Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Emelinna Ponce: Expectations meet Reality

The person I chose to interview was my grandmother, Emelinna Ponce. I chose my grandmother because she always tells me how lucky I am to have grown up in America, so I figured she would have a lot to say about her life in the Philippines. Here she shares her experiences from life in the Philippines and America, how important education was to her and her family, and her goals for the future.


Table of Contents:
1. Background
2. Coming to America
3. Citizenship
4. Expectations and Reality
5. Education and Work Experience
6. Goals for the Future


Background




This segment my grandmother talks about where she was born and raised, how many siblings she has and what her parents did for a living.

Coming to America



Here she talks about how her father applied for first preference as an architect in the US and when her family left for America.

"A majority [of Asian Americans] came [to California]  with few resources, poor English language skills, little understanding of American culture, and a history of emotional and physical trauma." 
- Competing Visions (p. 401)



The transition to America from the Philippines was rough for my grandmother, she went through all these hardships such as learning a new language and trying to adapt to a new environment.

Citizenship



She now explains the process for gaining citizenship after coming to America.

"many Chinese grasped the opportunity to claim U.S. citizenship and used their new status to send for their sons and daughters" - Xiaojian Zhao (AJA: Chinese American Women Defense Workers in World War II p. 142)

My grandmother talks about how while she was claiming citizenship, her kids automatically became citizens because they were minors.


Expectations and Reality



Here she talks about how her expectations were met after coming to America, because she was told by her father that America would give her many opportunities.

"They did not have any non-Chinese friends and did not know whom to trust outside their ethnic communities" - Xiaojian Zhao (AJA: Chinese American Women Defense Workers in World War II p. 144)

My grandmother only had friends within her Church choir group, which was mostly comprised of Filipinos, it was tough to earn anyone else's trust outside of that certain community. 


Education and Work Experience


 
Education was very important to her and her family, she was able to finish her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and then find work experience as an accountant.

Goals for the Future




My grandmother says that she has reached her goal already, she was able to work for 30 years and is now retired.




No comments:

Post a Comment