4 10 49 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Joohye Oh Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sylvia Language of Interview English and some Spanish Format Video, audio only, text only Audio City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Chihuahua, Mexcio Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Utah Intermediate point in journey (2) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Hays, Kansas Intermediate point in journey (3) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Great Bend, Kansas Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Sylvia (S) Joohye Oh (J) S: I think my story is a little unique in the sense that it's not your typical story of how I ended up in Kansas. S: Let me just say that my family is from the border from the south around the south part of the US–north part of Mexico. And from what I heard from family members. My dad's side of the story comes from Texas. And my great grandmother was born and raised in Texas and decided to move south to Monterey–Nueva León, which is south of Texas. S: On the other side, I have family that comes from the western part of Northwest part of Mexico. So that was another state, Sonora. S: But there's always been my grandparents had experienced living in the States. Some grandparents lived in California and Arizona. Some other grandparents lived in Texas, El Paso. S: It is not that unusual then that I was going back and forth live in coming from Chihuahua, Mexico. And being born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, being the first immigrant and my family to come and actually decide to live in Kansas. S: So that's where my family comes from. S: Being in Chihuahua, Mexico. That means that we had easy access to traveling and visiting Texas often, and that's what we did. My grandparents always had a place for us to stay in El Paso, Texas. That was a place for us to go shopping. S: Is just a two-and-a-half, three hour ride from Chihuahua to go to El Paso. S: So I was exposed since I was little to just traveling in visiting Texas and spending summers there in my grandfather's residence for a place to go. S: My dad, when I was an infant, decided to do his master’s. And I don't know how he came about deciding that he wanted to go to New Mexico. S: I lived in New Mexico as an infant for two years, the firstborn in my family, so it was only me and my mom and my dad while he was doing his master's in wildlife. S: Then again, as an infant that was exposed to English, I was exposed to the American culture. My family has a pretty good grip on keeping traditions and culture, but also being very comfortable and used to the American way of life in the American culture. S: So that's the moving back and forth. Yes. S: I lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico while my dad was at the New New Mexico State University at Las Cruces, then move back to Chihuahua. And I lived there and was raised when I was a kid in Mexico. S: I was very fortunate that my family is upper middle-class. So I've always been exposed to private schools, and that's what I attended when I was a child. I attended Catholic private schools from kindergarten, elementary school, and then I went to the, one of the most prestigious secondary schools there, one that was affiliated through the university, Tec de Monterrey. S: So I ended up going to a junior high school that was bilingual. So half of her classes were in English. Half of the classes were in Spanish. S: It was difficult at first, but but it was, it was a lot of fun. So once I finished with junior high, then the next thing that we typically did, our classmates at that particular school was to spend a year as an exchange student. S: So there were different options at the time, some people ended up being going to boarding schools for my particular family and my situation, we decided that I wanted to do an exchange program through a through a US company. S: So I sign up for that and I get chosen to go to Utah. So I spent my junior year in high school in Utah for the year. So 1990–91, I believe. S: That was a really good experience. S: I really learned a lot about their religion there, which is a Mormon. And even though the family that I live with, they were not practicing Mormons, they did have some connections with the Mormon religion and their oldest child was actually converting to become Mormon. S: And so I was invited to listen to their preparation meetings that they had. So that was quite, quite fun. S: As a junior, I finished my year, I came back to Chihuahua, finished high school. I started college. And after starting college is when I realized that I was in the wrong major, I was studying for marketing and I really felt like psychology was where I needed to go. S: So looking at the options that I had at the time, this is around 90 to 93. We're not really good Psychology schools in Chihuahua. And I always wanted to go back to the states to just study more. S: So I started looking for options and by then my parents were divorced, my parents were married and my stepfather was very supportive of me. S: Just looking for opportunities and finding a good school to go to. It was–it was a matter of luck that one of my classmates ended up suggesting for me to try Hays, Kansas. S: And the reason why he suggests that that is he came from a private school in Chihuahua that had some kind of agreement with the boarding school to high school, Catholic boarding school in Hays, Kansas. S: So a lot of my friends and close, close acquaintances were going to Hays, Kansas for this boarding school and thus his experience. But he offered the information that there was a University