My Mom's Story by: Isabel

In the Philippines Spanish colonization, governed by Spain and Mexico, lasted for over three centuries. Therefore, there is a significant amount of Spanish culture in Filipino culture (Wikipedia). My Mom has some Spanish culture because she is from the Philippines. The Philippine constitution guarantees freedom of worship, but about 95 percent of Filipinos is Christian. That is more than any other Asian country. My Mom is Christian also. That comes from Spanish colonization (World book 2007). There are also many Filipino holidays that have to do with the Spanish. For example, Bonaficio Day, the birthday of Andres Bonaficio, the leader of 1896 revolt against the Spanish (shagtown.com).

Filipinos only farm on about 35 percent of the nations land, but produce most of their food. Since it is very warm in the Philippines, Filipinos plant things like bananas and coconuts. Anchovies, mackerel, scads, tuna, sardines and other fish are caught in waters surrounding the Philippines (World book 2007).



The Philippine flag features blue for noble ideals, red for courage and white for peace. The sun represents independence and the three stars stand for the three main groups of islands. The flag was adopted at the beginning of the Spanish-American War (1898) , which was fought over the liberation of Spain from Cuba(world book and enotes.com). In 1901, the US set up a colonial government in the Philippines. During American rule, English spread rapidly around the islands and mixed up with the language Tagalog, and made the language Filipino. A tribe of black people called the Aeta, were probably the first people in the Philippines. Then more people came from Malaysia and the Malays of Indonesia. Most Filipinos descend from these groups. Other Filipinos descend from different parts of Asia, like my mom (world book 2007).
In 1988, my mom arrived in the US not knowing that she was going to stay. Life in the Philippines was good, but the US had a better economy and her dad wanted her to have a good life. Her dad sent her here to see if she could get a job here because she had just finished college in the Philippines. She was very excited when she arrived, but she also felt homesick and missed her family.

Bernadette did not decide to go, her dad wanted her to look for a job in the US. The US turned out to be nice, with less pollution and traffic than there was in the Philippines. This gave her reasons to stay, so she did. She could stay at a relatives house while looking for apartments and she found a job that she liked.
When Bernadette left, she felt homesick. The only person who came with her to the US was her mom.

She packed clothes and one toy. She missed her dogs also. They stayed back with her family in the Philippines.

When she first arrived, she was very excited. She visited fun places like Disney land and Hollywood. Bernadette came to DC and applied for many jobs. Then she got interviewed for 5 jobs and got one. She liked her job because she had gone to school for it in the Philippines. Bernadette had to stay in DC for five years to get her green card. During that time, she was very homesick because she couldn't leave.
Because Bernadette had a job, she stayed in DC. Also, while looking for an apartment to live in, she could stay at a relatives' house. Bernadette stayed here for a long time so that she could get a green card and become a citizen, and it was worth waiting for.

Living through the War By: Pamela

My mother, Cecilia, came from El Salvador for many reasons but also had to leave behind important things like the Salvadorian culture. One example of the culture is its food. Pupusas, the main dish , are awesome .They are filled with beans, cheese, or beef. In El Salvador, the tradition is to speak Spanish, which is my mom’s first language. Currently, however, kids or teens are learning English. In El Salvador, you hear music almost everywhere at parties (which they have a lot), when they are cleaning or just to entertain themselves. But most of all , Salvadorians like to dance to salsa and cumbia. In addition, the most popular religion in El Salvador is Catholicism (ELSALVADOR).

The economy in El Salvador is very poor. The opportunities are very few because there are no jobs or chances to earn money. For example, one forth of the population in El Salvador left to find better employment in the US. Most of the money that is in El Salvador now comes from family members working in the United States. Typically people who work in farming or factories in El Salvador get paid around 100 dollars a month or less. Before you could pay with a Colon which was worth around 17 cents, however, the Colon was replaced by the US dollar (npr.org).


The Civil War in El Salvador war took my mother out of her country. It started because campesinos (farm workers) had to sharecrop and thought the government wasn’t helping them get land (PBS.org). It began in 1980 when the government assassinated Archbishop Romero and the people decided to go against the government and start a war. Over 270,000 people protested day and night, even though 70,000 were even gunned down and killed (El Salvador, PBS.org). My mother was one of the war’s victims because she lived in a war zone.


