Immigration Experience To America

Interview Project requirements:

Interview a first generation adult member of an immigrant group, then choose one or two aspects of their native culture to research (you may also research any changes that your interviewee’s native culture has undergone in the U.S.).

Part 1: 15 questions and responses. Create questions and record the responses of your interviewee. Make sure that at least 5 questions focus on some aspect of their lives in their native homeland and 5 about how their lives have changed since they immigrated. The last 5 may be of your choosing but must focus on some part of their immigrant experience. Submit your questions and your interviewee’s responses.

***The subject of your interview must be at least 18 years old. Make sure you have your subject’s permission to share their responses. Do not include private/personal information such as their address, phone number, or anything they may specifically ask you to exclude.

Part 2: Essay: 2 -3 pages, double spaced, 12 point font (600 words minimum). Pick some aspect of your interviewee immigrant group’s native culture- religion, food, music, holidays, social behavior etc. and research it. Discuss what you have learned in your research, including how it, their view or if it, or their group’s relationship with it, have changed since their arrival in the U.S.. Your Essay may include but cannot be limited to information you have received from your subject/interviewee i.e. you must complete some research for the second part of your paper.

Remember, as Part 2 of the Project is based in part on research, you will need to cite any quotes or paraphrases that you use. Any information that is not cited, must be in your own words.

A link to the Project Sample/Example is included below. It can also be found in the Module titled Sample Paper, Project, and Chicano Style Format. Make sure that you pay attention to the first and second comments.

Please make the paper based on the interview below:

Project Example
Part I Interview with Mom who came from Uzbekistan in 1994.

1. What was your main reason for immigrating to the United States?
1. To have a better future for kids, to have freedom of speech and religion.

2. What was your life like in Uzbekistan?
2. It wasn’t bad.Unlike most families, we had connections to gain access to more food, and to the supermarkets. Most people lived in poverty standing more than half a day in lines to the supermarket for a loaf of bread

3. How was it different from the United States?
3. Low access to main grocery shopping. You had to know someone to get your hands on things like butter, mayo, ect. The doctors weren’t as educated and access to meds was extremely hard.

4. What did you do for a living in Uzbekistan?
4. I was a hair dresser

5. What did you celebrate in your native country? Are they any different here?
5. we celebrated our jewish holidays but we had to keep it private. we lived in a predominantly muslim country and we didnt have freedom of religion. Here in United States, we walk proud on the streets without being afraid of being observant

6. How did you immigrate to the United States?
6. We had to get sponsored in. My husband had a sister living in New York and she had to request to sponsor us in. The whole process was tetious because when we went to Moscow for our paperwork they made me wait until i had my second child before granting any approvals. We has to go for an interview to Moscow and we had to prove why we were refugees. We were extremely discriminated as Jewish people. When we got all of our paprwork, we has to fly to Moscow first and then we flew to New York.

7. Did you have a hard time adjusting to living in the United States?
7. It was very hard. We had 2 little kids. We didn’t know language, we didn’t have jobs. We came with only one suitcase. We came with 6 people and we all lived in a small basement studio with everyone. We had to adjust to new culture.

8. Did Americans seem strange and confusing to you?
8. For the most part back then, they were nice people. we were very used to people always verbaly abusing us for being jewish. They were confusing at first but we had to adjust.

9. Within, the community or work field, did you ever feel discriminated?
9. Now no, we are treated more equally and better. Back in Uzbekistan, because we were Jewish we couldn’t have white collar jobs. We were always considered a minority. We werent allowed to have higher positions at work like managers, commanders, principals of schools, ECT..

10. Do you still feel connected to your Uzbekistan roots and how?
10. Yes because a lot of people from our culture are local now. Many people immigrated at the same time and we all stay fairly close. We have many stores and restaurants that serve traditonal dishes. Our houses of worships also include a huge part of the culture

11. Do you think you still are the same person you were when you first arrived?
11. oh no not at all, we basically had to grow up over night.Life became easier but it took a while to get there. we had many mistakes and learning experiences.

12. Are you still facing any barriers in the United States?
12. Not really.

13. What did you expect of the United States?
13. We had high expectations of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and not being in a super communist country. Its a more safe enviornment to practice our religion

14. Did the U.S. meet your expectations?
14. yes

15. Have you adopted any American culture over the years?
15. Yes we have, we love celebrating Thanksgiving, 4th of July, ect..

Interviewed Marina Babadzhanova

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