in Hays, Kansas, that it was a really nice, safe, small town. I should check it out. S: It's always researching options in applying for different places. I went ahead and applied for Hays, Kansas, and all the places that I applied in Texas and I want it to stay somewhat close. S: So I was applying for Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado. And then Hays–I got a response from many of them that was very not personal, but very generic of student 101234. You need to reply but this date, otherwise, we're going to toss your application and you're gonna be inactive. S: And Hayes sent a very personal letter calling, referring to me by my name, letting me know that they were excited that I applied, that they were hoping that I would choose them. It was signed by the director of international students, who happens to be, by the way, the current director of international students at the University of Kansas right now, Mr. Joe Potts. S: So that just made me think it made me feel that I was welcomed in Hays, Kansas and that I was going to have some kind of support system to go to. S: So we decided that that's where I needed to go. As a sophomore of transfer transfer student from, um, the Tec de Monterrey campus Chihuahua to Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. S: That's why I say my story is not very common because I came here as a documented, not immigrant but as a documented student with an F1. I think it's an F1. I'm not sure. But with a student visa both times when I was an exchange student and then when I came back as a college student. S: My plan has had always been that I was just going to do my bachelor's degree and then I was going to go back home. S: And so I had a boyfriend at the time. He was in Chihuahua. He decided he needed to be closer, so he ended up coming to Wichita State University. And he was there for about a year but then he had to go back home and I was still finishing my bachelor's. S: So it was then that I met my now husband. We were in a class or two together. And it was towards the end of the semester that he decided he was brave enough to strike a conversation during an outing on a Friday night. So I was completely in love where I had a crush on this guy. S: So it was just the right timing, I guess, that I was not dating anyone in that he was asking me to go out for a date. That was my last semester of my bachelor's. S: At that point, I was already looking. I already had a plan of pursuing a master's degree, knowing that in psychology, you need to have higher education if you want to work in the field. S: So again, I started applying to different places, looking at what was feasible. My family was paying the bill. I was very fortunate that they have the resources to pay for me to live in Hays, Kansas, same pay the full tuition. And as an international student, that's not cheap. S: So I was looking at options, but also being very mindful that I'm one of three kids and I'm the oldest one of my sisters. I have two and they were close behind me finishing high school and needing to go to college, knowing that my parents were going to support them fully as well. S: So even though we had resources, I was very mindful of making sure that whatever place I chose, it was going to be within the budget so that my sisters could also experience something like this if that's what they wanted. S: And at the time that we're not interested, but the tuition at them on the Tec de Monterrey campus Chihuahua was pretty high because that's the most expensive university then northern part of Mexico. S: Anyway. So around that time is when I realized that one of the most affordable options while was to stay in Hayes and it was going to be easier for Hays to admit, you know, continue to have me as a grad student, as an international student, even though I had years and years of English as a second language, I really did struggle with language skills in verbal skills. S: So at the time I was taking the admission test called the GRE, scores were very, very unusual in the sense of the analytical and the nonverbal sections were extremely high. I want to say 90th percentile and above meeting all the criteria for whatever admissions. But yet my verbal skills were low. S: And that was because I was still learning academic English, not just conversational English and all these terms that I needed to understand. S: So with those scores, it was just easier to stay in haze in my directors international students. The Mr. Joe Potts knew that I was a straight “A” student 4.0 throughout my career at Hays. S: And actually finishing up my bachelor's in a total of three years, one year in Chihuahua Tec de Monterrey, and then enrolled in 24 hours usually per semester up for Hayes for two years. S: So I finished altogether in three years. S: So he knew that I was going to be capable of continuing with grad school and he offered for me to apply for a scholarship from the it's called Rotary Club. Rotary Club of Hays, Kansas. S: They were giving away a pretty big scholarship to international students. I applied and got the scholarship, which was great for my family because then my sisters, my family could afford my sister starting college at the time. S: So that really gave me the reason to stay and to continue pursuing my Master's in clinical psychology at Fort Hays. S: So I can I kept dating my husband and soon enough we got engaged. By then. I already knew that I was starting to grow fond of Kansas. S: He is–he was born and raised in Central Kansas. So he's a guy that was in law enforcement. S: So by the end of my master’s, we decided that we were gonna get married. And that's what we did. S: By then