My grandma, Anesia Martinez Sullivan (Grandma Sita), was born in Vigo, Spain in 1924. She came to America in September of 1929, when she was only five years old. She traveled with her mother, Lucinda, her 3-year-old sister, Carmen, and her 1-year-old brother, Joaquin. Her father had come to America two years earlier, hoping to make a good life for his family.

My grandma came to America on a large ship, but because she was so young at the time, she does not remember the name of it. What she does remember, is that it took her 14 days to get here, and that she was very sick for every single one of them.

When Grandma Sita finally arrived in America, she and the rest of her family were taken to Ellis Island, and were met by her father. Unfortunately, she does not remember much about her experience there. The first place her father took all of them to live was a very small apartment in Brooklyn. From there they moved to a larger apartment in Manhattan. My grandma's parents moved around a lot during their first few years here because they kept being offered months of free rent. This was because her parents both had jobs and paid all their bills on time. When Grandma Sita was 15, her family moved to the Bronx. This is where she lived until she married my grandpa, Jean Aloysius Sullivan Jr., in 1947. With him, she moved to another apartment in the Bronx, where my father, Steven Sullivan, was born. When my father was one, my grandparents moved into my grandfather's parent's two family house in Queens. Because my grandma also spent many summers in Midland Beach, Staten Island, she likes to brag that she has lived in every borough in New York City.

My grandma only spoke Spanish when she first came to America. She thought that the people who spoke English sounded funny and that they didn't know how to speak properly. She learned how to speak English in school. It was very hard for her because her parents only spoke Spanish in the house. After all these years, I am proud to say that my grandma speaks English beautifully.

Grandma Sita was born and raised a Catholic. When she came to America, she immediately became involved in the Catholic Church, even though it was hard for her to understand what was going on. She is still a very religious person and goes to church a lot.

When I asked my grandma about a memory of her early years here, she remembered one happy one and one sad one. The happy one was of all the happy summers she spent in Midland Beach with her family. Her sad memory was from when she was about 7 years old. There was a fire that destroyed many buildings on her block and almost destroyed hers. She watched the fire from her rooftop and could feel the heat of it. She had to get down when it began to get close. A lot of her friends lost their homes and possessions. She will never forget these two things.

My grandma did not become an American citizen until 1948, when she was twenty-four years old. She remembers having to study a lot and having to answer a lot of questions about America and it's laws.

My grandmother went back to Spain in 1958 for a visit. She took her two sons on a plane with her sister and her sister's two children. Grandma's parents and other friends and relatives made the trip by boat. They all took their cars with them on the boat so they could travel all around Spain when they got there. Grandma stayed in Spain for three and a half months. Even though she had a great time visiting her friends and family, she was very happy to get home to my grandpa who had stayed behind.

My grandma thinks that her parents made a wise choice in coming to America. She has had and continues to have a good life in this country.