmLGCe4dO3NHSiNl2T2Fp3qbnIM1FkPtQG5LE7HpPggY1ivVaoTA4KC%7EVIrslRW5AKAC8z7zTssGbOvAv4plwKRttw1MyLD3vRGUGwRoTIP9Dzl9VLjVQy59X%7EjM-cDsY1LyM-Ow7eyCO59mG34V6Oxf2ajaiPBUPrs1L9Nr5XgBHXoN83nhv5NjJ3urTkCQO8qNKGqqgaATA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 7c1eeaf73a7efd1528441acae023166e https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/f7a6274b6a1a29a6ee9ba75e20f34831.mp4?Expires=1781740800&Signature=i1jsnqgNXg74D7640nZKXdbjTRsQKOTa3SWaHLtpdaANTrSgVFu7LTzzQD8SEus79A-Yw8Qwv5jwnWjYGpTPnMZiniC0wJijmAT0iYf6Lji9ESAJ6aI1f5nV%7EpN8WZkN8dcZ0YPuerNRVX3EpvaXxwl88jj0teW0girvXwNgPGpfgTiRdkUf06koutVvzqtWp88qBTUCJD0HOu2f1ZAxB1TE9J1on56aqnV85%7EmegB%7EYa6UdmhmHXq7B4-x26nw2MpGFoRVWpdxGFUFc0aegeDbU9ytnIEljybrht4%7E3WiaZjc9at58jBgZ-PjLlPOz2cRiUENr%7ERkH-e-EgWCto1g__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM db5e11d1f53b9e3b9cc9506c95f58b8c https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/b563224e7cb3596dac001089046ed20e.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=V9nrkzdkMByLit%7EOPfkMaZhMS62jCJrPF5hiR0bDYs7Xnnl5z5jD4wowBtqdd4-EiFaigg3IkqzU3i2AU9DmLY8CKKJ7JR8NFG5-EVihmpK2BO8u6zZlBpi0LHQN8IsFv6piAWrlJGEz2XJkDyAUdaWea35luYtRL-WL%7Eg-8OIpl-pT0jZwIZPIDuSUHvwNJgwDPmPYS3J0nwbWujKDGIAnyd33ucq1lH1BzlE4CPZOzP1HQCZIBBnjIxVxfmOuBpdHDUhDlglMsJjUe4NFUnKZ8vbQ3N6m%7EwbFrl1VTL-4uGM-NW9RC-TxT8FHztrWSca1AZxuCQ0E3LQFl9s1bRw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM d60fee254a710facb8f85f7633392f03 PDF Text Text Transcript for Oral History Interview Conducted for University of Maryland Course IMMR400 — Spring 2020 Instructor: Dr. Robert Chiles Interviewer’s name: Abel Dereje Interviewee’s name: Tegest Kebede Interviewee’s Country of Origin: Ethiopia Introduction: This is an interview with Tegest Kebede conducted by Abel Dereje. In this interview, Tegest describes living in Ethiopia as a child and her personal experiences with the Derg, the military junta that ruled the country from 1974 to 1991. Tegest also speaks about her education in Ethiopia, the ways that her family helped her move to the United States, and how she learned English. Key Words: Ethiopia, Derg, school, politics, religion, language, family, visa Abel: Hi, I'm Abel Dereje and this is my mother, Tegest Kebede. Tegest: Hi. Abel: Um so, mom, I'm going to be interviewing you on uh your experiences of coming from Ethiopia to America. Tegest: Okay. Abel: Uh, so first of all, what kinds of things did you hear about America growing up? Tegest: Oh yeah, um I heard a lot of good things. Um, so um, my two—my aunt—my aunt’s two daughters and one of her son lived here, and they live a good life. Um I’m seeing picture but, uh you know, it was nice and I really wanted to come here after I finish my school. Abel: Okay. Uh, did you already—oh, well so you already had family in America, uh and did uh they help you out when you were here? Tegest: Yes, they help me. Uh, even to come [to the US] they help me. Abel: Okay. Tegest: Yeah, they pay my ticket, they—they help me with the process to come here. Yeah. �Abel: Okay. Um and were you allowed to practice your religion when you were in Ethiopia without any problems? Tegest: Yes. Abel: Okay. Tegest: But the—the only problem is um we can’t—um, we don’t have to be in trouble like in the politics [tried not to get in trouble for political reasons]. Other than that, all Ethiopian people, most of them, are Christian. We can practice our religion. Abel: Okay. Well, that's good. Ah, well, so um going more about the Derg, did they take away anything from your family while, uh, while you were there? Tegest: Yes, they did. So, um my—my father was uh working. He used to work in the bank. Uh, the—the bank director was, uh, he was—I was a kid, I don’t know what’s going on, but um he was in jail. Because of that, my father was out of the job, and then the Derg took uh my, um, my grandparents’ land, um. And um they took my father's house too because he's out of the job. So, so much—so much change happened to me especially. Abel: Wow. Tegest: Yeah. Abel: Okay um. And uh so when—how was your family doing more like financially when the Derg were around? Like, you know, how were you guys? Tegest: So, um, so what uh—after the—the everything gone, my father lost job and um we were devastated. So, we don’t have any support, and because of all that my dad has left, left the town, and we don’t know where he was. So, we was—my mom was struggling a lot. I was the only kid at the time, and um. So, uh my dad’s family uh was [doing] better. They have uh, you know, they were rich, I mean not rich-rich, but they have that better than my mom, so um my mom asked for help. So, what she can do, maybe if they can help me and my aunt said, you know, “If you don’t mind, uh can she stay with me.” So, she have her own like one—three kids, so I was went there and I was the fourth kid and um it was okay for a moment, but at the time, until I get to middle school, so. It was okay, sometimes I go visit my mom, my mom was always struggling, and in the middle uh she marry—she marry to my, um, my stepdad, so she have—she started another family after that. Abel: Okay. Wow. Um, well, so, when you were uh—while you were growing up and, you know, aside from what the Derg were doing to you, were you witnessing other bad things that were happening to people while you were there? Tegest: Yeah, just so many things happening. Um my aunt, always um she’s like, uh, she’s so afraid and everything, so she was always telling us, “If anybody go to jail, I’m not going to bring �you anything. You’re going to be starving to death and I don’t want any kids to be in trouble in this house!” (Abel laughing sounding shocked) Uh, you know, I don’t know much but—but outside it’s happening, there’s teenager, kids, and this—this like under-twenty-years-old kids they get to jail and they [the Derg] just get to somebody’s house in the middle of the night, grabbing them, put them in jail, and by—by two days, after three days, they kill them. And then it was too much trouble. And then even one time um me and my aunt’s family, all of us, we try—we went to go—it was a holiday, we trying to go out of—out of town. It was like around four o’clock in the morning, and we saw someone is dead on the ground and my aunt get out of the car and start crying and screaming and her husband is like trying to pull her to back to the car. But (sighs) it was traumatize life. And I'll never forget. So, I—I was sick of that. But, I mean, I know it’s passed now. Abel: I'm sorry to hear that. Um, okay. So obviously there was no lack—or there was no um free speech um when you were growing up there. Uh so how did this affect, Ethiopia or, you know, even just people from your experiences? Tegest: Yes. Um, it effect um Ethiopian people still—I think still now. There is [was] no freedom of speech. If someone said something about Derg, about, uh, about anything about the economy, you can’t ask any kind of question, anything, even uh sometimes uh people are jail if you, you know, ask any kind of question in front of police anything. You know, you got to jail yourself. After that, nobody can see you. I don’t know what they do to them sometimes. So, what I remember, um, it was like too much. Abel: Okay. Okay. Um so, on a different note how was your education, you know, while you were growing up when the Derg were there? Uh, would you send us to school in Ethiopia? Your children. Tegest: Uh, no, not at that time, I don’t think there’s nobody to go to Ethiopian school. Um, to know the culture, yes. But to educate, uh even for myself, um I had a poor education, you know? There is no—right now there is computer and everything, but back—back then, no, there is no help. You just someone—you know? It’s not good in general. Abel: Okay. Tegest: It wasn’t good. Abel: So, uh what like there was—how was the teachers, like did they—were they helping you even inside and outside of the classroom? Or, yeah. Tegest: Not outside. But inside, um you know, they’ll just try to teach us. There is uh—uh, you know, well-educated teachers, and then the [other] teacher doesn’t have enough education, and then he can’t even help us. Just they do whatever they want. I mean, (Abel: “Wow”) it was very hard. Abel: So, some are educated and some were not, but they just became teachers. �Tegest: Not really. They just being teacher and then get—get, you know, salary. Abel: Oh wow, okay. Tegest: That's all, they don’t—they’re a not experienced teacher. Abel: And you guys, did you have textbooks and other things like that? Tegest: No, not much there, we don’t. I mean um sometimes—the only thing I remember, we have English book, and then if I have that book, it’s not—I can’t own it. [Books were shared] between maybe two people or three people were allowed to own. Before I eat my lunch, I have to do my homework and then I pass it to the second person. One book for three people, that was English. That's the only book I have, I remember it was English book. The rest [of the classes] is like um no, we just lecture, uh the teacher lecture in the class and then he have to—we don’t have like, example, like biology book, I don’t have biology book. But the teacher have to write it on the chalkboard, it’s like we need to copy through chalkboard. Abel: Okay. Tegest: I mean like a notebook! We need to make notebook! (claps hands for emphasis) Abel: Okay. Tegest: Ourself, yeah. Abel: But was there—did they—you know, was there enough materials like notebooks and things like that or was that even hard to come by? Tegest: No, we don’t have—we don’t have any, uh enough notebook. I mean, notebook to buy notebook to write it down? Abel: Yeah. Tegest: Yeah! We have it. It was a little expensive, but yeah, we have pencil, we have, I remember, there is a small [area to buy] uh stationery. We used to go in and we’d buy exercise book, pencil, and pen. Abel: Okay. Tegest: Yeah. Abel: Interesting. So that means that learning was hard without the textbook, because when you got home you didn't have anything else to continue studying, right? Tegest: No but I have notes anyway. We need to copy the notes and sometimes I understand it, sometimes I don’t. �Abel: Oh, okay. Tegest: Well, we can’t uh go back to the school and ask the teacher, and you know, it—it was very hard. Abel: And there were no tutors, right? Tegest: No tutors. Um, no. Abel: Okay. Tegest: Nobody can tutor you; you have to tutor yourself. Abel: (laughs) Okay, um. All right, uh so, how did you get to America? Um and uh how hard was it to come here from start to finish, in the whole process? Tegest: Okay, um, to come here, uh to start from—from Ethiopia, it was a little bit—very difficult, you know? At the time, it was like age limited. So, um a family friend, um, a family friend asking somebody else [to help me], you know, through—through people, you go through people if you have—if you know somebody. If you don’t, you can’t [do the process]. So, we go through people and finally I got my passport, and after the passport is this process, you have to go here and there, you know, by—by a bus, or you can walk and—but the thing is, um, what I like about that, uh after you get your passport, it’s not really—I didn’t see it very difficult, but it takes time and you have to back and forth. But after that, uh I need to go to American embassy to get visa. And then by the first time when I go, I didn't get the visa. I went—I think I went two times or three times. So, you line up outside and you wait, when you get your turn, they will interview um whatever they feel like. They can see your face and they say no. They deny you. I don’t know the reason, but after that, you know, from what I did, what I did in the beginning, by the end. And um still family help me, you know. Through family member, you know, he had business back home, uh you know? A family member, and because of that he talk to the—the embassy who work here and then, you know? It was very hard, but I made it. Abel: Ha, congratulations. Tegest: Thank God! Abel: Right, thank God. Tegest: Yeah. Abel: Ah, okay. So, when you came here to America, what did you leave behind in Ethiopia and what or who did you intend to bring over someday? �Tegest: So, I, by my father’s side, they're good and, you know, they can—they can take care of themself, but, uh, the part I left there, my—my mom’s side, my mom have, um, my mom have like two children and um. But if I bring them, it would be nice. I have two sister and one brother. But unfortunately, right now my mom is passed away, but if I bring those [siblings] it will be nice. I'll be happy. Abel: Okay. Um so, what was it like getting settled into America? Did you have trouble getting used to the culture when you were first here or for the first few years or anything like that? Tegest: Hmm, not really. Um, what um was trouble me is the language. Abel: Okay. Tegest: So, I have a little difficult to understand. Some of the people speak louder, some of like they speak faster. But, um, I catch up real good, real in a—in a short time. In about a year. And, which—which really help me is um watching TV! Abel: Oh, okay. Tegest: My—my aunt's daughter have a baby, uh and I used to—I use to help them to take care of her. So— Abel: Leila. Tegest: Yeah, her name is Leila. So, it's really help me talking to her, watching TV, watching cartoon. I think that’s—that’s the thing that help me to catch up and understand English quick. Abel: Okay, so you didn't have, uh, like some kind of—nobody gave you a book of English terms or something and said this is what you need to know, like you just picked it up by conversation. Or what did you— Tegest: I pick it up by conversation, (Abel: “Okay”) really. Yeah, conversation and, um, and watching my TV. Abel: Oh, and was that difficult still? Tegest: Yeah, it was difficult. Yeah. Abel: Okay. Tegest: It was. Abel: Okay. Tegest: Not easy, so. �Abel: But you learned anyway. (laughs) Tegest: I learn it anyway. And um by—by that time, it was like, uh I miss Ethiopia, uh I was lonely here. Um even though, uh this—this my family members around, but I missing that [inaudible] back home. Abel: The experience of being with other Ethiopians? Tegest: Uh, yeah. I guess, let me see, it like make me cry for two years? And after that, you know, I felt comfortable here. Abel: Ha, aww. Tegest: I’m the one telling people, “It's okay you'll get used to it. When you get here it’s a little difficult, but you can do it. You will manage to escape this lonely and, you know, uh homesick and everything.” So. Abel: Wow, man. You lived very—you lived very different than I did. Tegest: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you guys are lucky you were born here, liji [child]. Abel: (laughs) We are. Um, and finally, uh do you consider yourself an American or are you really just Ethiopian? Tegest: No, I’m um, I live here long enough. When I came here, I was 24? 20, no—23 or 24. Abel: Only a couple of years older than me. Tegest: Yeah, and I don’t have anything there [in Ethiopia]. I mean, even my children, my oldest son is 22 now. Yeah, I'm considering I’m American. Abel: Okay. Tegest: And I'm proud of it! Abel: Well, congrats on being American. Tegest: Thank you! (both laugh) Abel: All right, thanks mom. Tegest: You’re welcome. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2020 Interviews Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Abel Dereje Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Tegest Kebede Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data docx, MP4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview of Tegest Kebede Description An account of the resource This is an interview with Tegest Kebede conducted by Abel Dereje. In this interview, Tegest describes living in Ethiopia as a child and her personal experiences with the Derg, the military junta that ruled the country from 1974 to 1991. Tegest also speaks about her education in Ethiopia, the ways that her family helped her move to the United States, and how she learned English. This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course IMMR 400 (Spring 2020). This course was led by Professor Robert Chiles of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Abel Dereje Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 2020 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF, MP4 Language A language of the resource English, Amharic Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ethiopia family language politics religion school visa https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/2afb55194e41888619be4911c6fff390.png?Expires=1781740800&Signature=pVNKJtN7qtPFW20yh4BLctgoBkuB7XgJUsPvXMDY7vfbGGc%7EGxsAOe9CzWbItgpHP2C5TtIfANJCQu-ewctrpvFFNv4Rrce9ygZhL7WXpYDuQpFYebMzfMP3LVWPjRVnZ2T3N1bgnJtmzAKc0U5BnUO9r9SVlApT8eFVtPelChYT1EsX0ShMIcHuIqOx%7Ex8tWB4n6KzztmJdn-DcRyogLrX3C0FOcxCAJWmUol-lTF4UAfPh4S%7EyYV6KIycVbi8ABK%7ELWwv7d-tQfyG5Z5uJjfVl%7EhW6HJyCL64X%7E6Y2JusNjkIt1jyEOs0zliUfJvEqs63Jrs6E%7EkZUB60GuaTk2w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 7c1eeaf73a7efd1528441acae023166e https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/85ae08b2d392e0fed779629135804027.