he got a job in central Kansas. So we move to Larned, Kansas where he was a police officer. S: And soon after that I, when an applied, they have a state hospital in Larned. I was not very fond of applying or working as a first job, a newly graduated psychologist, I was intimidated by the idea of working at a state hospitals. S: So I ended up going to the nearby bigger town of Great Bend, Kansas 20 miles from Larned and applying or at least going to the mental health center to let them know that I was interested in a job, which at first they dismissed me and they acted like that: We're not interested. S: Once they met me and realized that I was fully bilingual in Spanish, that quickly changed their strategy and they were all over wanting to hire me just immediately, which I'm very fortunate that they did. S: And that's because Great Bend in the surrounding area has a lot of Spanish-speaking families that are recently migrated. So a lot of people worked in the meat packing industry in the farms there that did not fully understand English and that just needed support and services. S: So I started working there. S: It was not until a year or two after that that the school district in Great Bend was really using my services for the influx of children that they were having that only spoke Spanish, that struggled academically. S: So soon after a year, after working at the Mental Health Center, the District approached me and asked me. If I would be willing to work for them and get my certification as a school psychologist. S: And being just newly married with no family. Knowing that I liked going to school, I said: Why not? S: So they hired me and gave me the opportunity to go back to haze or wherever I want it to do the required grad classes so that I could get my certification as a school psychologist in addition to the clinical one that I had. S: So I did that I started working for the school district. And this is two or three years after living in Larned and just realizing that Larned, Kansas is a very small town, even Great Bend, Kansas, this is a very small town. I'm talking about 4,000 people in learned, about maybe 10,000 in grape and I don't know, I'm guessing. S: But coming from even Hays, Kansas, this a little bigger. S: It's it's a college town and it's full of diversity. In my hometown of 500,000 people. It was a culture shock to live in central Kansas. S: It was, it was very it felt very lonely. I felt very isolated, even with the Hispanic community that they had over there. S: I didn't feel connected. S: My husband was American and I just didn't have a whole lot in common with being a professional in working for institutions. I didn't have a whole lot in common with the families that lived in long hours or that they were the clients that I was seeing at the mental health center. S: Because typically what I saw there was I was the one providing services for alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence for the families that were stopped and arrested for driving under the influence and then being referred to me to complete assessments and complete treatment because they were driving while drunk. S: So it was not a good situation of making friends or having connections with families that I was providing a service. S: So my husband and I started thinking and talking about places where we could move, what we needed to be to be happy and my family by then, they were visiting me, but they were not very excited to come and visit small towns with nothing to do. S: My sisters by then decided that they wanted to come to Fort Hays to pursue their bachelors and master’s. So I had them close by and that kind of helped a little. S: My middle sister finished her bachelor's in Mexico at Tec de Monterrey, but then decided she was gonna do her MBA at Fort Hayes, which she did. S: And then my youngest sister came–transfered from from Mexico and finished her bachelor's in her master's in school psychology as well. The difference with them, my middle sister have boyfriends in Mexico. So when she was done with her MBA, she went back home. Later married the same guy. So she's happily married in Mexico with her husband. S: And my youngest sister, stayed a little longer in Kansas, but then eventually ended up moving back to Mexico. And then later on deciding to pursue additional certifications in Spain. So she ended up living in Spain for a few years. S: So in around that time when they were going back home from Hays, Kansas. That's when we decided we wanted to move from Larned. S: So we ended up finding my husband didn't want to leave Kansas. He was not interested in going back to school or doing any more further training–police officer in Larned. S: So we were limited to staying in Kansas so that he could use his certification as a police officer in a new job. S: And the opportunity came around to come to Lawrence, Kansas, which was considering the places that house hoping that we were going to go to–I was hoping Wichita, I was hoping Kansas City for the amount of opportunities there and access to an airport. S: And Lawrence was a really good option. Being so close to Kansas City in the airport, but also going back to a campus town. And feeling that welcoming feel that you get when you are in a town that’s open-minded to diversity and that celebrates diversity. S: So that's what we did and we moved to Lawrence in 2001, when our first kid was born. So she moved to Lawrence, Kansas with us when she was a few months old. S: And ever since we've been in Lawrence. S: And Lawrence, my husband, transferred to the police department later on decided that he needed to change careers. So he now works for the National Guard–Army