One day my mother’s parents (my grandparents) gave her their support so she could come here, so she could have a better life. My mother was tired of being in the war and hearing people beg for food. Also she had to work since the age of 11 so she wanted a easier life. Therefore, she came to the USA but her plans didn’t come out like she wanted them to. First, because she could not bring all of the things she wanted because she had to cross lots of rivers (God knows what’s under there) and walk through the desert. She could only take what she could carry.

Once she got to the US, life was still difficult. She had to live with her aunt Angela and when Angela’s husband came home drunk, he would kick them out and made them sleep in a near by park. But she did not give up and she found a job where she would live. She stayed there for around 5-6 years until she found a better job with better pay where she could afford a better home.

Afterwards, my mother met my father and had my brother. She went back to El Salvador with the money that she earned to see her family. In the five years that she was there, she had me and three years later, she decided that she would have a better life here in the US and decided to come back. Lastly, once back in the United States she had my little brother (who is my nightmare). She is happy that she is here because she knows that her children will have a better life than in El Salvador.

Ligia from Colombia by: Zavier

Colombia is where my babysitter, Ligia Valbuena comes from. Colombia is a place I will be telling you about, then some things about her. Colombia very big country and very populated as well. All together Colombia’s population is 44,760,630. It is ranked the second most populated country in South America. 98% of people live in the western part of Colombia and the other 2% live in the hot planes of the east. Bogotá is capital of Colombia. (World Book)

Colombia has a steadily growing economy. Colombia is a rich country by growing like this. They are currently going through the exact opposite we are doing economy wise (the U.S). The Colombian government is lax about education. Colombia requires all children to go to school for at least five years. But, most schools for rural children only have 2 to 3 grades. That’s pretty sad. That can be better. Even the amount of years required. (World Book)

Colombia has an interesting culture in my opinion. Colombia's flag colors are yellow, red and blue all stand for something. Yellow stands for the golden, new world, red for blood shed for the independence, and blue for the Atlantic Ocean. Let's go in to the real stuff. Like what Colombians eat, they like starchy foods, such as potatoes, rice, noodles, ect... They enjoy stews and thick soups. Colombians drink a lot of beer made in their own country (Colombia). Nearly all Colombians are Roman Catholics. (World Book).

Colombia has very interesting events in their history. Colombia all started when Spanish explorers came on its Colombia's Caribbean coast. Two centuries later, (1780 – 1781) many people protested against new taxes set by Spain. Years go by, and later in 1810, Colombia declares its independence. I bet you’re probably wondering how its name got to be Colombia. The name “Colombia” was chosen in honor of Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer. But once Colombia declared its independence, it was called “Gran Colombia”. Gran Colombia owned Ecuador, Venezuela, and Panama. By 1830 only Venezuela and Ecuador had broken away and become separate nations. Now that those two territories, Venezuela and Ecuador, had broken away, it left “Gran Colombia” as what we know today, Colombia (World Book).

A Map of Gran Colombia
Colombia has had many civil wars. Disputes between the Liberal and Conservative parties often erupted into violence. The country has had eight constitutions 1821–1886. In 1903, Colombia lost Panama. Colombia lost Panama because the U.S. They wanted to sign a treaty to make a canal through the thin isthmus, Panama. Colombia refused to agree, and Panama revolted from Colombia with help from the U.S forces. Once Panama succeeded, Panama quickly agreed to the project. In 1922, the U.S paid $25 million for Colombia's loss of Panama. During World War II, however, Colombia helped keep the canal open. I know that’s kind of silly (World book).

Later on a lot of crazy things started happening in Colombia. But before that, Colombia's main civil war erupted from 1953 to 1964. Now for the craziness... Colombia was the world's largest producer of cocaine, which is a cause of many problems. Colombia had has other extreme things that have happened in my opinion, but it's not that crazy, by the way. Unlike in North America, where English is always changing, Colombia passed a law to prevent its main language (Spanish) from altering. (World book) I bet Ligia was probably forgotten about with all that interesting information. Let’s see her life and why she moved to Venezuela from Colombia to here, the United States of America.

