|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1. What is your country of origin?
2. When did you come to the U.S.? (Date of arrival at: city/state) the 3. Why did you come to the United States? What did you know about this country that helped you to decide to immigrate? Was your information accurate? 4. What was your goal in life when you arrived? Have you moved toward or achieved that goal? Has your life here met your expectations? How? 5. Was life difficult here once you arrived? In what way? If it wasn’t difficult, what or who helped you to make the transition to U.S. life easier? 6. What did you think of the American lifestyle? Describe the good and “not so good” (in your opinion) aspects of the American lifestyle. Has your family adopted that lifestyle? 7. Why did you decide to stay here? (Why did you choose this location?) Where did you live when you first came to the U.S. ? (house, apt, with relatives, the Y, etc.) 8. Which form of transportation did you use to get here? How long did the trip take? Did you stop over in another country for an extended period of time? Where? 9. Were other immigrants traveling with you at the time you arrived? Where were they from? 10. Who was in this country that you knew? Did they help arrange for you to come here? |
| 11. What was your occupation before you came here?
Were you able to have that same job here?
12. What job did you have and how did you get that job? (Was it difficult to find? What were the obstacles or challenges in finding a job?) 13. Describe your feelings about leaving your country once the decision to emigrate had been made. 14. What were your feelings when you arrived? Describe your early impressions of this country. Explain (if you can) what helped to make those impressions. 15. What laws were very obviously different from those of the country you left? What adjustment did you have to make to get used to those laws? 16. What were the other adjustments you had to make? (getting used to differences in daily life) 17. When you arrived, how were you treated? Why do you think people behaved in that way? 18. What were you able to bring with you? What did you have to leave behind? Describe the choices you had to make and explain why you might have been limited in what you could bring. 19. Did your name change when you settled here? What was your original name/spelling? Why did you change it? 20. How were you able to support yourself when you first arrived? (How did you have the money to pay for expenses?) |
| 21. Did you come alone or with family? What were
the circumstances that caused you to make that decision?
22. Once you were here, did you arrange for others to join you? Who were they and how did they travel here? 23. Describe some of your good experiences your first years in this country. Describe some of the bad experiences you encountered and what you think are the reasons they occurred. 24. Did you know English before coming here? (If yes, how did you learn it the language?) How long did it take you to become fluent in English? 25. Have you returned to your country of origin to visit? When was the visit made and for what purpose? How long did you stay there? 26. Did you decide to return permanently to your country of origin? Why? What then changed your mind to return to the U.S.? 27. Were your clothes different from what is/was worn in the U.S.? Describe what you wore for special events/occasions. 28. What was your family’s reaction to your decision to immigrate to the U.S.? 29. Describe your life in your country of origin. Were you prosperous or was the economic situation one that helped you decide to leave? |
| 30. Did you attend school in the U.S.? (if yes,) What
kind of education did you pursue? Where was the school and were other
immigrants also attending?
31. If you attended school, what about did you like/dislike? (Share some stories/experiences.) 32. What do you believe were the important things you had to learn in order to adjust to life in the U.S.? 33. Was there a house of worship where you could practice your religion? Were there other members of your religion with whom you could worship or socialize? 34. Did you join an organization that had cultural ties to your heritage? What organization did you join and how did it help you to settle in this country? (Meet people with whom you could celebrate holidays, help to find a job, be with people who spoke your language) 35. Have you become a U.S. citizen? When did that occur and how did you feel once you became a citizen? 36. Are you glad that you came here? Why? 37. Do you miss the country from which you came? 38. How would you compare life in the U.S. with life as you knew it in your country of origin? 39. Do you keep in touch with people in your country of origin? Who and why? How do you keep in touch? 40. What cultural traditions have you been able to maintain? What are some traditions you no longer follow? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|