National Guard in Topeka as an active duty officer. S: I moved here a school psychologist and have been working for the school district since 2001. S: And eventually when my kids, I have two beautiful girls, and when when they were little, I decided that I always wanted to pursue a doctorate degree. And I fell in love with behavioral psychology, applied behavior analysis. So I ended up starting to take classes until I got to the point that I was able to find an advisor and finish the program and get accepted as a doctorate program candidates. S: So I ended up getting my degree in 2011. I think. S: I mean, I don't know if that's a lot. If it's too much. I still see my family. I think that the going back to school and becoming a school psychologist was the next best thing to having a part-time job. S: Because that means that with my job, I have the same schedule of work scheduled teachers, so that I get the summers off. S: And every single summer. I have gone back home taking my daughter's, gone back on and have spent summers with my family and Mexico, were very proficient, had deriving from Kansas all the way to Chihuahua, Mexico. S: Three day trip, spending a month or two with my family, enjoying their company, taking advantage of the fact that they have houses big enough for us to all fit in there. We usually sign up for the Country Club in summer camps that they have at the country club. S: And my kids–because of that, they have been exposed to not only Spanish, but also meeting friends from their meeting. My my longtime friends’ kids, as a result, keeping those relationships going. S: And then of course, my family continues to come and visit me when they can spending sometimes holidays with me. But just live in S: [reading out loud a question the interviewer put into the Zoom chat]. S: My extended family, most of my cousins, my grandparents died and Chihuahua, and most of my cousins had lived in Chihuahua. I have maybe one or two cousins that have moved away, but it's not very common. S: So like one or two in Mexico City, one or two in Monterrey. I have some cousins that have I have worked with Doctors Without Borders. I have one cousin that ended up in Africa a couple of times. S: I mean, it's not very common, but at the same time, my dad comes from a family of 11. So a couple of his brothers ended up marrying American wives. In one of them, like I have an uncle who lives in Wisconsin, and I have another uncle that lives in Michigan. S: So they kinda, I kinda ended up doing something very similar with them in the sense that if they migrated to the States, it was because they met their spouses and they ended up staying here. S: And I think that they had the situation, at least with one of my uncles. He ended up meeting the wife also in college. S: And the other uncle is a professor at a university. So my assumption is that he was at the university as well as how I was when I met my spouse. S: So kind of interesting that the story repeats. S: And you know my sisters, all of them ended up with a master's. Both of them. S: And my dad, even though he had his master's back when I was young, he decided he wanted a PhD. So he went to the university in Chihuahua–Universidad de [unknown] de Chihuahua. And he ended up getting his PhD in wildlife and conservation soon after I got my PhD. S: So I got mine in 2011, and my dad got his in 2012. So that was kind of exciting that we were both kidding our degrees together. S: And fun fact that he's the wildlife guy, but we didn't follow his steps. Since I'm a psychologist. My middle sister is into business, not currently working. She has kids that are little and then my youngest one [sister] ended up in psychology as well. S: And some family members being business owners. My dad's side of the family, there's a lot of physicians and my great–My grandfather actually owns a hospital. S: So I have some an uncle and aunt and several cousins that are physicians. S: I ended up not not choosing that but it did cross my mind, but I if I would have chosen that, I don't think I've ever would have come to the States because it probably would have been easier to go through med school, in Spanish, to finish the type of degree over there and not worry about a second language. S: [Reading another question that the interviewer left in the chat]. Okay. Let me look at your question as we wrap up. S: [Reading the question]. Is there anything you would like the youngest my next generation to know? I would like to share your concluding thoughts. S: Sure. I would like for Linux kids to know that everything is possible. If you set your mind to it. S: In that, you know, saying that I went to school and I got a degree. Sounds easy. It was not super hard. S: A lot of people may help you, may support you, but a lot of people kind of get in the way. And you have to have a strong will into now that I want to, I want to go to college, I want to go and get into grad school. S: If that's your goal, put everything you have into it and don't give up. And you can make it happen. Because I make it sound like it was easy for me and it was not. S: Many times my family said, we don't have any money and we don't–we can't afford that. We're not gonna be able to help you. And it was a lot of looking For supports, asking around making connections at the university and letting people know that I was looking for scholarships. I was looking for ways to make this affordable and make it happen AND kids can do that. S: If you, if you believe in yourself and you know that you wanna be successful, then just don't give up. Keep trying. And just show the rest of society that Hispanics are hard workers, that are smart people