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=oXf7F%7EbpcsS3lPlD-oWx5Pe2IrjJZNNGmf9uDShPQf2u383zJmZtZaa03smPAOoX1djEMWpquEsWEUWfV1SnpF1%7Eij06-0Mbh5S2mAd6iVgckVDDEX2V52xJWPQa5IlHgyulhR1exWV1X-%7EXy9j4wFrSGw4MPOwF6fRQwiqVhahsBMVT%7E%7Ecmal-lycoRXLsz9ZFNUOH74xypY0kD2l0ddMVGNpJPg-MG6XINjb38WXsGd2PO4MSBgNdqQSdYaKn2DyhsDS7IRmbSfP3dGmS90ssk6WrQaf7zKSTgt71WYw%7ESKPzlg2Qct5lOWlaqlPS9t84lGmrDPwrbZDxPAhIFEg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM ec72638c2569014fe6fe748bcac6bfc5 PDF Text Text 1 Transcript for Oral History Interview Conducted for University of Maryland Course HIST428M – Spring 2020 Instructor: Dr. Anne S. Rush Interviewer’s Name: Adam Flesher Interviewee’s Name: Gloria-Inés Acosta Interviewee’s Country of Origin: Colombia Interviewee’s Current Residence: White Marsh, Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.A. Date of Interview: March 7, 2020 Place of Interview: White Marsh, Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.A. Introduction: This interview between Adam Flesher and Gloria-Inés Acosta dives into Mrs. Acosta’s immigration experience from Barranquilla, Colombia to Baltimore, Maryland in 1978 when she was just seven years old. When her father moved her family to the US to give his children more opportunities in life, Mrs. Acosta did not understand the move at first. In the interview she discusses how she came to terms with this decision and what it meant for her not only as a child at that time, but also as she transitioned into adulthood later in life. Her interview touches on Mrs. Acosta’s search for her identity as a Colombian American and how religion was something that her family held onto throughout the entire immigration process. She finishes by sharing how she currently uses her experiences as an immigrant in her occupation and why that is important to her. Keywords: Colombia, immigration, opportunity, religion, Barranquilla, identity, Baltimore Flesher: Uh my name is Adam Flesher. Um, I'm interviewing Gloria Ines-Acosta. Um, uh we are in White Marsh, Maryland um and it is March 7th, 2020. Uh so how are you doing today Mrs. Gloria? Acosta: I'm doing well. Flesher: Good, I'm glad. Uh could I just have your date of birth, please? Acosta: Sure. 6-11-71. Uh June 11th. Flesher: Thank you. Um yeah so, could you tell me a little bit about your home country where you're from, what things were like? Acosta: Sure. Um, I was born in Barranquilla, Colombia which is just on the southern tip of South America and I, um, don't remember much about it because of the fact that I came at such a young age um, but all of our history and all of our stories um, you know, I see pictures and— and they tell me, you know, um, we lived in a very um busy um cos—the—the—the area of �2 Barranquilla, which is where I was born, is very uh heavily populated and um now it's known from singers like Shakira is from Barranquilla— Flesher: Oh wow. Acosta: —um and so it's exciting to—to know that, you know, from my little small, um, little city, there is now um famous artists like Shakira and Gloria [Sofia] Vergara from Modern Family— Flesher: Ok. Acosta: —were also born there. So, it's exciting to know that, you know— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —that's where they were born as well, so. Flesher: Uh, what were um—what was it like when you—when you were growing up there? Um. Acosta: Well, we lived in a very um close knit family. My aunts and uncles lived all relatively um close by. So, we grew up in a very um strong family centered, um, household. My grandfather um lived with us, my grandmother had um already passed but my grandfather lived with us, um, it was and one other aunt on my mom's side lived. So, the houses, typically in a Latin household there are large number of um family members, close knit, you know, family that lived with you. Flesher: Um-hm. Okay. Um so growing up in, um, in a small—in a small town like you said, were you able to travel anywhere within the country often? Acosta: We would go, because we have on my mom's side, she, um, is one of three, but my aunt, um, her younger sister, had several um children that lived nearby so we would travel to Cartagena. We would travel to Medellin which is where my father's side of the family lived. Um Medellin is in the interior so we did do a lot of travelling um, Cartagena, Medellin, Santa Marta is another um town that's within an hour and a half distance from where we lived. So, we did a lot of traveling within Colombia— Flesher: Right. Acosta: —um but just regionally, it was not outside of Colombia. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: Prior to arriving to the United States. Flesher: Hm. Acosta: So, um within the country we uh—within the country of Colombia, um those places that I mentioned: Medellin, Cartagena, Santa Marta, um and we would go to Bogota, which is the capital, only when we would need um important documents like our visa um papers. We �3 would—that's when we would travel to um Bogota the capital to, um, process all of those payments. And again, we had family members there. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: Yeah. Flesher: Um, okay so uh can you describe sort of like a typical day um uh when—what it would be like while you were there? Acosta: Sure, um uh I know, again, it would revolve around um the family, so my mother she would um cook for the local schools. Um so, um uh I just—the bits of um memory and the bit— all of the—the, um, not traditions, but the—the—all the stories regarding my youth all centered around my family in the house, um, my mother cooking, she would make the potato chips that they would sell for the snacks during school. She would make um cakes uh out of the house, so just you know my—my recollection was just that there was always people coming in and out of the house, you know, it was just a close family where everybody was warm, their like, "Okay I'm here for um today’s shipment of potato chips," that she would individually bag, and you know, and provide for the schools. Flesher: Wow. Acosta: So yeah just—that's my—my memories were always revolved around lots of people coming in and out of the house, so. Flesher: Wow, that's really nice. Acosta: Yeah! Flesher: So, you would say family was a pretty big, um, pretty big part in your childhood? Acosta: Yes, yes. Um, they were the ones who, you know, when we came, uh when we were deciding to come to the United States, my memories were, you know, which aunt is going to bring me um uh all those, um, all those memories were just you know like it's my extended family if you will. That's what, you know, I remember, you know, just everyone's like who—who was this person? She is your great aunt, your cousin, somebody else was always coming in and out of the house so it's just very busy— Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: —normal— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —I'd say normal childhood, but a happy childhood, always revolved—uh um surrounded by people. Flesher: Yeah, that's nice. Um. So, you said you had—that family members like lived around the area. Acosta: Yes. �4 Flesher: How many—who—who was it that lived like in your house with you? Acosta: Um, I know (coughs) I know my grandfather, a cousin Nora lived there as well and she, I believe was on my dad's side, um and then we had, in and out, we had one of my aunts or cousins, like older cousin, from my dad's—from my mom's side of the family that also lived there. Um, so just extended family. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: That would be the— Flesher: Makes sense. Acosta: —correct answer. Flesher: Okay. Um, so what was education like for you back home? Did you go to school um while you there? Acosta: I did. What I can remember about my education there was that it was a lot more advanced. Flesher: Hm. Acosta: I remember coming to the United States um knowing that I could add, um subtract, multiply, and divide, and then when I came here, I was put in a class where they were just adding. Flesher: Oh. Acosta: So, what I can um deduct from that was that it was a little bit more advanced. I mean the—the education there, I don't remember the ELA [English Language Arts] or the reading part of it, but you know what I can, um, remember was just that the math, they’re like, "Well, what do you mean we're just adding?" Or, "What do you mean we're just, you know, adding and subtracting?” When I've already done this. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: So as a young person I didn't rememb—I mean I didn't, um, I thought of—that was something that I came to the realization afterwards like realizing like why didn't they just put me in third, fourth grade when I knew we were just, um, that I was advanced in the math part. The problem was that because I didn't speak the language, I didn't speak English, then that's why they're like, “No, this is where you belong.” Flesher: Right. Acosta: Um, because you need—you know, it took me a while to—to learn the—a brand-new language. Flesher: Right, yeah. �5 Acosta: Yeah. But I do know like, for example, um my older brother and my older sister, they were in a class where they were learning, even back in 1979, they were learning English there [Colombia]. So, although I don't remember that as—at the age of 8, I can, um, know that for my older siblings they were already in English classes before coming here. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: And they were 15 and 16—15 and 18—15 and 17. 15 and 17 at that age. At that time. Flesher: When they were beginning to learn English? Acosta: Well, when we left Colombia— Flesher: Oh okay! Acosta: —so, this is all like it—in—in my time that I was there that I—that I can recall, which was about 2nd grade, that was um—I know that my sister was 15, um and she was already in English classes. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: So, I wasn't in English classes, but she was, during that time. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: So, kind of answers the question about education there. That they— Flesher: Right. Acosta: —they valued, you know, learning another language even back then, you know. Even more—now it's even more prevalent but back then— Flesher: Hm. Acosta: —in 1979 that they were already taking English classes. Flesher: Hm, yeah. Wow. So, uh, so, what kind of work did your parents do while they were in Colombia? Acosta: Um interesting, my dad was an accountant um and then he was—he worked for a hotel um, el Prado, Hotel el Prado um, which is a famous hotel in Barranquilla. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: Um. And then my mom was the, like I said, not a local bakery, she just—she ran it out of our house, but she helped provide for the family. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: Um, which again in hindsight I'm like, wow my mom was strong even back then, you know? Flesher: Yeah. �6 Acosta: That—that she contributed to the family— Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: —income— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —by—by, um, making the snacks and the desserts. Flesher: Hm. Acosta: Cause she’s always been a good baker. Flesher: What was—what was some of your, uh, your favorite foods that she made? If you remember. Acosta: Um yeah, the—the, cakes she makes. She still to this day makes cakes um, but um uh it's like a bocadillo, it's uh guava, we have a fruit called guava and so from that she would like um boil it and make like a bocadillo to put in the cakes, it was very good. Flesher: Mm that sounds good. Acosta: Yeah. Flesher: I've heard of that before. Acosta: Yeah, yeah guava is like—now again, I'm—I'm excited to know that nowadays you can find guava, or you can find like passionfruit. Passionfruit is a um—maracuya, is it's a fruit that we would eat in Colombia and again make desserts out of it, and then nowadays you can find it at the grocery store. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: You know, Dole has mango and um passionfruit juice or you know mango and orange juice and so it's all the things that I grew up with. Flesher: Right. Acosta: So, it's exciting to like—like taste that and remember it, you know, that's what I was saying before, that it—it's like even though I was only 8 years old, it was like the memories come back. Like being with my family members, being at—at the beach drinking a um jugo de tamarindo for example. Tamarindo's another um fruit that um—it—it's uh—the fruit is um— it's—it's a little bitter, but it's like tamarind. I don't know if you've ever heard of a tamarind. But nowadays you can find it at like, um, international markets here. Flesher: Hm. Acosta: So, it's—it's like I can just taste, you know, the, I don't know, the memories, that doesn't make sense but— Flesher: No [inaudible] yeah, yeah. �7 Acosta: You know what I mean, like just it brings you back like a smell would bring you back, or—or, you know, if you—like music would bring you back. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: That—that kind of idea where just you know what you were doing. If I drink a jugo de tamarindo which is a—a juice, like I can remember sitting on my grandfather's, you know, lap while we're at the beach drinking— Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: —you know this tamarind juice. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: So, it—it's just wonderful memories. Flesher: Yeah, sounds like it. Um, have you actually ever been able to go back to Colombia? Acosta: I went back in 1990—uh, 1989 when I graduated from high school, um and then I was able to go in '91 I believe. What happens is that I married um, Ken, my husband works for the Department of Defense— Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: —and that's just one of the places where he was told that he can't visit. Flesher: Mm. Acosta: So unfortunately, I have not been back since I uh was married uh to my husband, but prior to that, um, I had gone two previous times. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: Yeah, so before—before marriage, yes, I was able to go back. Flesher: Mm. Do you hope to be able to go back one day? Acosta: I do! Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: I hope that, you know, things um improve and—and that, you know, it's sad that the only thing people know about Colombia are, you know, coffee and cocaine, you know? Because there is so much more beauty, and I'd like to be able to, you know, have my kids go and, you know, see my birthland. To go, and I mean there's just—at a young age, like I can only speak so much wonderful things about Colombia, I’d like for them to be able to experience it themselves. Flesher: Yeah, yeah. Acosta: So. Flesher: That makes sense. �8 Acosta: You know, and it's again, going back to—to the fact that, you know, it's—it's good that Shakira and—and Sofia Vergara and these—um there's um a racecar, Formula 1 racecar, that's from Colombia too. Flesher: Right. Acosta: Um there's a bicyclist um that is, you know, from Colombia, like all these wonderful things but it's like I need m—I feel like I want them to see that firsthand rather than just hear all these wonderful, you know, stories of these um exemplary Colombians— Flesher: Right. Acosta: —that, you know, I try to, um, teach them about. Flesher: Uh-hm. Acosta: I want them to experience it themselves. Flesher: Yeah. Well, I hope—I hope they're able to. Acosta: I do too. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: I do too, I really do. Flesher: Um, so you said you were 7 when you moved to the— Acosta: Yeah um, it's like I turned 8 here. Flesher: Oh okay. Um and who was it who came with you, um, when you moved? Acosta: Um my uh cousin um came um we were supposed to all come in October, my siblings which are um Carlos, Emma, and Elmer. We were all supposed to come—and myself, we were all supposed to come in October. But then we found out that a cousin was coming in September, so I was able to surprise my parents, if you will, by coming a month earlier. Flesher: Okay. What—were your parents here already? Acosta: Yes— Flesher: Oh. Acosta: —so my parents were here, yeah. They came and bought the house just so that we could transfer everybody— Flesher: Okay, so— Acosta: —and have a place to go. So, my mom—my mother and my father lived—uh had just arrived like in 1978. So, a year prior. They bought the house and they, you know, they were able to get it started and then the rest of the um children came, so I came in September and then my siblings came in October. �9 Flesher: Okay. So, you came in September with your cousin and then— Acosta: Yes, exactly. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: Yeah, my cousin was coming to visit um family members here as well. Flesher: Okay. Um, and uh, was—were your mom and dad, were they the only two that had originally moved here? Acosta: N—no. So, it came—they came because my uncle um Carlos um lived here. So that was during the time, uh I believe it was Jimmy Carter had the, um, the (sighs) law that family members could um ask for their siblings to come. So then, they—my uncle who was living here and had a job with Western Electric during back then that—that's like the new AT&T. It used to be called Western, Western Electric. So, he was here. He petitioned for my father to come. My father came, he found a job working for Baltimore Spice Company. Um Baltimore Spice—uh, Spice Company was the originator of Old Bay seasoning. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: And so, they—yeah so, he had an, at that time, a secure job. So, once he was able to, you know, have that secure job he was able to bring my mother. When my mother came, then we started—they started the paperwork, so that the children could also arrive. So, my parents, it hadn't been that they lived here for long time. They—it was like uh I think a ye—a year prior when my father—when my mother came [pause] and so slowly we brought the family back— Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —here to the United States. Flesher: Hm. Acosta: So first it was my uncle; he petitioned my father, my father came, got the job, then my mother followed, and then I did, and then my three siblings did. Flesher: Okay. Um. So, in t—in total like how—like how—what—what parts of your family are here today— [inaudible] Acosta: So, my immediate family is here. So, my mother, my father, and my siblings are in the United States. Um, I have two aunts, um Maria and Olga, that live also in Maryland. Then I have one uncle that lives—the one that came here that worked at um Western Electric, he has since moved to Arizona. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: So, three of the siblings, my dad's siblings, are here. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: No one from my mom's side. They're still all in Colombia— �10 Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —which is when we go to visit, that's who we stay with— Flesher: Right. Acosta: —because they're all still there. So, three of my father's siblings live here. Flesher: Okay. Makes sense, I was just trying to get a better— [inaudible] Acosta: Yeah, it's— Flesher: Like— (laughs) Acosta: Yeah, like draw—I could draw you a, you know, a map. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: (laughs) Flesher: Yeah. Um, so in t—in terms of like the steps that you took to get here, were you old enough to like understand everything that was going on, or do you remember? Acosta: No— Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —and that's part of it um, you know, I—I didn't understand, you know, why I was moving from a beautiful climate because Colombia, especially where I'm from which is the coast um, we have two seasons; we have the really, really hot season and then the cool season, but that's it like there—I had never seen snow, I had never um, you know, experienced uh four seasons. Um like I—like we were not forced, but like—like we were immersed into um coming here, so I didn't understand why were—why were we living—leaving a place where all of my mom's family was there. Um, you know, good weather and then we c—I came in September so it was um fall, which was pretty, but then my—it was like my f—I came and then within three months I was seeing snow for the first time. Flesher: Wow. Acosta: You know? So, it was just like I didn't understand why we were, you know, moving when I thought I have my family, you know, and at that time, you know, nice weather, nice— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —you know, just the comfort of my own home in Colombia, to come here. Yes, I was gonna see my fam—my immediate family but I didn't—I didn’t know that this was gonna be my future home rather than, you know, we're just coming for a visit. Flesher: Hm yeah. Um and you said you went to—your family would go to Bogota um for like— like documents. Um— �11 Acosta: Yes. Yes, so in Barranquilla they didn’t—like the since it's kinda like going to an embassy. That's what the embassy was. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: So, like um anyone in—in the country of Colombia who needs immigration papers or any kind of like, you know, you could get your passport picture done in Barranquilla, but then you'd have to go pick up the passport or pick up the rest of the documents in—in Bogota, the capital. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: So, most of the people have to go— Flesher: Go— Acosta: —to—yeah, that's where the embassy was. Flesher: Okay, that makes sense. Acosta: Yeah. Flesher: Um, and do you remember if it was fairly easy uh for you to get those things or was it— Acosta: I—see, that's—that's where I don't remember. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: Like, you know—you know, you—you hear stories like my mom would always say it's like yeah, um you know yes you wait your line—you wait your turn in line. But it also helped that she always brought goodies so— Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —those are the kind of um, you know, stories that, you know, have been passed down. Like yes, "Oh do you remember when we came? When we were getting the pa—the documentation to come to the United States," and so my mom's like, "Yeah! How many times did I have to make some extra desserts to take and, you know, persuade someone to take, you know, to—to get a, you know, ahead of the line, because you had to fly back the next day?" Flesher: Mm. Acosta: You know, so not in a bad way, but it was just like you know to be grateful, "Here, I brought you something." You know. "Here's my family. We need all these documentations and I have to be back by, you know, by tomorrow afternoon. Whatever you can do to, you know, t — um, you know, to—to get our paperwork done." We were still in line— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —we would still follow through, but the—the cake always um brought a smile to their faces— �12 Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —and they would be more than happy to—to (laughs) receive the—the sweets and get moving on your paperwork. Flesher: Mm. That's really cool. (laughs) Acosta: Yeah. I mean it was just it's not a—I don't want it—I don't want it to be like, "Oh and then they were able to, uh, to um—” see the word escapes me but—to um. What is that word where it's like when you're like, "I'm gonna give you a cake where you," um or "I'm gonna give you something." Flesher: Like bribe? Acosta: Bribe. Flesher: Oh yeah. Acosta: See? Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: See there's certain—so it wasn't a bribe. Flesher: Right. Acosta: Like we were definitely in line but it—it helped the deal. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: Helped the paperwork through quicker. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: But it was not a bribe, like we were—we were in line— Flesher: Yeah, yeah. Acosta: —we were doing—we had our appointment too, they just stuck to the appointment time when it came to us because my mom brought goodies, you know. I think it shows and she always says, "Oh remember the cakes and—” Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: So, I don't know some kind of sweets that she brought like, you know, desserts or something to make a process go faster. Flesher: Right. Acosta: That's all it was. Flesher: Yeah, yeah. It shows like a little kindness goes a long way. Acosta: Yes exactly! Kindness and a smile went—it definitely goes a long way. �13 Flesher: Yeah, that’s really cool. Um, so do you—did you have expectations of what the—what the US was gonna be like before you arrived? Acosta: At that age no, but you know thinking back it's like I know that, um, it was scary. You know, I—I can remember feeling scared of why—why we were coming. So, like is this going— the same question—is this going to be? How long will we be here? Flesher: Mm. Acosta: You know, because I didn't know at that time— Flesher: Right. Acosta: —that this was going to be, you know. My parents made the sacrifice to come here for their children. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: And yes, we had a good education there, but it was the dual uh languages, it was, you know, what we could um work hard to achieve here was important to my parents. And my dad had a really good job in Colombia, but he came here and, you know, um, we—we say "obrero." Obrero is like a hard worker. I mean he worked for Baltimore Spice Company where he knew very little English, but um Baltimore Spice Company makes, in addition to Old Bay, they make all of the seasoning um for like Kraft or for, um, um, you know, those kinds of, um, companies that need spices mixed together. Flesher: Right. Acosta: Okay? So then for example, let's say its Italian dressing. So, my dad worked, you know, and I'm not talking about a pound of salt, and a pound of pepper, and a pound of paprika to make the salad dressing, I'm talking about like tons and tons. And so, it was very hard work for him. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: But he was punctual. In his 35 years, he never missed a day, you know. I think he—he, you know, he worked his—by the brow the sweat— Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: —you know? The sweat of his brow. I don't know what the saying is in English but, you know, he worked really hard, you know, where he had a comfy job, where he worked, you know, in a place where he wore a tie, to come here to you know, work at a place where it was hard labor. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: Hard labor. Because we're talking about, you know, mixing these, you know, tons of different spices together— Flesher: Um-hm. �14 Acosta: —and bottling it up and you know, he—he worked and he said for those first couple years he worked any overtime. He didn't care. He worked any overtime that they'd give him— Flesher: Wow. Acosta: —because he was the sole provider. So, we went from living in a place where my mom contributed to the household um as I mentioned by doing uh snacks and—and sweet um desserts for the schools, snacks, to coming here and my mom, you know, I—I can imagine, you know, just her feeling, you know, not worthless, but just not being able to help. Flesher: Hm. Acosta: You know, because she didn't speak the language, she didn't work um, uh, you know, she—she was without her kids for a year, and then my dad working so hard to—to raise a family of six because it was four—my—myself and my three siblings, then mom and dad, so it was a family of six. We had the little Volkswagen, you know, that we bought second hand and uh, you know, we all fit in a tiny little Volkswagen bug because that's all we could afford. Flesher: Right. Acosta: And my dad worked lots of—lots of overtimes. Lots and lots of overtimes for those, you know, first couple years. Flesher: Um-hm. Hm. Acosta: So, you know. Flesher: So, I'm—I’m just curious, what were some of like the driving factors for like the move? Like why did you—why did your family want to move from Columbia to— Acosta: Well, he's—he's always told us that he's like, " I came to give you a better life." Flesher: Hm. Acosta: Um not that you wouldn't be able to have um a good life there, but he just saw it as more opportunities. So, more opportunities. The fact that his kids could, if they worked hard, they would be able to succeed. And he selfishly [selflessly] did that for us and, you know, I didn't agree, I didn't you know, um, agree with that decision as a teenager. I was like, "Why'd you have to move me?" You know? I could be—when I would visit my family members there, it's like they’ll all look happier than I am and here I am like—but as an adult, you know, you realize that, you know, you'd do anything for your kids. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: You know, and having two children of my own like I—I have a different relationship with my parents now than I did. Because I—I saw myself as different. People couldn't speak— they couldn't—not a lot of people spoke Spanish. Um I looked different than them, than—than my—than my school mates. I—they couldn't say my name, they couldn't, you know—so, you know, for the first year, sure everybody wants to be friends with the little Latin girl because �15 she's different, but then you realize as you—as you, you know, hit your adolescent years like, "No, I don't wanna be your friend, you're different than me." Flesher: Mm. Acosta: So, it was hard. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: So, you know you—you asked about what kind of challenges or, you know, what—what made us move here? Like I—I don't appreciate those, um those um—I appreciate them now more. Flesher: Right. Acosta: Those obstacles because, you know, I didn't—I knew that there were many, but I didn't see them. I just saw the anger that I had towards, you know, my parents. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: Um because I was different and because I felt like I didn't belong, you can, um, with hindsight— Flesher: Um-hm, yeah and I think— Acosta: —you can—you can appreciate everything that they do for you— Flesher: Right. Acosta: —more. Flesher: Yeah, and they— Acosta: That just comes with majority. I'm sorry, what were you going to say? Flesher: No, you're good. I was just going to say like, um, like you said like having like kids of your own—like understanding that now, I’m sure. Acosta: Yeah, exactly. Now I'm able to say wow, you know, my parents sacrificed a lot. I mean I don't know if I would just, you know—I'm—I'm at the age where I'm 48 [pause] and they came at this—like for me to be able to pick up my kids and just take them into another country where they don't speak the language like I don't know if I would be as brave as my parents were. Flesher: Hm. Acosta: Being—being, you know, in the stage of my life that I am. Like I don't know if I could do what they did. Flesher: Yeah, it's hard. Acosta: Yeah, it was hard. Flesher: Hm. �16 Acosta: And you don't—and again, that maturity, you don't get that maturity until you—I—for me it was until I had kids of my own that, you know, and as—as I age, I realize just how much they did for us. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: That I kinda take for granted—I took for granted. I took for granted, you know, when I—those early years. Flesher: Um-hm. Yeah, it's understandable. Um, do you know what made them choose Maryland out of—of the rest of the country? Acosta: Just the fact that my uncle lived here— Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —and he was working for Western Electric and he said, you know, "You're gonna like it here.” And so, is the—the family um tie with the, you know, the fact that I had—that we had somebody here already— Flesher: Um-hm, yeah. Acosta: —is what made us choose Maryland— Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —over Florida. Flesher: Right, yeah. Um, so you said that when you first got here it was—it was definitely very rough like a rough transition, um— Acosta: Well, like I said, the first year was fun, um, because I felt like I had lots of people willing to help. Flesher: Oh okay. Acosta: You know, like it was—what they—what they would do at Oakleigh Elementary which is the school that I attended um when I came. What they would do would—um they would have uh like a little desk outside and every half hour or every hour a different student would come out and meet with me and teach me the colors, teach me the days of the week so that I was learning amongst my peers rather than like a—a one on one or a ESOL teacher which is what you would have now. Um, and so that first—those first—I don't want to say the first year, but the first couple years it was fun because like I, you know, they were getting to meet the new girl and, you know, they had time where they would go outside and—and it was fun to teach someone, you know, the colors, the numbers, the days of the week, whatever it was that they were teaching me was fun for them too. And I had lots of, you know, lots of friends and like people willing to help. Um, it wasn't until, you know, couple years later, you know, like when you get to the 5th grade, you know, middle school was Pine Grove Middle School, then that's when you hit adolescence and then you start realizing, "Oh well you're different than me. I �17 don't want to hang out with you anymore." So, were there challenges? Yes, but I—I—as—as um the years progressed, to me it was like that's when it would get harder. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: But you know it's kind of like—I don't want to say everyone, but like it's just, you know, there—there's a lot more um things that are happening during that time anyway. You got the emotions, you got the—the—not the hormones, but, you know, you're growing up, you're finding who you are, um, in addition to being in a country where you don't know everyone. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: You know? Flesher: Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Um, how would you say the, uh, like the culture was compared to—to back where you were home? Acosta: Um it—it was um the culture. What? Flesher: Yeah, sorry, it's like very broad. Acosta: It’s like—yeah, like um what in specifics? Like I don't— Flesher: Um I guess just like how people—when I think of culture, I'm thinking of how people interact with each other. Um, so like uh for example, like on the east coast, I notice that people are all like very busy and can be like a little more harsh to each other than like over on the west coast for example. Acosta: Yeah, where things are laid back? Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: Yeah, it—it's just that you—you know, you start realizing that you're—you’re um—I'm trying to remember during that time, it's just like middle school like all the kids would be trying out for sports because that's usu—I remember that in particular, like they—they all wanna be doing something else, whereas my fam—and then I would go back home. So here I am, sixth grade, seventh grade at Pine Grove Middle School and they're all trying out for sports and then I would go home after, um, the school day and my, you know, and in my home, we were talking about how family is the most important thing, it doesn't you know—there was no such thing as real friends. Because in a sense that, um, in a sense that, you know, all—all of my friends were like, "Oh I'm going with this um friend of mine to try out for uh a sport." And I would say "Well," I would come home, and I would say, "Mom, I want to try out for this sport my friend is doing." Like "No, you—you stay at home, you focus." So, it's like I was—I always say I'm a product of two cultures. In addition to being bilingual, I am bicultural. And that means—like to me that means like, you know, I'm really—I felt like trapped in two worlds, like I wanted to be cool and try out for sports and, you know, hang out with my friends and then I would come home and then my mom would say, you know, "These are people who come and go in your life." You know, "The only real friends you have are—is your immediate circle," which is like my mom, my dad, like my aunts, and uncles, and cousins. "So, what are you looking to try out for the sport �18 for?" You know, it's more of like, you know, it’s, "Stay within your family. Let's—let's um—” so it's more, not controlled, but it’s—they—they were just trying to teach me the value of being close with the family, whereas at that age my friends were all about trying new things, being independent, you know, my—you know, they would just drop you off, "Mom why can't, you know, my dad just drop me off at my friend’s house?" It’s like, well, first of all, she didn't drive so she couldn't do it and my dad was working, you know, extra um shift so he couldn't, so it's like there was like, "Well what else do you want us to do? Like we—we only have one car. We only have this." So basically my—my, um, decision was: “Well, then I guess I can't be like everyone else. I—I don't have access to um, you know, transportation,” like—like I do now for my kids, like I drive them everywhere, where they—they di—we didn't have that, so it was just my culture, my—it was very small circle— Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: —that I stayed with. My cousins, um, and my aunts because I wasn't able to go out with, you know, my friends like when they wanted to go out. They wanted to go out and then I remember like back then Skateland was like the big hype and it’s like, "Well why can't I go skating like my friends would go?" And it’s like, "Well cause we only have one car." And so, I don't want to say I’m—I was sheltered, but because of the situation that we were in, I didn't get to do all the fun things that teenagers my age were doing. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: So, now, you know, looking back I was like okay, and I survived so it's okay that, you know, that they didn't go to every—that I didn't get a chance to go to every single birthday party that I was invited to or um, you know, or every single Skateland every weekend like the rest of my friends. I'm okay, I turned out okay. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: So. Flesher: Yeah. Um, so would you say like the culture here was like not as focu—not as revolved around family as it was back in Colombia? Acosta: That's what I was realizing. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: So yes— Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —to answer your question— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —which I—you started a while ago. Um, yes like I just realized that my priorities were not the same as my friends my age. Flesher: Okay. �19 Acosta: You know, because mine revolved around family and they revolved around trying— trying new things, going out, and being with their friends whereas mine was just, I stayed a lot—I stayed many, many evenings at home. Flesher: Hm yeah. Acosta: But again, I'm okay! Flesher: Yeah, right—right. It's nice to—to have those—those times with family. Acosta: Yeah, yeah! It's just I—I appreciate it so much more. Flesher: Hm. Yeah. Acosta: You know? The closeness that my family— Flesher: That's good. Um, would you say that when you were adjusting to that it created any tension within your family of—of realizing that the culture here like was different than— Acosta: Yes, yes, because we, um, we—we wanted to—to be like everybody else. But based on our economic situation we weren't able to. Flesher: Hm, yeah. Um, would you mind talking a little bit about um the—your religion, um, is that something you're comfortable talking about? Acosta: Sure, sure. Um so because we grew up in the Parkville area, it's like where we lived right on—well we—they still they still live there in the same house. So, it's off of Putty Hill and Loch Raven, so because we were um close proximity to, um, a particular church called Immaculate Heart of Mary, that's where, like that's where all of my memories, you know, revolve around. We were, and still are, very um practicing Catholic family. We um would go to church because it was close to our house even when it was—we had problems with the car. We could walk to our church. So, like that was always important to my parents, like I can remember them saying, "Yeah and—and you know we got a church close by. We got a 7-11 close by. So worst case scenario, if we're snowed in, we can still access this." Um, you know, are—the things that are important to us. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: So, anything that we might need like milk or bread, we could get at the, um, at the 7-11 and then again reinforcing our faith, um, our Catholic faith at Immaculate Heart of Mary was just a perfect um, you know, perfect location for them, um, that we would have a church nearby. And um we would go, we would sit in the fifth pew back on the right and to this day, I have attended um Saint Joseph's Parish which is right up the street from where I live and it's not the same, like it's not—it—I don't feel at home like I do at Immaculate Heart of Mary. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: So, my kids, um, unfortunately we weren't able to um go to a private school, um—but they attended CCD [The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine] now it's called Faith Formation but it's CCD, um, since they were you know, um in first grade. So, CCD every Sunday we would go, �20 um, and they would learn the Good News and then we would go to church right afterwards. So, this is something that, you know, I did as a child and then I was able to instill with my kids now. Um, nowadays as well that, you know, that's our parish, it's our community. Flesher: Right. Acosta: So, we still leave early if we have to, because we get a couple fights [or lights?] from here or there, but that is, you know, that's our home like that's where we feel— Flesher: Right. Acosta: —um our connection. Flesher: Yeah, I can definitely understand that. Acosta: And that's our, yeah. Yeah, and it's—and—and they, you know, sometimes they, you know, they're teenagers so sometimes they fight me on it, but they know that this is not an option and it's something that we do. We go to mass, we—they're both altar servers. They're both um, when Father Mike needs something, you know, they know that they can count on them to go and help, you know, trim the bushes um, for the—the um the church because that's what, you know, that's what we do. So— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —you know. So yes, we're practicing Catholic and we you know, we attend Immaculate Heart of Mary. Flesher: Okay. My mom actually went to school there. Acosta: Yeah, so yeah, it's a—I—I love it. I love the school. Flesher: Um, is Catholicism something that is practiced um in—in Colombia? Acosta: Yes. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: Yeah, and I would say—I mean I don't know about now, but, you know, when I came here, like Colombia was like um—the—the area that we lived in, Barranquilla, was like 99% Catholic, Roman Catholic. So, it was um very important that, you know, we were able to find the church that same denomination. I mean Christians, we're all Christians, but that it was a Roman Catholic church. Flesher: Right. Acosta: So, it was important to them— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —to—you know, and I'm grateful for it. �21 Flesher: Um-hm. Um, so your parents practiced—they—they practiced Catholicism back in Colombia? Acosta: In in Colombia as well, yes. So, they—um we practiced, uh, we would go to church in Colombia and then we came here, and we were able to continue. Flesher: Would you say your parents had a pretty big impact on your faith when you were growing up? Acosta: Yes, yes, I mean and they instilled that in us. I mean it's just um—and I'm very grateful for it because they continue to teach my kids. Um, I would—I would say that just coming here um [pauses] it—it takes a lot, I mean you have to just know that you're in God's hands like— Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: —we came here, we didn't know anyone um. Then we prayed about it, we prayed before um dinner. We you know, it's just something that I saw growing up. I always saw it in them, and I am grateful that they did. Flesher: Yeah, yeah that's really cool. Um, would—uh so in terms of like the immigration experience, did that have an impact on your guys’ faith at all or was that something that really strengthened that, um, as you guys moved to the US? Acosta: Um, like what—what do you mean? Like— Flesher: So, like um, that you said that you prayed, do—do you mean you prayed before you came to— Acosta: Yes. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: We prayed that the, you know, that it was a big decision for them. Um, and then once we were here, we give thanks. So not only do you pray before, but we gave thanks every single weekend for just allowing us to survive another—you know? Because everything was just so new to us. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: You know and— [trails off] Flesher: Um-hm. Um, and did you—did you all—have you always gone to Immaculate Heart of Mary, like when— Acosta: Yes, yeah. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: So that's been our parish, you know, for 30 years. Flesher: Okay, um. And um— �22 Acosta: Over 30 years. Flesher: What was that? Acosta: I said over 30. Flesher: Oh, okay. Acosta: I keep saying like 30 years like you know like 1980—oh my gosh 40. Flesher: Mm yeah. Um, and you said that—that your parents have—have helped some in passing—in passing that down to your—to your children also? [Acosta's husband and son walk in the front door] Acosta: Right because my parents are um, they— Flesher: It’s okay. [Acosta's son laughs in background] Acosta: Ay Dios. Acosta’s Son: Hey! (laughs) Acosta: He just waked in, my son just walked in by the way. And so, um, my parents, they are bilingual, so they um speak Spanish at home and so that was important to me, because if they [Acosta’s children] didn't speak Spanish at home, they wouldn't be able to communicate with my parents. That being said, that when they spend the night at their house, it's—it's something that she [Acosta’s mother] chooses—she uses that time to talk to them about her faith and about yeah so. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: You know, and they do, they—they need to be able to communicate with them so that was why it was important for me to— Flesher: Right. Acosta: —make sure they spoke Spanish. Flesher: Um-hm. And have they been able to also pass down some of the—the Colombian culture as well? Acosta: Yes, exactly. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: Yeah, the culture, the food, the, um, the stories, she—she [Acosta’s mother] has like the little book of sayings that, um, that, you know, she kind of teaches so that we're keeping those stories alive, you know? So that they know where they came from. Flesher: Hm. Yeah, that's nice. �23 Acosta: You know? Flesher: Right. Um, I guess uh I'm just curious um like have—have your children expressed interest in—in going to Colombia with you, um, one day? Acosta: They have um, it's just we're—we're waiting for—for them to be a little bit older, I guess, so that they can, I guess, um, fend for themselves and uh it’s something that we would like for them. They’ve—they have asked. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: Um, it's—it’s difficult at the age they're in, right? Currently um I have a fourteen-yearold and a fifteen-year-old, so they're all about their friends right now, but I know that the time will come when they will, you know, ask more about their roots, so they were very anxious to go right before their teenage years. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: And right now, we're—we're probably at a lull because— Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —friends are more important. But I know that they will, you know, they—they have shown interest in wanting to go. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: And—and in that time, because my husband's from Puerto Rico, we have attended—uh have visited um Puerto Rico several times. Flesher: Okay. Acosta: So, like they do, you know, when they go there because they're—we’re able to go with, um, without a passport— Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: —it's easier for them to at least see their—their family on their dad's side. Flesher: Yeah. Have you been able to meet—meet up with any of your family in Puerto Rico when you went down there then? Acosta: No, no. Not with my immediate family, no. But they have come here, and when they come here—they—they have come to visit yeah. Flesher: Nice. Um, yeah, I guess is there—is there anything else you would uh want to share? Um before we kinda finish? Acosta: I— Flesher: Any—any interesting stories? �24 Acosta: I just um, you know, one in particular that we talked about, um, when I was signing my name on the permission slip it's just that, you know, we’ve talked about the fact that during my adolescence um years I—even though I was proud to be Colombian, I was, um, I was not scared, but I was ashamed of my last name, for example. And so, I would say when they would ask me what my name was and I would say "Gloria Jah-rah-vah" and, but it's not really my name, my name is Gloria Jarava and it's one of those things where it wasn't until, you know, a couple years in that I'm like well why am I trying to just be part of the group? Like I'm—I'm proud of being Colombian, why don't I teach someone how to say it correctly? So then that because very important to me that it's like, "No, my name is Gloria-Ines Jarava," and if somebody doesn't know how to say it then I'll teach you how to say it. Flesher: Right. Acosta: But I'm proud of where I—where I am now as a person and I'm going to teach you how to say it, so then I would say, "Jarava like hooray Jarava," and I would say, "J-a-r-a-v-a," and I would say, "the J is like an h" Jarava and I would break it down. So, you know, it—it was important to me that although I spent so many years trying to fit in, now I was proud of who I was and I can teach someone the correct way to say my name. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: And the same thing now that I'm married it's "Acosta." "Oh well I can't really say that. Can I just call you Mrs. Gloria?" "No, my name is Acosta." Flesher: Right. Acosta: And so, it's just that, that, you know, I feel like I've come full circle um because now I'm currently um an Additional Assistant at um Perry Hall Elementary, and there are lots of um students from different ethnic, um, eth—ethnicities and so with different ethnic backgrounds, and they'll say, "Well you can just call me um Rita," but her name is Riti. Flesher: Hm. Acosta: And she doesn't want—she's like, "Well, people don't know how to say Riti," and so it's—I've come full circle I'm like, "Well here's what we need to do, we need to teach them how to say that." So, it's really, um, it's—it’s really fulfilling for me now that I came here, I felt different and I had lots of friends, then I was shunned because I was different. Then I came to, you know, appreciate and admire my parents’, um, sacrifices to now be working in the school where I'm able to help someone else just be proud of who you are, you know, at a young age so that you don't have to go through this whole, um, circle. So, she's like, "You're right! You're right! And so, I'm Riti! Riti!" And so, they're just—and they're—they're so full of life and I want them to be as excited about being different rather than just trying to fit in and—and being like everybody else. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: So that's my only, you know, fun story that it has come full circle for me. You know, but that’s it. �25 Flesher: That's really cool! Acosta: Yeah, and—and there are many different ethnicities there, and so I look back and I'm like wow, I’m—I'm in first grade, and so what happens is that I'm able to see myself in these kids, if you will. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: Um, coming here um from India and um just all these different places, and I just say India because of this, um, particular girl, but, you know, and just being in a class with other students and just I can see myself in them and it's—just it's beautiful, it is beautiful. Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: So— Flesher: Especially since it made such a big impact on you, that you were able to do the same for these children. Acosta: Exactly, exactly. And so then, you know, they're learning English for the first time. They are um, you know, they're—so it's—I—that's—that was me. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: That was me in 1979. So, it's—it was very powerful. Flesher: Yeah, that really is amazing. Acosta: And—and again if you—it's like God is good, you know? It's like, "Wow! This is a full circle for me." Flesher: Yeah, that's really fulfilling. It's cool to see the way he uses us. Acosta: Yes exactly! Flesher: Yeah. Acosta: You know, and I'm here to help them. Flesher: Um-hm. Acosta: Because I'm an assistant, so I'm—I'm not their teacher, I'm there to assist them. Flesher: Um-mm. Acosta: So, I'm working with the ESOL teachers and I'm working with, you know, um, the—the speech teachers. And helping them as well. Flesher: Yeah. That’s really nice. Acosta: So, yeah. That's my story. Flesher: Thank you. Uh, is there anything else you wanted to talk about? �26 Acosta: No, just know that you can always contact me if there's something that you need— Flesher: Okay. Acosta: —um, to further share my story with you. Flesher: Yeah, thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to—to tell your story and share about it—it's really fascinating and cool to hear! Acosta: I'm glad to hear it. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2020 Interviews Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Adam Flesher Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Gloria-Ines Acosta Location The location of the interview White Marsh, Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.A. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data docx, JPG, MP3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview of Gloria-Ines Acosta Description An account of the resource This interview between Adam Flesher and Gloria-Inés Acosta dives into Mrs. Acosta’s immigration experience from Barranquilla, Colombia to Baltimore, Maryland in 1978 when she was just seven years old. This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST 428M (Spring 2020). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adam Flesher Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 7, 2020 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF, JPG, MP3 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Catholicism Children Colombia education family identity Opportunity religion https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/ef1d84d6ee8e4267093b3db43b0033ae.png?Expires=1781740800&Signature=KnrhTN3TBOHppKFSGuuActaodCoUQOW%7E3D7iKnX%7EmekfT2E0-oo1tBcp%7E2xFsmrtIvdpJuSo8lZySRkwpjALeKYy8ZmN2t0o-0wptnr-4-VQsgsHMo-1zODAIWp1xLsltpkHUULbJy%7E2ItBP32FxgQgAqELi0l3xgb3l1Q9zRn3pvJF1oGH0XD2DkgZVU4Mfidy7D5t4nH2LWKekzd4M2WI3CJy6hm1TyaFs18kYBAicUi9qOWXtcSupbD6yE5k5mTbGf4YQ6n1y9SHnAbN79T4Kl5UyupZpdApXw7EAuwdbXviWvQGH%7EJxZkIJJzOT05tZ8B8Bo3Q%7EW0S-cvrgmcA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 7c1eeaf73a7efd1528441acae023166e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2024 Interviews Description An account of the resource Spring 2024 Interviews from Prof. Colleen Woods (IMMR400) and Prof. Anne Rush (HIST 465) at the University of Maryland. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Adegbemisola (Bemi) Onitiri Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Jane Doe (pseudonym) Location The location of the interview Upper Marlboro, Prince George’s County, Maryland, U.S.A. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Jane Doe (pseudonym) Description An account of the resource This interview between Adegbemisola Onitiri and Jane Doe (pseudonym) details Doe’s experiences as an immigrant. It explores the triumphs and struggles of her time in the United States. Additionally, this interview reveals the nature of Jane Doe’s experiences growing up in a polygamous family in Ogun state, Nigeria, the values that were emphasized in her family, and how those values impact the way she raises her children. ***This interview transcript is restricted to the University of Maryland College Park's campus. For more information, contact the Center for Global Migration Studies (globalmigration@umd.edu).*** This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST465 (Spring 2024). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adegbemisola Onitiri Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 10, 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Marjorie Antonio Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History IT motherhood Nigeria Polygamy https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/ed547cc628089cd280174e5a95147785.jpg?Expires=1781740800&Signature=hqiCalYc8F6y8ivB8NbtTyTNLAiltCy95YfoL-QQ%7EweAd8o7eMzQQXdrUufXoIX-txsArU4AjX0d34zM-W6YcV0M9jHvAwDwNrQL5UE7bUzUZdg7bSl5vEF%7EYSK9wUuKr8-HUeccYIzYEIcRFHQj9V9jLeNQ%7EHO8BGs7rTsnZo18WYNdtDVP0tv8K3Ij2XWpaJknbaNUzJABXawspCUXc6Lte0itsc6V24PrYwr8lIkNuicqu3pKmVEn6t%7EiRlXzuYXdprVVXrsCsUbzNhb2YQua8usHbOvM241XO0Hh-fNY-46PgNYENVTQXWDf9fPz2Ff35CxC9IMFspsELEc5UQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 258439a14c1aff39f8b738545207d02b https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/7236748152e2db632c68bcfe5bb33cf7.m4a?Expires=1781740800&Signature=ee7Zf2yBtZgDY9HxnarZRjrnMvOAOLi-D3ySvrpOktewL2HS-UBdQBHO4-KVfm6C9h3Jabp%7Ex9i-6Eqta9zIh%7Ek-098u8IkTmAinIsq2Oe8QPawxici8XS25FgqpXPLwrGKEDXLfj28OA1pF8l1vd3wnakqi2m0yeAck%7EMa3pOtOQDuwnvWAYOJNEBNebqUyPUNYy4s5xJesZLPaaQ-i2nMoo6LiJ%7Esj3LG2NPh7drmU019qxpW6Ababqgxi-gxa8tpZr11D3%7E9T%7Ehz7xGLCfs2XnVPBXe-T5f7AKEO9QmlwVG1%7EdIdwnd7yePdzl7CVf3%7EdCpyiYrMvrbWUTM-2wg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 9b9ef0bc82a7c08d39f807314049ec52 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/16159/archive/files/4b30b599216bc02ca3d1fd666baa6701.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=dNp1Czb9krUPV2hgYbC9HQTpbtR9QyKDJp7zGHMPIa-Qh1Z1L9Z1AASpFsn2YKw6l9StbhayiP%7Ej-TwenmQtGe%7E-ltB8L90BkBwU8gSB0BN%7E%7EmtZAh9EEqW6y69F6zIv3Ri00mfoQM74vf9UT1N8-9bmIIN2VbGqi1xMH3HG1ygorhN9GYitAIRICb-nZzQfnIzeq-cK-lfvZCFKVWw63Dq73yhUum-dmNDjRGekIJ%7EqLGkPLRQzrqWFZEejRUIEVCGrd9Xuc45C412AJ4gMdeG9IPtFQS3vQMQou3ydxCyfGhKv7RjtrQA9iFwQLfQcVX09-sVhOkilUV9C2hI0tA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM c357ff9ff08eaa39dd9231c329bee052 PDF Text Text 1 Transcript for Oral History Interview Conducted for University of Maryland Course: HIST465 – Spring 2023 Instructor: Dr. Anne S. Rush Interviewer’s Name: Aidan Lambiotte Interviewee’s Name: Mary Tsiolas Interviewee’s Country of Origin: Canada Interviewee’s Current of Residence: Takoma Park, Maryland, Montgomery County, USA Date of Interview: March 6th, 2023 Place of Interview: Takoma Park, Maryland, Montgomery County, USA Type of Interview: In Person Introduction: This interview is between Aidan Lambiotte and his aunt, Mary Tsiolis, a Greek Canadian immigrant to the United States. As the daughter of Greek immigrants to Quebec, Mary depicts her early childhood, and experiences growing up in both Greece and Monrtréal during the 1960s - 1970s. She draws stark contrasts between her experiences in Canada and her initial time as an immigrant in America, touching heavily on the themes of isolation, microaggression, and white suburban hegemony in the United States. She ultimately uses her experiences to illustrate the manner in which she found community in the DC area, entirely outside of Greek or Canadian culture, as well as her love-hate relationship with American identity. Keywords: Partie Quebecois, isolation, community, Suburbs, healthcare, music, politics Aidan: Okay, um, this is Aidan Lambiotte here with Mary Tsiolas, In Takoma Park, Maryland, at 3:22PM on, it is, today is March 6th, Monday March 6th, 2023. Um so to start, can you tell me your, your name, your age, your place of birth, and your date of birth? Mary: Okay, um, my name is Mary Tsiolas, uh, I was born in Montreal Canada, March 27th, 1959, so I will be 64 [on] March 27th, 2023. Um… Aidan: Good? Mary: That's about it! Aidan: Okay good, um, and, so, so to start we kind of just want to get a good sense of what your childhood was like, what your early life was like, so if you could, um, can you tell me about the environment you grew up in? Mary: I grew up in a Greek, I grew up with a Greek family, where my parents are from Greece, they migrated to Canada when they were teenagers, in 1957, and then when I was three years old, and my �2 sister was one year old, we went to live with my grandparents in Greece, so we could learn the language, and spend time with them. Then, we moved back to Canada, when I was nine or ten years old, probably nine, nine and a half. And uh, [we] lived in Canada until 1980, and then we moved to the US in 1980. Aidan: Okay, and so, so to backtrack a little bit, can you tell me about, uh, like what a normal day was like when you were in Greece when you were young, as much as you can remember? Mary: Uh we lived in the country, it was beautiful, we had a lot of friends because there was a really, um, a very tight knit neighborhood, and everyone played with each other, it was very carefree, it was very trusting, nobody locked doors, and it was beautiful. Aidan: Good, and what was your daily routine like? Did you go to school there? Mary: Yes, I went to elem-- kindergarten and elementary school there, uh, it was Greek school all day, except we had once a week an English cla-- English class, and it was the basics, and, um, so I can read and write Greek. And then when we moved to Canada, I went to a special English class, to pick up on my English, and then within six months I was placed in my grade, my English grade, in the Canadian school. Aidan: I see, and what was the name of the place in Greece where you were? Mary: The town? The name is Levidi, and it's a very small town in the province, the state is Arcadia in the Peloponnese. Aidan: Okay, very good. Um, yeah, so, so what, you said that you, you were in elementary school in Greece, um, when you came back to Canada after a few years in Greece, what were some differences that you noticed, or were there any differences that you noticed between the educational systems of, like, your Greek school versus you Canadian school, or-Mary: Oh, it was like day and night. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: Uh Greek school, uh, we were in the country so it was structured with a very long lunch break, where everyone went home for lunch and then we all went back to school in the afternoon, um, it was, um, it was very hard, it was, um we did a lot of uh, there was a lot of classes, a lot of classes that I didn't have in Canada like calligraphy classes at a very young age, and, um, and like really, outdoor gym, that was really kind of rough for us being young, and, um, Canada was much more indoors, nobody went home for lunch. Oh no we did go home for lunch, yes we did, we lived close, and so we did go home for lunch, the school, uh, had a break for a couple of hours and then we went back in the afternoon. Um, it was very structured, um, it was tough in the beginning, because, um, it was hard for me as a young child because I had to learn English very fast, because I wanted to have friends and I wanted to be able to communicate. Aidan: Mm-hm. �3 Mary: So, television helped a lot. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: A Lot of TV, and a lot of special classes, and I was very young, so we picked it up very fast, my sister and I. Aidan: Yeah, were there any, um, were you mostly--so, in French Canada, were you watching French TV? Mary: It was in English Canada then. Aidan: Really? Mary: Yes, because Partie Quebecois didn't take over until much later, so I was there in the 70s. Aidan: Oh so it was predominantly English? Mary: English, yes. Aidan: Ah okay, I didn't know that. Mary: Quebec, Quebec was predominantly English, yes, absolutely, yes. Aidan: Ah I didn't know that, okay. Mary: Yeah so, when we left in like, late 70s, in 79, 1979 to 1980 when we moved here, it was starting to change. Aidan: Starting to change. I see. Mary: Yes, to where all the English public schools were closing, and there were primarily French, and, you know, all that changed then. Aidan: I see, okay. Mary: So, there was a huge migration out of Can--out of Montreal then, a lot of the English, uh, speaking folks, and a lot of the Europeans that wanted to maintain their kid’s education in English, they left to go to English speaking parts of Canada, which pretty much Toronto, like, got flooded overnight basically. Aidan: Interesting. Mary: Yeah. �4 Aidan: Okay, um, so, kind of going back to education, a little bit, so once you came back to Greece, and because you had a fairly long amount of time in the educational system of Canada. Mary: Right. Aidan: Um, I guess, like, what was that like especially as you started to grow, and started to um, when you, when you get to, you know, when you reach adolescence and wanted to, um, you know-Mary: It was very different in Canada, because at the time all the schools were cut in half, half the school was all French, and the other half of the school was all English. And so, we basically-- and the English, um, English side, we had to take French, and if we didn't pass our French class we would flunk, and it was the same thing for the French side, the kids, they had to take English, and it was a primary subject, so if they failed it they would fail their class. So, that was a little, that was weird because people didn't really hang out together, the English side of the cafeteria, I mean there was an English side of the cafeteria speaking kids, the Anglophones, and the Francophones were on the other side, and a lot of them did not really connect, and so it was really a little bit rough when you're younger, because, coming from an ethnic family, you know, we had Greek school, we had English school, we had Greek school on the weekend and French school. So, it was a lot of work. Aidan: A lot of education. Mary: A lot, a lot, it was like a lot pushed at us, but it was, it was a good thing. Aidan: Okay, so-Mary: But hard at the time. Aidan: So, your, so your daily routine consisted of a lot of, a lot of schooling. Mary: Yes, I had never seen a, um, an open book test, until I moved to the US. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: And that was shocking. Aidan: Yeah. Mary: Because when I moved to the US, I had finished high school in Canada, but I needed to get the equivalent to the American high school, uh, diploma. I needed to take American history, and US government. So, at the time they, they, they only would let us take, not two courses, but four courses, so I ended up taking English, American government, US history, and I think it was art or something. Aidan: Okay, okay. �5 Mary: Yeah. Aidan: Um, so, kind of, sort of, just to get a better sense of what Montreal was like for you. Mary: Mm-hm Aidan: Um, is there a large immigrant community in Montreal? That you? Mary: Yes. Aidan: Okay. Mary: Yes, very much so. It's very international. Aidan: Right. Mary: We lived in the Italian part of town, um, there was like, there's like different ethnic neighborhood, it's very multicultural, multi-ethnic, always has been and it still is, but primarily now because its Quebec, there, the primary language there is first, French. So, if you don't know fluent French and fluent English, you cannot get a job. Aidan: Mm-hm, right, and, um, is, is there a sizable Greek community there too? Mary: Yes, there is a huge old Greek community there, with churches, with schools, very big, very, very big. Aidan: Okay, so you grew up in an environment where you did not feel-Mary: I didn't feel as a stranger, out of place. Yes, because when I first moved here, because I don't have straight blonde hair, I was like, always asked where am I from. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: To where in Canada, in Montreal, nobody asked you that. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: You know? Everyone was like, from somewhere, and um it was basically “how good is your French?” [laughs] Aidan: Right. Right, so, um, so yeah, wha wha, so what was, was there anything you noticed, like did you feel, in terms of your sense of feeling at home and feeling the sense of community, how, or were there any differences in how you felt about being in Greece versus the Greek community in Montreal? �6 Mary: Well that was when I was really young, there was a huge, the differences that I noticed the most was the differences between the Canadian, the Montreal Canadian communities to moving here, to Washington. My parents bought a house in Virgina, Vienna, Virginia, the subway then, it was 1980, it only went to Rosslyn, it was very isolating out in the suburbs, it was primarily white, um, it, we really felt like aliens. Aidan: Yeah. Mary: That was really, a lot harder than moving from Greece from a young age to Montreal, the hard part was that we moved from the country, that literally everything was open, there was like, uh, very, you know, very small buildings, it wasn't, you know, and then all of the sudden we moved to Montreal and here's this giant city, and there is giant buildings and skyscrapers and tons of traffic, so that was really shocking. Aidan: Right. Mary: That part, you know, to get, to get used to. Aidan: Yeah, okay, so now we’ll transition a little bit to um, I guess like the crux of this interview, um, how did you get to America? And that's kind of a broad question. You can interpret this a couple ways I guess. Mary: Mm-hm. Aidan: But in a broad sense, how did you get to America? Mary: Okay, um, at the time, because we were in high school my parents, there was three of, I had three siblings, my parents, and my three sibling--my two other siblings, so three kids, and I’m the oldest, and, um, my dad had gotten really tired, even though he loved Montreal, he had gotten tired of the cold winters, and it was hard on his body, and he started hating it. So, he decided to do a little tour in the US to visit friends and family, and he fell, he ended up coming, driving through Virginia in the spring, and everything had bloomed, and Washington was very beautiful with all the cherry blossoms, and he fell madly in love with the area. So he decided that this is where he wanted to move us all to. And so at the time he hired a lawyer, and um, they uh the lawyer got us green cards, uh, you know, resident alien cards, and we all moved here, that's how we moved, through my dad. So my dad was here for a couple of years, and he got all the paperwork done, and then he brought us, he brought the entire family here. Aidan: I see, so was that when you were, so you finished high school in Canada? Mary: Yes. And then I did three, uh, the four classes here to grad, to