| Home | Sitemap |
|
|
|
 |
|
My Father's Immigration Story as told by Jose L. Olivos to Diana Olivos |
| My name is Diana Olivos. I'm in fifth grade in Public School 56 Queens, New York City. My family is from Peru in South America along the Pacific Ocean. This is the story my father told me. |
|
When I came to the United States of America, I was thirteen. I arrived on September 5, 1965 by airplane. It took about eight hours to get here. I was looking forward to coming but sad to leave Peru, my country. I was able to bring all my personal belongings. My family (my mother and two older brothers) were here to meet me when I arrived. I arrived at JFK Airport in New York City. I went to live in Jackson Heights, Queens with my mother and my older brothers. |
|
The following week I went to school at Intermediate School 145, about five blocks away from where I lived. I knew very little English when I first came. There was an elementary school one block from my house, where I met a boy named Kent the very first day I arrived. It turned out that Kent and I were in the same school and same class. Kent helped me adapt to the English language. We became friends and still are. When we finished intermediate school we went to high school and college together. We went to Newtown High School and City College [of the City University of New York] together. |
|
The laws here weren't very different from the ones in Peru, only in Peru they would be expressed in Spanish. I became a citizen in 1978. I never moved back to Peru but one of my brothers did over the years. My other brother stayed and got married. While I was here I went to a church called the Community Methodist Church of Jackson Heights. I still go there with my family. I'm glad I came here because of the family I now have. I'm glad my children were born here and are getting a good education that will help them with the rest of their lives. Because I came here as a child (I was thirteen) I don't really miss Peru. I have family in Peru and I call them and e-mail them to keep in touch. I visit them once in a while with my family. Coming to America was a great choice my mother made. |
| Home | Sitemap |
|
|
|
|