that are capable. And that we can we can also hold positions that are reserved for people that have professional education and we can do that. S: We can definitely do that and we can take advantage of the fact that we're bilingual. And unfortunately, in American schools, in American students may not see the benefit of being bilingual. S: But let's, let's keep our language alive, in our culture alive, and help our community to be successful. [END] Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sylvia Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Chihuahua, Mexico to Lawrence, Kansas Description An account of the resource Sylvia works as a school psychologist and is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. Her interest in furthering her education led her to Fort Hays State University where she obtained her Bachelor's degree. Shortly after, she continued onto the Masters program and found work serving the community in Garden City. Eventually, Sylvia moved to Lawrence to obtain her Ph.D. Today, she practices psychology at a local high school. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_tfafd5cq" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_tfafd5cq/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Sylvia"></iframe> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Community Education Identity Language Lawrence Mexico Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Aron Muci Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Suzette Language of Interview English Format Video, audio only, text only Video City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Nicaragua Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence California Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Suzette (S) Aaron (A) S: Okay. My name’s Suzette Mendez. I came to Kansas when I was 12 years old–actually I was 10 years old–originally we lived in California and then I lived there…I came to the United States when I was a year and a half–so we lived in California and then moved to Kansas when I was 10 years old. And we’ve been here since then. S: I guess a story that comes to mind in regards with this project [Coming to the Heartland] is–my very first time when we went back home when we traveled to Nicaragua as a family. S: I had never been there. Like I said, I came to the States when I was a year and a half so I was never fully emerged [sic] in what the Nicaraguan culture was. S: I grew up here in the United States so this was all I had ever known. So when I went back it was really eye-opening; It was an experience that I would never forget. I remember how my life is very different from the life over there. S: I think that [deep exhale] when we went I was still–we went back when I was 12. So I got to experience the difference in culture. I got to learn more about where I came–where I’m coming from–my roots, so that was a really wonderful experience. [car honking] A: So is there something that happened on the trip that–correct me if I’m wrong, but you said that happened when you were 12, right?-- S: –Yes A: So is there something that happened on that trip that made you feel was important to you and that you were able to see some of the differences and that sort of thing…so what were some of the differences that you were able to see or what were some of the cultural aspects that you were able to learn? S: The food for sure. It’s very different. It’s something that–like my mom does Nicaraguan cooking but [pause] it’s–it’s different when you’re there, I guess, that’s what I want to say. S: The living aspect too, that’s the poverty–it’s one of things that struck me the most while I was down there. I noticed, you know–I could only imagine what would be my life if we had stayed in Nicaragua and never moved to the States. A: And could you maybe also explain a little bit about how your–I mean how do you see yourself today in terms of you being an immigrant– A: I mean with you immigrating so young coming to this country at such a young age did you see yourself as an immigrant growing up and going through school and things like that? Or did you see yourself in any other different light? S: Umm, no, like I never–Like I knew that my parents and I were from Nicaragua but I never really identified myself as like an immigrant. S: Like growing up, when I was smaller in elementary school, like I never thought about it that way I guess. S: When I started to get older, that’s when I could say, I know where I came from and I know that I’m an immigrant and that my parents were immigrants and that I was the very first generation to go to college and so it–that’s when I started to in high school–or elementary–in middle and high school when everything came into play. S: When we first got our legal status, I guess, then my parents kinda had a talk with me about what it was and that’s when we got to go back home [to Nicaragua]. S: Then they explained that they had been here for several years, I think that it was maybe 10 years that they had not been able to see their family so they explained that they were going to take a trip and we were going to be able to meet our cousins, our aunts, uncles, grandparents. A: Is that something you were excited for? Or was it something you were fearful of? Or just kinda unsure about? What were kinda some of the things that they prepared you for going back for the first time? S: To me, it was fun–it was exciting. I never grew up with any grandparents so that was something very difficult and different because I would know and because my friends would have their grandparents here and so I didn’t get to experience that until I was 12 years old and even at that time you