get also--I went to high school at Madison High in Virginia, uh, for the last year, for another year when we first moved here so I could get the equivalency to the diploma, to the high school diploma. �7 Aidan: Okay, I see, and then, um, after that, what did you do? When you were, when you were sort of, uh, when, I guess like when you-Mary: After high school? Aidan: After high school, and-Mary: After high school I took some classes at George Mason. I really didn't like being out in the suburbs, so I dropped the classes, and I wanted to move to DC, to Washington, to the city. And I decided that I really wanted to check out and see what it's like becoming a stylist, a hair stylist, so I apprenticed in a salon, and ended up really liking it and I stayed there, and I finished my apprenticeship, I did my exams, and I became a stylist. I got my license as a hairdresser, I loved it, and I moved into Washington. Aidan: Ah I see, ok so that was your first work experience here [in the United States]. Mary: Yes. Aidan: Okay, good, um, yeah, so one of the questions is what motivated or caused your move to the US, but I guess that we already covered that. Mary: Yes, it was my parents. Aidan: Yeah, okay. Mary: Yeah, it was the family. Aidan: But, um, I am curious about what you thought about it at the time, were you happy in Montreal? Or were you excited to move? Mary: I was very happy in Montreal, and it was a very horrible time moving here. Aidan: Okay. Mary: We had a very hard time adjusting, um, it was very alienating, it was very, very white, and even though we’re white Mediterraneans, we did not feel part of this, you know, American, white neighborhood that we moved into. Aidan: Right. Mary: Um, it was uh, we lived in the city so everybody used public transportation, we grew up with the public transportation in Montreal, which is fantastic, and then when we moved to the burbs unless you could drive, or someone was driving you somewhere, you were completely cut off. Aidan: Right. �8 Mary: And at that time, like I said, there was no Metro, there was no easy access to anything, so it was very alienating and very difficult. Aidan: Right, I see, so, so you were not so happy here when you first started? Mary: No. Aidan: Okay. Mary: No, I hated it. Aidan: Okay, yeah, um, I, I do have one interesting question: how did you meet your first friend in America? Mary: Oh my gosh. Uh-Aidan: If you can even remember, but-Mary: I can't even remember the first. So, I met a lot of, uh, people when I took the classes, um, you know, for the, to get my diploma, because there was, we were all seniors, so I met one of the first people that I remember, I met someone that their parents, their dad worked for the CIA that was never around, so that was a wild story. And she was great, and it was true, here dad was never around, and we became friends. And I met, I met quite a few folks in, I started meeting people in the high school, and people that were more from different places, people that had traveled a lot, or, you know, were not the cheerleaders and the jocks. But it was more like, and that was something else that was shocking to me was, like, having this world, like, all separate, where the school was like, it was like what they used to call it which I thought was really weird was like the jocks the cheerleaders and then the freaks. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: And so that was really wild. Because we never had that in Canada, our school didn't involve, either you were in sports or you were not, but it was not a big deal. It wasn't like a big, the Canad-- the American, the American upbringing to the high school was just kind of, it was just kind of very different. It was stuff that we saw on television. Aidan: Right. Mary: So, yeah, it was weird. Aidan: Right, right, okay, so, so it sounds like over time, at first at least it was difficult to find some sort of sense of community, did you ever really, I mean not necessarily in comparison to Greece or Montreal, which have large established communities. �9 Mary: Mm-hm. Aidan: But I guess a place like DC, which, um, which, um, according to the research that I did does not have a very large Greek population, [Greek] immigrant population. Mary: No. Aidan: Um, did you ever find any sort of community, or is it never really-Mary: Yes, I did, actually, I found a great community, uh, in music, um, I found a lot of friends, and it was um, very, very embracing, was the arts, the arts community, the musicians, the poets, um, the college students that were, um, politically motivated were the people that I was interested in, those kind of, those kind of folks. And there was a huge group back then, it wasn't, Washington isn't like it was now. It was pretty much offices, and then, either you worked in an office or you didn't, or you went to school, and then by like 5 o'clock in the afternoon they would roll up, literally, the sidewalks because the offices would close and it would be a dead town. There was nobody there. So, um, we didn't have, there was a lot of crime in Washington then, and it was also, um, a lot cheaper to live in DC than it is now, so there was a very, there was a lot of young people that lived in Washington, and I made a lot of friends, and roommates, through, you know, group houses and apartments and sort of-- And then it was also very cheap for the artsy communities, like um, the people that were in bands, and the people that were poets, and the people, uh, that wanted to show their art, there was a lot of really bad neighborhoods in Washington, with, with like, really not great buildings, so it was easy for all of us to see shows, and see events at places like that, it wasn't hard for people to play, like it is now. Like right now if you're not popular, or famous, uh, you can't get anything, a gig in a club. Aidan: Yeah, yeah. Mary: It's very limited, to where then, it was very open, and there was a lot of people that came from other places and other colleges, and other cities, like a lot of people would come down from Philadelphia, people would come from North Carolina, and there was a lot of stuff going on in Washington and it was a very embracing community. Aidan: Right, right. Mary: So, that's where I ended up getting very connected, and that's how I ended up staying here for a very long time. Aidan: Mm-hm, right. Mary: And I met my husband here, so we ended up making our home here. Aidan: Right. Mary: And, you know, family and that sort. �10 Aidan: So, I know that, um, I know that there is a large Greek orthodox community in general, like it, I think, um-Mary: Yes, there is. Aidan: Like many communities, especially diasporic communities, kind of connect a lot of the time through religion. Mary: Yes, they do. Aidan: This is, this is one of the questions my class was concerned with, is, um, um, sorry if it's a little bit abrupt-Mary: That's okay. Aidan: But just while we were on the topic of finding community, or finding fellow Greek immigrants, um, have you ever been involved with religion? Or has that ever played a part in your life, cause, because I know it can be very important in at least-Mary: Yes, in the Greek community, yes, yes, we’re, uh, most of the Greeks are Greek orthodox, they are very serious about their religion, they, uh, a lot of them connect through the church, uh, and the church of course, you know, you have to become a member, and that sort of thing. That was more my parents, uh, I would go to church periodically. The biggest holiday is Easter, it's bigger than Christmas, and so, the only time that I would really go to church was when my mom wanted me to go with her for the resurrection, uh, service, in, on Easter. And, uh, when I was little in Greece, we had a little village church of course and we went there on Sundays with our grandparents, but it was different, they were the ones that were very connected, I'm not very religious con-- very religiously connected so I’ve never, um, belonged to the church. Aidan: Mm-hm, okay, okay good, get that out of the way. Mary: Yes, but you have to be a member. Aidan: Right. Mary: It's like, you, I mean you can go to church on a Sunday, but to be involved in all their activities and all sort of, of that sort of thing is like you have to be a member of the church. Aidan: Okay, I see, I see. Um, so kind of back to just, like, the topic of like, kind of, as you, when you got here, were there any things you did that helped you sort of, um, grow your community? Grow like sort of grow into being in America, and did that affect the identity that you held important before, or like did that sort of, um, influence your beliefs, or values, or what you thought about yourself? �11 Mary: I feel, I feel like there was a big part of me that grew up here. So, I feel like a third, like, I'm a third Greek, I'm a third, um, part, you know, Canadian, and the other part is American. They had all, all those countries had a lot of influence in my life, and by the way I am today. Um, I, I didn’t, I was looking more, I didn't, wasn't really looking for Greek communities when I moved here. I was looking more for real people. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: And more, not so, I don't know, broken up, you know, in groups, in like, you know, the Virginia, the whites and this and whatever. So no, I didn't really look for a Greek community. I knew that the Greek community here was many generations. A lot of them were not like the Greek community that was in Canada where they, where the families had just migrated, you know, they were the first generation, their parents, and the children was the second. So, here, most of the Greeks that I did meet, they didn't speak the language, they were very far removed from Greece, I mean, they would go there for holidays but that was pretty much it, so, it wasn't the same, but I have a big, huge family, so that part kept me much more connected. Aidan: Mm-hm, Okay right. Mary: Than the church would. Aidan: Than the church per-se? Okay. Mary: Yes. Aidan: I see. And um, could you just tell me about some of the things that you did, um, when you were, I guess like younger in DC, when you, when you moved there, um, what were you up to, besides, were you doing anything besides being a stylist? Or was it stylist full time? Mary: I was working as a stylist full time because I was, uh, living on my own, and I was supporting myself. And, I got, I was very politically, I got very politically involved, and I still am, um, women’s rights. Pro-choice, pro-vote, pro freedom, pro-everything. Uh, I've always been a Democrat, a die-hard Democrat. Um, for me a lot of my connections with people have been political connections, much more than religious, or you know, or you know, background, or you know, coming from the same country. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: I started by getting really involved in, also in music, I really loved, I met my husband then. And then I met a bunch of friends, everybody was young, everybody was going to American University, there was a huge, uh, a huge music scene there, everybody was doing punk stuff, and fun stuff, and there was a lot of music coming in from California, from England, um, there was a lot of poetry, there was a lot of, there was a lot going on, so I got super involved with all that. Aidan: Mm-hm, right, okay, so-- �12 Mary: And I also loved to travel, so, I got very involved in, like, traveling, like as much as I could. Aidan: So through these, through these, um, sort of like, very politically active communities, did you sort of, I don't know, I guess, I guess, okay, let me preface this by asking the question: what was your opinion of America before you immigrated? What were, what were, what did you know about it, and how did you feel about it? Did you, did you, believe that it was a land of opportunity? Or did you believe that it was just the neighbor of Canada? Or did, you know, did you have any opinions on it? Mary: I, my opinion was, uh, because I hadn't been here before, only a visit to see family for, for a wedding when I was young, in New York, um, my, my thoughts about America was mostly what television showed us, certain TV shows, and how things are here, and sort of like, you know, television played a lot, movies played a lot, so, you know, sort of like, Happy Days, and uh, stuff like that, um, when I, um, I was not excited to move here because I loved living in Canada, and I was leaving behind my life and my friends, and that was devastating, um. I didn't really, I didn't like American when I first moved here. The violence really scared me. Um, the health care was terrifying, because the funny thing was when we first moved here, you know, we have social medicine in Canada, so when we first moved here, I remember, it was my brother, I think, got bronchitis in the winter, and my mom took him to the clinic, and when she walked out of the clinic they gave her a bill for like 400 dollars which totally freaked her out, because um you realize right there and then, that it's completely different. That when you’re sick you just can't go into the clinic and get medicine, you have to have money, and you have to have, uh, insurance. And that was like, really a hard awakening to see how expensive and how difficult health care is in America. Aidan: Right. Mary: So, I fell in love with America very slowly. And I still think if I had not lived here for as long as I have, and have family and friends that are American, that I probably would not like this country very much. It’s very racist, and the racism is deep, and scary, and it's always, I've always seen it since I moved here in 1980 to today. Um, it's, um, it’s not fair in so many ways. And it’s, uh, and right now the way it's changed, it's frightening, it's frightening. So, it's a place that I love, but I'm really scared of it at the same time. Aidan: I see. So, so you are, um, so, your opinion of America, I guess, like, you were never surprised by- because I think there's a common experience of people thinking America is this very free, very liberated place, and then coming to America and kind of, like you said, suffering this like rude awakening. So, are you, are you sort of saying that even before you came to America, you kind of, there was, there was no enchantment that was undone when you got here. Mary: No. Aidan: Okay, I see. Mary: No. �13 Aidan: Yeah. Mary: It was, what was frightening moving here was, how, well, also of course where we moved to, you know, Vienna, Virginia. How, how scary and, and white it was. And how, and how, there was a funny story we got when we first moved in, we got the lady, the neighbor, showed up with a basket full of fruit and cookies, it was a welcome, a neighborhood welcome wagon, and my mother invited her in, and, you know, she offered her Greek cookies, because were Greek, and she also offered her Greek coffee. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: And, so, the neighbor had never had Greek coffee which is very, which is ground very fine, and it’s, um, it’s quite strong, it's got a lot of caffeine, so the, the woman said that she would love to have some, and my mother made her some coffee and she stayed and we chatted for a little bit, and then the next day she came back knocking on our door, wanting to see the package that the coffee came in because she couldn't sleep at all the night before, and she was, um, she was a little upset, and kind of, like, made us feel that we, you know, my mom felt terrible, because she was like, you know, this is just coffee, was trying to explain to her that it had a lot of caffeine, that's probably why she couldn't sleep. But it just made us, did not make us feel very welcome, her attitude. So, it was, it was difficult, it was a difficult time for us because, um, family would come and visit us, and at the time, all my uncles at the time, drove black Cadillacs, and when they showed up, uh, people were like kind of afraid, they thought like “what is up with you guys,” you know, “where are you from?” And it was strange, you know, so it was like, it was just kind of, like, it felt like if you didn't fit in, you just weren't part of that, that area, you know, if you didn't have a at that time, you know, the kids all in school had, the guys had pickup trucks, and the people, the girls had little cars, and if you didn't have a car, you know, you just didn't, it was, it was a very different time, very different time. I was never, I had never gone to a party that was in a big open farm field, where they had watermelon, you know, stuffed with moonshine, which I didn't know, and I got deathly ill. So, there was a lot of different things that I was trying to sort of see if I can fit in or acclimate with all of it, and it kind of was like, it was strange, looking at it back now, it was a little, it was strange, it was strange. Aidan: Yeah, so, speaking more about these feelings of sort of alienation, um, did you feel that it, it got better once you moved to DC? Mary: Absolutely. It was like day and night. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: I’ve met so many cool folks, and, um, it was, that's why I fell in love with this area. I met a lot of folks that felt like me, I met a lot of folks that were really interesting, and uh it wasn't like this tiny little world that was out in the suburbs. And, uh, we felt like, you know, we were, we, we marched for the, all the pro-choice marches, we, we marched for a lot, and we were very united, and people would come from all over the states and stay at our group houses, and we'd make flyers because at the time technology was very different, it wasn't really happening. So there was a very big connection, and, and opened my vision �14 to the Americ-- to the Americas, not just this particular little area where it’s like, Virginia and DC. Like, there's all the Americans that are from like, all over. Aidan: Right. Mary: And then I started traveling, you know, and [the] West Coast was gorgeous that I fell in love with, and I was gonna move out there, but at the time it was really, it was hard, so we didn’t have a lot of friends there. I fell madly in love with the West Coa-- I mean, so I'm a big city person, but I also like the country, but I saw America much more. [The interview was conducted in Mary’s kitchen, and her dog, Archer, was laying on the ground right next to us for most of the interview. Her husband, Ben, my uncle, is also on the computer in the other room, and can be heard once or twice] Mary: Sorry about my whiney doggy [in response to dog making noise]. Aidan: He's okay. Okay, so, um, yeah, one more, so, so I guess to some extent would you say that it was not that you found people who were similar; you didn't find a community of people who had similar backgrounds to you, but you found a community in people where that background was not so important. [More dog noises] Mary: Exactly. And they all had different backgrounds, so it was interesting, it was very interesting to get to know each other, but yes, absolutely. Aidan: And have you, um, so, being of an immigrant community yourself, have you, do you think the fact that you immigrated here has created any unique interactions with the pre-existing immigrant communities in DC? Mary: I don't know about that. I don't know, I have not, I don't know. I, I have found that the stories that I've heard of people immigrating to the US, a lot of them have been really, really tough. And mine was a lot lighter than most, because of my parents. Aidan: Yeah. Mary: I was really lucky that my dad came here, he hired, you know, he hired a lawyer, we got our cards. It wasn't like hardship like a lot of people have had, where they haven't seen their families for a long time, um, you know, it was, it was expensive to get all that done and at the time my dad was working, he was much younger, and it worked out really well for us. So that was a big plus. So, I’ve heard more, I’ve heard stories of people having it a lot worse than me. I mean, I basically didn't like moving here and I had to acclimate, but then the paperwork, I didn't have to suffer like others have. Aidan: Right. Mary: You know, I was lucky with my dad. �15 Aidan: Right. Um, so, what do you think it means to really be American? Like what does, what does that mean to you, I guess? Mary: Well, I'm about to put in my paperwork to get my, uh, after much thought, to put in my paperwork to become an American citizen. So for me, I want to be able to vote, that's the most important thing on the planet, and that's the part that really has always bummed me out for not being an American citizen, because I’m very vocal about how I feel, about the politics, and about who I support, and, uh, what I support. And so I feel because I've spent so much time here and it's become my home, it's time for me to become an American citizen. So, maybe I can make my voice with my vote heard a little bit more, you know. I'm also getting older, and I have no plans to move back to Canada, I pretty much have made my, my, uh, life here, so I am gonna become an American citizen. Aidan: I see. And do you, do you think that that is, how do you think you would have reacted to that information 20 years ago? Mary: I would have been “no way,” you know? I'm kinda shocked at this new older me. But at the same time, I have no regrets, and I'm always gonna be a Canadian citizen because I was born there. But also because I've worked all my life here; this is where I've paid all my taxes, this is where I have my house, and my life, and my family is around. So, I think it's time for me to do it, and not, and not be afraid of doing it, or, you know, I'm not gonna change my mind. [Mary gets up at this point to heat up food for her dog, and the microwave can be heard very slightly in the background] Aidan: Okay. Mary: Hold on one second. [She is feeding her dog] Aidan: No problem, take your time. Mary: So yes. Aidan: Yeah, so, I guess kind of circling back to the, um, the sense of Greekness in your life, um, has that, do you think that you have like-- Well, are there things that you did, that you were able to do in Canada relating to your Greek heritage that you are not able to do here? Or are there things you're able to do here that you were not able to do in Canada? In terms of just like, expression of culture, or interacting with your culture. Mary: Yes. Well, Canada has a huge community there, so, you know, for instance going to the mar-Greek markets or the Greek cafés, and, uh, they also have their own music sta-- they have their own radio stations, and TV stations. So there's none of that here. And New York has more a lot of it, but here, no. So, I do miss that, I miss the cuisine, the food is fantastic. �16 Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: Much better than here, um, much better than here. So, I miss that. [Pouring dog food] But, um, I do miss, I do miss with Greece, I miss the, I miss the country itself very much because it’s so beautiful there, and I miss my, my relatives are getting very old, and so it's tough. I need to go back and visit them because time is going by very quickly. Aidan: Right, um, do you think that, do you think that your sense of culture has changed at all since being in America? Your sense of like, what culture you identify most strongly with? Mary: Well, you know, it's really kind of funny because we grew up all our lives calling ourselves Greek-Canadians, so even though I'm not a Greek citizen, I’ve always identified by being Greek first, because of my heritage. And then Canadian because of where I was born. Aidan: Right. Mary: So, I always have felt that I’m always Greek first. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: Because um I guess with my language and my coming, being raised with my grandparents when I was little, I definitely, I have a connection to there when I was a little girl. Aidan: Right. So, so, um, you grew up speaking, just to clarify, you grew up, Greek was your first language, right? Mary: Yes. Aidan: Okay. Okay, right, right, right. Mary: And then it was Greek and English. Aidan: Greek and English, right. Okay. Mary: And then we had to take French, but French I just sort of gave up on it. Aidan: Yeah? Mary: Because it was just more like I was angry about everything we had to do, and then when Montreal was sort of breaking up, it was just forced so much on us, and there was just, it just made me react in a negative way, not really embracing it, which was really dumb. Aidan: Interesting, well do you think that, um, in a similar way to the way the French language was kind of forced on the English-speaking citizens of Qu—Quebec-- �17 Mary: Absolutely! Aidan: Is that simil-- but is that similar, is that similar at all to the way you think, like, to the way, I guess like, like you said the alienation, like the pressure to conform to like the jocks and cheerleaders society. Were there, did you feel any, like, similarities between the pressure to conform to American society, and the pressure to conform to the French language the [Quebecois] French society? Mary: The French side? Yes, yes, it was very difficult, Quebec, yes. It became very, very difficult. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: Because if you weren’t fluent in French, you couldn't get a job, you couldn't do anything. Aidan: Right. Mary: So, it was starting to limit everything, there was like no freedom. To where, that's why everybody left, because parents did not have choices. Before, they had a choice whether to send their kid to an allEnglish school or an all-French school. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: But once it changed, you didn't have that choice, you had to go to an all-French school. Aidan: Right. Mary: And it was French Canadian. Aidan: Right, right, right. Mary: So, it was, it was tough, yes, it was really tough to be able to like, juggle all of it. Aidan: I see, but was that, is that, um, is that reminiscent of what you experienced when you came to America as well? Of just kind of like, kind of-Mary: Yes! Aidan: [that] it's easier to-Mary: Looking at it now, you know, you’re asking me that, yes. I totally, I totally felt like, yeah, there was another group you needed to be accepted by. Aidan: Mm-hm. �18 Mary: You know? And not feel like, not be asked all the time “where are you from.” And so, uh-Aidan: So, so when people ask you where you're from-- [slight interruption] Mary: [Gesturing to be quiet] Aidan: [Speaking to someone else] Don't worry, it's okay. [Speaking to Mary] Um, So, yeah, just like these little things like, um, you know, like, um, small, I guess did you experience any feeling of rejection when you came to America? Just like, like, you kind of talked about small things like the coffee, um, the neighbor coming over for coffee and being like “this is weird coffee what did you give me,” kind of like, not being very respectful, and even being a little skeptical. Mary: Yes. Aidan: In a way that you were made to feel bad even though what they did is, you know? Mary: Yes, they made us feel that we were like, weird, that we were like, weird foreigners. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: And not trusting, even though my mother was very welcoming. And you know, when she asked to see the package, we actually, my sister and I, sort of made fun of my mom at the time, and we were like “you know, don't, you know, don't, this is a whole different world Mama,” you know? Aidan: Yeah. Mary: It was like, you know, “don’t make your Greek coffee,” and she was like, totally shocked. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: Because, you know, it was, it was true! It was like this woman did not know and she thought that my mom, I don't know, had put something in the coffee. Aidan: Had poisoned her? Mary: Interpreted it in a totally different way. You know? Aidan: Yeah. Mary: So that was a little hard. That was a little hard. Aidan: Did you find a lot of those misinterpretations, or like, things, like you, I guess, previously at home, things you considered to be culturally significant to you, expressing them was more difficult in America? �19 Mary: Yes, well, yes because everybody where I, where, where we migrated to was [from] a very, very white area. And, um, they were very prejudiced. Like I said, if you weren't American, and you didn't have, and I didn’t have straight hair, I had curly hair, and I didn’t have a button nose and you know, whatever. So, we were considered, you know, foreigners. And so that was really strange because I wasn't, because I never knew that I was, in Canada, I never felt like that. Because everyone had different backgrounds like all my friends that I had in school, so their parents were from, like, different parts of Europe. And they were all like me, you know, they had like spoke English, they, you know, we were the first generations, so there wasn't like, “where are you from,” it was more like, “hey,” you know, “my mother makes this kind of food and we make this kind of food why don't you come over and taste it?” You know, kind of thing. Aidan: Um, could you maybe talk about a few, if you have any just examples of things that you thought were culturally significant to you, that were kind of like you felt like you had to suppress as a result of being in America? If you can think of anything, if you can't, it's no problem. Mary: If I can think of anything? No, not really. Aidan: I think the coffee is a good example. Mary: Well, the coffee, well you mean the neighbor, yes, that was weird, that was back then, yes, um, and them thinking that we were also in the Mafia was also, you know, because of the cars. Aidan: Yeah, yeah. Mary: That was also a bit weird, um. You know? I didn't, um, after high school I didn't spend any really much time there, so it was like I didn't want that part of the world, you know, so, I didn't, I didn’t engage in it, you know, that's why I fell in love with moving to DC and meeting all these different people, and so, yeah, I was like, I didn't look, I haven't looked back. And I’m glad I still, I live in Takoma Park now. But yeah, no. That's pretty much all I can remember. Aidan: Okay, okay, I see. Are there a lot of things you miss from Canada? Besides like, um, I guess besides like, more, uh, systemic things like governmental systems, uh, are there things like? Mary: Oh, I miss the food. Montreal has fantastic food, and, um, it’s like I said, multiethnic, so whatever neighborhood you go to, it's amazing food. You know, the Portuguese neighborhood has the most fantastic Portuguese food, the Greeks do, the Italians, it's like, very multi. And they really take, I mean, the food there is phenomenal, so I miss the food. I don't miss the winter. And I miss, um, I miss my family there, and it's a, it's a fun city, it's a really fun city, so, when I go visit, like, I knew from a long time ago I couldn't really move back to Montreal, because I would have to like really dive into French, and really change a lot where I was just sort of like, I wasn't ready to move back into the cold weather either. I mean if it was Vancouver? Maybe it would have been a different story. [laughs] But Montreal, I realized a long time ago that even though I love the city, I just couldn't move back there and work, it was just the winters are too brutal, [I] couldn't deal with it, the winter. �20 Aidan: I see, so it kind of kept you away? Mary: Mm-hm. Aidan: I see. Yeah-Mary: The winters and having to be fluent in French. Aidan: Right, okay. I see, um, okay, I have another interesting question about uh Montreal, so, um, it sounds like, yeah, a very multiethnic city, very multicultural city, with a lot of different, uh, groups. A lot of different groups of first-generation immigrants, of countries that might have their respective turmoils with each other in Europe. Um, did that extend to the immigrant communities in your experience? Or was it kind of like they came together, they, they maintained a degree of separation and a degree of uniqueness due to their heritage, and, and being in touch with this heritage, but also kind of were, um, joined under being Canadian at the same time? Mary: I, I did not, I did not notice prejudices. I think, um my family didn't have any, I mean, we didn't, I mean, we grew up in an Italian neighborhood, loved all the neighbors, loved our Italian stores I remember. We knew each and everybody knew us kids, we could go in and out. Um, no, I don't remember, I don't remember the, any prejudices there. I don't remember that there, there wasn't, I didn’t notice any of that. What I noticed was the racist, the racists here. The racist comments-Aidan: Yeah. Mary: The, and not just about me, but people of color. Um, it was very uncom-- it is very uncomfortable still, and it was just, I noticed that a lot here in the States. Because also, our black communities in Montreal, they're all, uh, they are African communities, French African speaking communities. Because it is Quebec, they bring a lot of immigrants in from the French-speaking part of Africa. So, coming here was a different cultures, whole different cultures of the African communities in Montreal, to the African Americans in the US, very different people. Aidan: Right. Mary: So, and very different history of course. And so, yeah, that was a bit different, that was very different um. But I think, I think also because of, like, all I can remember is because of television uh, the US is portrayed as like, this glamorous, you know, more then than I think it is now, you know? And I know, well, the other thing is, people that are starving and people that don't have anything, when they see how much we waste here, I mean, it all, even if you look at like how much we wasted in the beginning of the [COVID-19] vaccines, because some of the people were not the right age or maybe they were a few years off, or maybe they weren't actively on chemo, or whatever, they got refused the vaccine and the vaccines got thrown out, we wasted so many vaccines to where other countries, they didn't even get a chance! They didn't even have enough vaccines for their medical people! And so, when you look at how much, the gluttonous that we have here, it's a little rough. �21 Aidan: Yeah. Mary: Like I remember when one of my cousins said, when they came for the first time to the US to visit, and I said, well, “how, what was your experience like?” Because they, they were in New York, and they said, “what I noticed is that the homeless people in the US have really expensive sneakers,” to where on, to where the homeless people that we have in Europe, they have no shoes on their feet at all. So, there's just like, stuff that you notice that, you know, we have and then we don't have. You know? Like how can we have so many young children today that are not getting any meals? They are not getting any, they are not getting any nutrition? How can we-- and then we’re wasting a lot of food at the same time. Aidan: Yeah. Mary: So, it's kind of it, its, that stuff is scary, and, and makes me unhappy. And I hope that more future generations can do better things than we have. Aidan: Do you think that that culture, I guess like, overconsumption, consumer culture, do you think that is like a uniquely American phenomenon? Or do you-Mary: Yes. Aidan: Or do you think that it's just like, especially-Mary: No, I think of it as an American, uniquely