1950. Many things happened. People died people cried and some were born and people laughed. Well less people in September born than the whole year of 1950. In Colombia, during September, just one day, the 4th. Ligia, my wonderful babysitter, was born. Growing up will be told later on. But one major thing happened Santiago, her father passed away do to cancer. Leaving the 12 siblings named, Marta, Fany, Anacruz, America, Gladis, Juan, Antonio, Henry, Ricardo, Luis, Jario, and Ligia. Ligia, being the oldest had more freedom and decided to move out to Washington D.C at 50 for a better future with her niece Carola.

If you were living an "ok" life, would you want a better future? Well, that's when Ligia decides to move to D.C. This was of those stay for 90 days, if I like it say. If I don't, then bye-bye, and back home. She was poor but that didn't effect on coming in to the U.S illegally through the dessert. But she flew on a typical commercial plane. If you were to step into her mind at the very moment of her flying on the plane, the first thing you would see is every feeling you could think of. Happy, sad, worried ect... Landing time!!

Here at last, in the airport and the moment is of happiness There's Carola! Later on, Carola introduces her co-worker's sister. Her sister, Cristina, has a family and is willing to give her a job babysitting her two year old daughter Mariana wich she had with Toni and soon to be born Sebastian. Being busy parents, the couple needed a babysitter for the two. So there you go, Gigi to the rescue!

Ligia's new name is Gigi all because baby Sebastian couldn't say Ligia. I think Gigi likes the U.S therefor she gets a green card in the year 2006. One year later, she goes back to her home country, Colombia, to get her stuff. 2007 was the first time she came home for a visit. By now she has eight kids to take care of. Mariana and Sebastian, Nicholas and Eleanor, Amanda, Samuel and, and me the only child without a sibling to be with, (except Amanda) Zavier.

At the end of December 2008, sadly the Fords move to Paris, France forever. The sad things are she loses income and another two kids she loves gone. Luckily she gets three new kids but only one she has to pick up from school, Melanie , the two year old Gisele and the infant Cheyenne. Now life goes on she lives in a nice apartment, has great kids, is in a good financial state, happiness goes on. Maybe some day she will drive a Mercedes-Benz and live in a mention. That hasn't happened yet, but that doesn't mean there is no hope for the future.

Iran By Ava

Culture

Many Iranians like to gather in tea houses Iranians also tea very much. Iranians eat: tar halvah, rice and kabobs (grilled meat and vegetables) and bread. Iranians drink: tea, pomegranate juice, water, etc. the holidays and festivals in Iran are Ramadan (the month of fasting) people don’t after sunrise and before sunset. the most important holiday is Noruz. Noruz celebrates the Iranian New Year and there is a table represent it called (sofre hafsin) it has some fish in a bowl of water, a apple, barley, sweet pudding, dried fruit, garlic, berries, and vinegar(Iran in pictures.
History:

In Iranian history on 1794 the Qajars a Turkish group that had settled in the north around the Caspian Sea to led the Persian Empire. But at the beginning the nineteenth century Qajar rulers were forced to deal with new threats Russia and Brittan. Both world powers had interest in the area. On Feb 1979 a religious revolution over throne the king of Iran after 2500 years, and was replaces by Republican government (Iran in pictures).

ECONOMY:

Economy in Iran is mainly oil products and chemicals. Oil is important because it is their main product and it is their source of money. The government takes control of most of the money in Iran. Private businesses are mostly workshops, farming, and other services. Iran has a lot of unemployed people because there are not many jobs. In addition, there are a lot of people who are smart but cannot find a job that suits them. Therefore, they have to go to another country to find a job (CIA World Factbook).

My dad’s story
My dad and his parents decided he should go to the united states after the Iranian government put his brother in jail for copying a Persian poem about freedom on his essay, then his teacher told a security agent about the poem and he went to jail for four years .

He didn’t feel good when he left, because he felt he’s betraying my family and friends. My dad still felt happy because he can study and be safe. When I arrived he was scared because everything was so big.. On the next day my dad got a job at grand central station selling ice cream and he could eat as much ice cream as my dad wanted for free.