American phenomenon, where we feel like, you know, we've got to, we can have this and we can have more, we need more, and we aren't really nice to each other. We don't really, you know, I, I find it, yes, I find it very greedy sometimes, and very, not very caring. Yeah, overabundance. Aidan: Okay, yeah, and, and as someone who was educated outside of the US, did you find that, um, from since you got here to even now, do you think there is an um, do you think that there is a uniquely American mindset that is taught? Do you think that there is like, that there are people who are kind of like, willing to defend things like overconsumption because it’s, like, “the American way” quote, unquote. Have you met a lot of these people? Mary: Mmm no, but I see, I mean, I see what's going on. The people that I know, they are not like that, but that's a very small, closed circle of friends of mine. But the overconsumption in this country is ridiculous. And we are, we are terrible! I mean, yes, we are a big factor of destroying the planet. So, we have a lot going on, we have a lot that we need to work on, but I also find that as a country there is always the other side, there is always a side that listens, that cares… that is trying to do something. For as much as right now, the ugly side has such a loud voice that it tries to like, drown everything out, to where it makes everybody feel sad and broken. To where there is a whole other side, I feel like, of people that are caring, and that are trying to do the best that they can. �22 Aidan: Mm-hm, yeah. So, I guess like, so we have about ten minutes left, and just to kind of close out, um, I want to ask a kind of broad question. Is there anything that you, I guess like, not have come to appreciate, well, we can talk about things, I guess we can start by: is there anything that like, because you said that when you first got here you did not like it very much, that you kind of grown to love it over time? Are there any things in particular that you have grown to appreciate over time about America, or have grown to, I guess, like is there anything that has grown on you in a way that you didn't expect? Mary: Um, what’s grown on me that I didn't expect was the understanding and love that I have for the people in the country. Because I've lived here. Because watching it, watching, watching America on the news in another country, like Canada, which is where I would have been if we hadn't moved here, uh, it's very, it is very scary. And so, I think what’s changed for me is that, I do kind of understand how it runs, that's why I said, you know, I see that the racist ticket in America is very deep, it didn't just start yesterday. I feel like there is a lot of work that needs to be done, but at the same time, I feel like we can move on, we can show the world, because everyone is counting on us, on this country, to show the light, and then democracy, I think we can do it if we fight hard enough for it. Aidan: Mm-hm, yeah, so, so to get a little more specific, I guess, are there any things, like, about America, so, so that's, okay, so like talking about political activism-Mary: America. Well, yeah. I would, I would want it, I would want to figure out something to do with healthcare. I mean, the saddest part of this country, and right now for me too because I'm working for my insurance, is like, how much we all pay, and how much we’re slaves to the insurance companies. Aidan: Mm-hm. Mary: And how much, the very scary part of this country, besides all the gun violence, which is completely insane, is the fact that we don’t show a lot of appreciation about our people here, we don't take care of them. You know, health care is horrible, they are constantly trying to scare people, cutting Medicare, people that can't afford to get health care. We've lost friends because it was too late by the time they got health care because they were ill. And so, to me, it's, uh, that's the part that's like very, you know, when I think about Canada versus here, I think about health care. I think to where like everybody should have access to health care. And then if you want to pay for more, then that's an individual right, just like they have in Canada. If you want to pay privately you can pay out of pocket, but that doesn't mean you've got to sit around and be sick forever, and by the time you get screened, there's not, you've got some, you know, terrible disease, and there's nothing you can do because you didn't have insurance for years. And that's a very sad story in this country, and that's what breaks my heart, and that's what I hope really changes also, it's very big for me is the health care here. Aidan: Right, so, to sort of conclude, um, are there any things, I guess that you find that you prefer from living in America? Mary: Umm. [laughter] Aidan: It can be really, it can be really anything, it can be like cultural, or it can be anything. �23 Mary: Well, what I love about living here right now, is that I’m really happy that I didn't have a heavy winter. I mean I got to tell you guys, if you haven’t lived in Canada, Montreal, uh, 37 below the wind chill factor to 40, it is nasty. And so, I love the weather here, I love the seasons, well, it's getting a little funky, but I do love the fact that it was not a heavy winter. I do feel bad about the microclimate stuff. Um, I've gotten, I'm very close to my immediate family and I love having them around, so that's a huge factor, over the years how we've all been close, it would be hard for me to move away. There’s a lot of great stuff about America, there is, you know, we have the right to speak our mind, freedom of speech, you know? We have a lot of freedom, and we need to use it, and, um, and I think I love this country enough to fight for it. And that's why I want to become an American citizen, I want to be able to vote. That's a huge, huge factor for me because I think it's the best way my voice can be heard. Aidan: Yeah. Let’s just see. Okay, um, I guess we're about at the hour mark, um, I've asked pretty much all the questions I wanted to cover. My final question is: do you have any questions for me, or anything you'd like to add? Or anything you’d like to discuss before we finish? Mary: Um, the um, uh, well-- is, because you’re very aware of what's going on [dog barking] with migration, I'm just curious to find out what you're finding out, like, what is happening with immigration in the United States? And, and with uh, you know, people, how, how difficult it is for people to get in to become citizens or residents of this country? Aidan: Well yeah, of course it's getting more difficult all the time. Mary: Mm-hm. Aidan: Depends on, I mean, yeah, It kind of depends on, um I guess who’s in office. Mary: Right. Aidan: But clearly, um, I mean, immigration, immigrants are becoming more and more a topic of conversation in America I think, um, I mean America is a nation of immigrants, at the end of the day. And I think that a lot of people do not necessarily respect that fact. Mary: Yes. Aidan: Yeah. Um, but yeah, is there anything else you’d like to add? Or anything you’d like to, to say? To tell me? Mary: Um, no! I thought that uh your questions, it brought back a lot of memories, um, I sort of feel, I sort of felt at first that, that I just, you know, that maybe you need to talk to someone that was like, had a rough time coming into the country, but I think there's just so many different stories. Aidan: Yeah! �24 Mary: I think that everyone has a different story, and everyone that comes here, uh, wants to have an opportunity to be accepted, and be able to get a job, and show how much, what they can do. That's, the immigrants that I've spoken to, they're all about making a better life, better education for their families, for their children, and, um, and trying to make sure that the crazy MAGA doesn't get into office again, because that would be terrifying. Aidan: Yeah. Mary: And so, I'm hoping that the American people can show that democracy still stands strong. That's one of my biggest, um, hopes and prayers for right now. Aidan: Yeah. Mary: That's about it. Aidan: Okay, perfect! Alright, uh, I think I'm supposed to say something at the end, but I can't remember. Uh no, I think that's everything. Thank you so much! Mary: My pleasure. Aidan: Alright, I'll end it now. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2023 Interviews Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Aidan Lambiotte Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Mary Tsiolas Location The location of the interview Takoma Park, Maryland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Mary Tsiolas Description An account of the resource This interview is between Aidan Lambiotte and his aunt, Mary Tsiolis, a Greek Canadian immigrant to the United States. As the daughter of Greek immigrants to Quebec, Mary depicts her early childhood, and experiences growing up in both Greece and Monrtréal during the 1960s - 1970s. She draws stark contrasts between her experiences in Canada and her initial time as an immigrant in America, touching heavily on the themes of isolation, microaggression, and white suburban hegemony in the United States. She ultimately uses her experiences to illustrate the manner in which she found community in the DC area, entirely outside of Greek or Canadian culture, as well as her love-hate relationship with American identity. This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST 428M (Spring 2023). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aidan Lambiotte Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 6th, 2023 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2017 Interviews Description An account of the resource These interviews were conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park courses THET428I (Spring 2017) and HIST428M (Spring 2017). THET428I was led by Professor Esther Lee of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, HIST428M was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities. Both courses were sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Ajay Mysore Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Ramchandra Rao Location The location of the interview Clarksville, MD Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF, MP3, JPG Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview of Ramchandra Rao Description An account of the resource This interview between Ajay R. Mysore and Ramchandra Rao explores Rao's experiences as an immigrant to the United States from India. Rao moved to the United States in 1969 following a fascination with America’s economic freedom and a sense of boyish adventure. He was not particularly active in cultural life in India, but upon moving to the States, his sense of identity became increasingly tied with his ‘Indian-ness’. He has succeeded in raising a family here and been a proponent of the chain migration that allowed much of his family to settle here. In this interview, Rao discusses his journey to America, the values he holds dear and some wise words on how to succeed in America. This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST428M: "Oral History of Immigration" (Spring 2017). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the History Department, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ajay Mysore Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource March 4, 2017 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF, MP3, JPG Language A language of the resource English assimilation child rearing Citizenship Communication community culture employment engineering family family reunification higher education immigration process India siblings South Asia travel visa Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2017 Interviews Description An account of the resource These interviews were conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park courses THET428I (Spring 2017) and HIST428M (Spring 2017). THET428I was led by Professor Esther Lee of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, HIST428M was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities. Both courses were sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Alicia Grace Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Shenjuti Karem (pseudonym) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview of Shenjuti Karem Description An account of the resource This interview between Alicia Grace and Shenjuti Karem explores Karem's experiences as an immigrant to the United States from Bangladesh. ***This interview is restricted to the University of Maryland College Park's campus. For more information, contact the Center for Global Migration Studies (globalmigration@umd.edu).*** This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course THET428I (Spring 2017). This course was led by Professor Esther Lee of the Theater Department, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alicia Grace Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 18, 2017 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource This interview is restricted to the University of Maryland College Park's campus. For more information, contact the Center for Global Migration Studies (globalmigration@umd.edu). 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spring 2018 Interviews Description An account of the resource These interviews were conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park courses THET489V (Spring 2018) and HIST428M (Spring 2018). THET489V was led by Professor Esther Lee of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, HIST428M was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities. Both courses were sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Alireza Shokoohi Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Joo H. Moon Location The location of the interview Bethesda, Maryland Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF, MP3, JPG Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview of Joo H. Moon Description An account of the resource This interview of Joo H. Moon, South Korean immigrant who moved to the United States when he was nine, focuses on his childhood experiences prior to and after immigrating to the U.S. Joo discusses cultural differences between the United States and South Korea, as well as the role of religion in his life. This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST428M: "Oral History of Immigration" (Spring 2018). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the History Department, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alireza Shokoohi Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 3, 2018 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource African and African Diaspora Immigrant Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Description An account of the resource This collection contains oral histories of migrants from Africa and the African Diaspora (drawn largely from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America). In April 2020, the Center for Global Migration Studies, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture, will hold a symposium entitled “Making African America: Immigration and the Changing Dynamics of Blackness.” The stories in this collection demonstrate some of the key themes of the symposium: transnational ties to homeland countries; the intersectional experience of being an immigrant and black in the United States; and migrants’ influences on U.S. culture, politics, and society. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF, JPG, MP3, M4A Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Andrew McGillicuddy Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Timi Tinuoye Location The location of the interview McDaniel, MD Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF, MP3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview of Timi Tinuoye Description An account of the resource This interview between Andrew McGillicuddy and Timi Tinuoye explores Tinuoye's experiences as an immigrant to the United States from England and Nigeria. Both dynamic personalities combine to make this interview enjoyable, yet at the same time it becomes an extremely informative resource. Tinuoye’s unique immigration experience allows the reader to look into the life of a man that has a strong Nigerian ethnic background, while also having a strong English national background. This mixed identity creates an interesting space for conversation where they discuss a multitude of topics from Tinuoye’s childhood, the Nigerian economy, his transition to the United States, and the school systems in England, Nigeria, and the United States. This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST428M: "Oral History of Immigration" (Spring 2017). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the History Department, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Andrew McGillicuddy Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Center for Global Migration Studies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 9, 2017 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The full rights of this oral history interview were given by the interviewee to the University of Maryland, College Park. This interview may be quoted from, published, or broadcast in any medium that the University of Maryland, College Park shall deem appropriate. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF, MP3, JPG Language A language of the resource English Africa childhood cultural differences economy employment England entrepreneur Europe family holidays movies music Nigeria Opportunity race siblings sports travel Yoruba