He took lots of thing on my trip here they are: a Persian - English dictionary, family photos, hand made souvenirs from Iran, a radio that did not work here, a camera, a prayer book, 500 dollars, some clothes, hygiene items, pots and pans for cooking, and a prayer rug.

When he first arrived to the U.S after doing immigration paper work at JFK airport, my dad talked to a Iranian cab driver and him told me were he can find a cheap apartment in Queens, New York. He walked for hours in the street enjoying his life here. My dad talked to the apartment manager, she told him where to go to find a job and he stayed in New York for 3 months and then moved to Oklahoma were my dad was accepted as a student for university.

Some Immigrants stay and some go back to their countries, those who find a job and see a future for themselves and their family usually stays and those who have a hard time adjusting to the new culture and economic uncertainty leave.
He was not accepted as a refugee because my dad had a student visa. His immigration status was student. After, he was sent here it was a perfect time to study to be a B.S in central state university for 4 years. When I was a student he bought a restaurant called duch treat my restaurants were: bay pizza, apple woods, duchtreat, and kelly’s restaurant. After that he opened a bookstore called Georgetown book exchange in Washington DC . My dad got married on march 23, 1991.

The Mexican Story of Pedro By: Daniel

History:
Around the 1500s, Spain controlled Mexico and the Spanish colonists created their own society. Spain wanted to control Mexico was because they wanted land and goal to get rich. Three hundred years later, in 1821, Mexicans got their independence by rebelling against Spain. In the early 1900s, a revolution was started by Francisco Madero, a champion who ran for president against President Diaz in 1910. Before Francisco was arrested, he escaped to the United States until he came back when Diaz was forced to leave Mexico. Porfirio Diaz was kicked out because he supported foreign investment (money) to build factories; however, the poor people disagreed with him. They started a revolution in 1910 to demand democracy and their own land! During this time, three million Mexicans disappeared from dying and from leaving their own country (Countries of the World: Mexico).

Economy:
The Mexico’s economy has natural resources like copper and oil. Then the Mexicans are making goods at a cheaper price than the United States. But then they couldn’t no longer make higher wages because of the labors of Asia and Central America. Mexicans go to the United States illegally and they come illegally because they didn’t get good payment and they had come to the U.S illegally. If they caught, they either get injured or get killed.

Culture:

Day of the Dead Altar

The day of the dead starts in November 1st and 2nd and what they do in those days is that they visit the people they cared about and they send them food, flowers, gifts and more. Also during the day of the dead, kids wear costumes and they eat skull candies(which are made out of sugar). During the carnivals in Mexico, people dance to honor Maya and Aztec. Then during the Maya and Aztec times, people had to play seriously or else they either get injured or get killed.(Countries of the World: Mexico.


Immigration story of Pedro

My father Pedro Perez was really sad for leaving because he will miss his mother, father, his relatives, his life style, culture and worst of all his home country. He had to leave because he had a hard time living because he gets paid less and a lot of hard work. Then by the age of 27, he went to the US so he could find a better life, better job, better home and a better future. So when he had arrived to the US, he had a friend (from Mexico as well) who helped him and he let him live on his house, working with him and did other stuff for 4 years. By the time 4 years passed, my father found himself a home a new job and started a new chapter.

Like I said earlier, my dad felt really sad about leaving Mexico and missed mostly everything. On his way to Mexico, he had to walk through desserts, mountains and everything. He still felt sad for leaving Mexico but he felt a little happy for arriving to the US to see new things around and start a new life. I mentioned earlier about my father’s friend and he was helping him well... I got to tell you this without my dad’s friend, he could of had lots of problems.

When my father crossed the border, he felt alone because he never been to a different country before. Also he didn’t understand their language they were speaking. All the changes he had to do were hard, so he had to get used to it. About 4 years passed and he was used to the US a little but he’s trying his best to know the US better. Then a few years later, my dad knew pretty much about the US and now things are changing.

My father moved to DC and things changed. My dad was married, and he has better payment in his new job at the Hilton hotel. He’s also much happier living in the US and he made some friends in his job. But best thing he can do is…visit Mexico any time he wants to see things he has always missed.

Alastair's Biography By Lucas

When Alastair was a young boy he had three sisters living with him. As well as many pets he nearly had over a hundred pets. (Including numerous random ducks and geese). He had Cats, Dogs, Rabbits, Guinea, pigs, Hamsters, Fish, Llamas, Goats Sheep, Horses, Ducks, Geese, a Bat, Turtles, Parakeets and Budgies.

When he was growing up he had three full blooded sisters two half sisters and two half brothers. He moved quite a lot in England the towns he lived in were Cambridge, Barnard Castle and Edinburgh. His childhood was rough in the sense that he moved around a lot so he had to adjust to many different lifestyles such as it being colder in England. He moved from the United States when he was 6. His Dads job was a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. He left England again when he was 23 to go live with his sister.


The main reason Alastair left from the United Kingdom was because
there was no reason for him to stay in the U.K. It would be cheaper to live in the U.S. and because he was a dual citizen he didn’t need a green card. Also, he wanted a change in scenery and culture.

When Alastair first left the United Kingdom his sister had previously been living in D.C. for several years. This was a good thing because when he got to the U.S he had somewhere to live and someone to live with.

He soon found a job at a restaurant called David Craig as a manager.
He then found an apartment on one of the busiest streets in Bethesda.
He was starting to get used to having everything backwards in America.
Like driving on the opposite side of the road, calling chips fries.
One day when Alastair was going to the Mac store for a new computer,
he met my mom. He then met her again twice at the same place and then my Mom nearly running him over. Then they went on their first date and now they are engaged.

He now has found a job at a new restaurant called The Tabard Inn as a Manager.

Poland by Kennedy

Culture

Poland is a place in Europe that is very religious for exaple Chistmas and Easter. Christmas and Easter are big religious holidays in Poland. They eat: baked ham ,sausages ,roast beef ,salads ,mazurek ,and babkas (mazurek and babkas are traditional Polish food).Devout poles believe that the panting of virgin Mary and her baby ,Jesus ,miraculously stopped a Swedish invasion in the seventeeth century.Before all this there was barely any chistianity until prince Mieszko came. He poured chistianity all over Poland (Poland in pictures).

Easter Eggs from Poland
History

Germany invaded Poland in 1939 because Hitler wanted more land and more power. On May 5th, 1939, minister Jozef Beck refused Hitler's intimidation, and spoke out, saying, "We Poland do not understand the concept of peace at any price; there is only one thing in the life of pople, nations, and states which is priceless, and that thing is honor." (Poland in Pictures). Unfortunately, Germany invaded Poland and many Polish people joined the British army to fight Germany.


The German Dictator, Adolph Hitler

During World War II (1939-1945) Poland suffered from the persecution of Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany destroyed the Polish Jewish population by sending many Jewish people first to poor neighborhoods (ghettoes), and then to concentration camps where they suffered and died. Overall, more than three million Polish people were killed during the Holocaust (Poland in Pictures).

German Invasion in 1939

Economy

Before World War II, farming was the biggest economic activity. Two third of the polish population lived on farms and everyone was self-sufficient. Poland’s service sector has increased quickly since the end of communism. The service sector was formed with economic activities that provide service rather than goods. Ther are services such as retail, banking, insurance, education and healthcare (PIP).

Danka studied English in home land Poland. A program called Au

Pair (cultural care) wanted Danka to go to the United States of America and be a nanny for a year. She accepted the trip. She also wanted to learn more English and wanted to know about the lifestyle. She really wanted to see what it looked like and wanted to know about the universities. She did some training in New York for two weeks then she went to D.C. for a year.

Danka's Story

Danka brought clothes, books, and family photos. She was kind of nervous and kind of excited. She hated leaving her family. ON the plane she was stressed and anxious at the same time. She missed her family horribly. Her mind was distracted by New York City.


Danka didn’t like New York City that much at first ,but then she then she changed her mind. She had two weeks of training in New York at being a nanny. Then she came to D.C! When she came to D.C she was fascinated with all the choices for example the universities you can choose your schedule and you can choose your class time. She loved the life style here. She absolutely positively loves the way it looks. She loved the monuments the statues and everything. She loved D.C.

Danka stayed because it was neat and interesting. She also likes the way D.C. is. She loves the lifestyle, she loves the universities and how they work. She loves the monuments. Now Danka goes to school in D.C. What’s not to love about D.C.