would go for two weeks, three weeks at most, so I never really got that connection with my grandparents. S: With cousins, I never really grew up with cousins. The ones that I had in California were like two-three cousins and we would see them every so often for holidays so, like I said, I never emerged [sic] myself into the whole family environment with parents with my grandparents or my extended family because they weren’t living here, they were living back home. A: One of the–some of the things that others have talked about in their interviews is what they hope to share with maybe older generations or younger generations–So is there something about yourself that you feel like older generations or younger generations. A: So is there something about yourself, something that you learned about yourself that you feel like older generations don’t know about you in terms of how you see yourself? Or, is there something that you want to share with younger generations about who you are that you feel is important? S: I think what I would say to the younger generations would be to know where you come from. From a very early early years, learn your Spanish–I mean whatever language you speak: that’s something I always try to teach my child, now that I have a son, is you–you need to know where you’re coming from and it’s hard. S: Especially nowadays I know that I speak to him a lot in English and so his dad tries to speak to him in Spanish. And it gets hard for him [Suzette’s son] too and so sometimes [Suzette’s son] is like “I don’t want to speak in Spanish.” And I try to teach him why it’s important to do so. Where is his–where he is coming from, where his parents are coming from. S: So that’s something that I would try and advise the younger generation. A: And have you had a chance to take your son to Nicaragua? And has it been an opportunity to share a little bit of where you come from? And what was the experience for him? S: We have. I’ve taken him maybe about three times now. S: I think that the first time that I took him he was a year and a half–and one of the things that I try to explain to him is how fortunate we are in this country and we go back so he can see the difference between these two countries and what we have and cherish what we have here. S: We–I wanted him to know, you know, about poverty and how we can help people and so one of the trips we took down there, we made like 150 sandwiches and we bought drinks–water, pop, all that kinds of stuff–and then–and so we went to the streets and we took a car and we drove through the streets. S: At the stop lights there’s always homeless people or people working and try to get a little bit of money and so we would stop there and we would see all kinds of people–people in wheelchairs, little kids selling gum or drinks and stuff like that. S: And so we would stop and he would hand them [the sandwiches and drinks] out. People would just come towards the car and Isaac, that’s my son’s name, and Isaac would just roll down the windows and we would just hand sandwiches and drinks out. And so that is something that has always stuck in his mind and to this day he tells me “When are we going to do that again?” S: So I know that that made an impact on his seven years of life that he has, so yeah. A: That’s really great. I’m glad that he was able to have that experience that was so inspirational for him and exciting for him to go back and–that’s fantastic. A: Okay, wonderful. Thanks so much, Suzette, for participating in this project. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzette Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Mexico to Kansas. Description An account of the resource Suzette was born in the United States but her parents are from Nicaragua. In this interview, she talks about visiting Nicaragua, being a first-generation college graduate and connecting with her family. Her advice for the younger generation is to learn Spanish or their heritage language and embrace where they come from. Suzette also highlights the importance of giving back to one’s community. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_9w99c2kp" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_9w99c2kp/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland_Suzette_Trimmed.mp4"></iframe> California Education Identity Kansas Nicaragua Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Silvia Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Guatemala City, Guatemala to Lawrence, Kansas Description An account of the resource Silvia grew up in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Her passion for social justice was sparked by her own experience in Guatemala where she saw disrimination against the indigenous population. After deciding to continue her academic journey, she was offered a Graduate Teaching Assistant position at the University of Kansas. At KU, she met a wonderful, supportive community of international students. She continued her anthropology research and eventually got married. Towards the end of the interview, Silvia reflects on her path and life and the wonderful opportunities she has had. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Community Education Guatemala Identity Language Lawrence Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Joohye Oh Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Rosina Language of Interview English City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin San Salvador, El Salvador Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Lawrence, Kansas Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rosina Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from San Salvador, El Salvador to Lawrence, Kansas. Description An account of the resource Rosina grew up in San Salvador, El Salvador and received a Fulbright Scholarship which led her to study Journalism at the University of Kansas. Today, she teaches several Spanish classes including the new Spanish for Heritage Speakers class. She has gone back to El Salvador with her family and stays connected to her culture through podcasts and food. Rosina is also part of the Lawrence Salvadoran community that raises funds for a local scholarship for Latino/Hispanic students. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_pdevwyee" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_pdevwyee/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Rosina"></iframe> Community Education El Salvador Language Lawrence Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Yuvia Serna Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Rosie Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Rosie (R) Yuvia (Y) R: ¿Por qué Kansas? Llegamos a Kansas porque estaba [sic] unos familiares- De aquí..de allí, los familiares nos llevaron a una iglesia. R: Cuando estamos llegando a la escuela, la iglesia abrió más puertas para mí. R: Había una maestra en la clase de español y sus estudiantes hacían este…¿Cómo se dice “tutoring?” Titu–tituear por nosotros. Para que nosotros aprenderamos inglés mientras ellas enseñaban. Perdón, nosotros aprendemos inglés mientras nosotros enseñamos a los alumnos español. R: Y entonces, pienso de allí fue una gran experiencia poder de movernos, colocarnos en las posiciones que estamos ahora. Puesto que nosotros ayudamos a otras personas a aprender español entre a nosotros mismos aprendemos a inglés. R: Esto abrió varias puertas para mí. Tanto como conocer gente en nuestra comunidad y ayudarnos por supuesto en el nivel educativo. Y: ¿Qué año llegaste a Kansas? ¿y de dónde? R: Hace 27 años. Y: ¿y de dónde? R: de Chihuahua. Y: ¿Cómo fue tu viaje al entrar a la comunidad de aquí en Olathe? ¿Qué tipo de cosas has experimentado? R: Mi experiencia con la ciudad de aquí de Olathe, creo que Olathe es una ciudad muy calmada y es más tranquila, más que otras ciudades y me sentí desde que llegamos nos sentimos muy acogidos a la comunidad anglosajona y la comunidad hispana de aquí nos dieron mucha ayuda. Y: Además de venir aquí porque tenías familiares aquí, cuáles fueron otras razones porque quedaste aquí en Kansas? R: Pienso que una de las razones porque quedamos aquí en Kansas exactamente en la ciudad de Olathe este fue la tranquilidad y, no sé, las…¿Cómo se dice…? Las…las oportunidades que teníamos tanto como para ir a otra..para nuestro nivel educativo como otras cosas. Y: ¿Cuántos años tenías cuando llegaste? R: Tenía 16 años. Y: ¿Y llegaste para venir a high school? [silencio] Y: ¿Pasaste toda tu vida de aquí de los Estados Unidos en Kansas? R: Sí. Tengo 26 años viviendo aquí en Kansas en la ciudad de Olathe. Y: ¿Cuál fue la razón por la que te fuiste de Chihuahua? R: Por..porque venimos con mi mamá. [silencio] Y: Rosie, ¿qué mensaje le quieres mandar a la generación que viene, como tus hijos o tu sobrino o sobrina? R: …Cualquier organización que sea de sin fines de lucro porque siempre estas organizaciones van a ayudar a abrir más puertas. Y yo pienso que esa fue una de las llaves que yo pueda acercarme a mi comunidad y entender los problemas de otros en mi comunidad y ayudarlos a seguir. R: So… yo pienso que ayudarse a la parte…si eres parte de la comunidad, pones una ayudando a otra persona tanto hispana a entender las leyes o las costumbres de otros países, creo que estás haciendo algo mejor para las generaciones que vienen. Y: Ahorita te hablaste sobre el impacto que hizo apuntarte en organizaciones y ayudarte en la comunidad, como crees que te…¿Cómo diferencia creo que hizo que tu fuiste un inmigrante durante de esa experiencia? R: Perdón, no entendí la pregunta. Y: Siendo latinoamericana…latina, inmigrante en estas organizaciones, ¿qué crees fue el efecto de ser ese inmigrante? R: Pienso que…cuando estás en estas organizaciones, y tu eres esa voz que habla por los demás, creo que ven las cosas desde tu punto de vista como inmigrante y se toman en acuerdo…¿Cómo se dice cuando alguien…Cuando te toman en en cuenta que no solo hay el punto de vista que ellos están viendo la comunidad sino la punto de vista de alguien que viene de otras costumbres, de otras raíces, que viene a experimentar…que en mi caso vinieron con familiares, y pero hay personas que vienen de otros niveles de la sociedad que no tienen la misma ayuda que nosotros teníamos, yo pienso que eso fue– R: I mean…por ejemplo, pienso que muchos inmigrantes que han ido y ha sufrido por mucho tanto por no tienen las costumbres porque no tienen familia acerca de ellos ni…ser esa voz que ayuda a los demás, los que vienen detrás de tí. R: Pienso que es algo que me ayudó a ser quien soy hoy. Y: ¿Qué mensaje les quiere mandar a la generación anterior–tus padres, tus abuelos? ¿Qué les quiere mandar o que ellos sepan? R: Bueno, yo agradecería porque las decisiones que tomaron cuando yo era una menor…Gracias a esas decisiones que ellos tomaron soy quien soy ahora. Y tal vez sea una en un millón pero esa voz siempre va a estar levantando en mi comunidad porque gracias a eso soy miembro o miembra de varias organizaciones cerca de mi comunidad. Y: Y, alguna vez en tu tiempo aquí en Kansas, has podido regresar Chihuahua o has querido regresar a Chihuahua cuando no has podido? R: He regresado, sí porque siempre he podido regresar. Y: Pues, muchas gracias. Language of Interview Spanish Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rosie Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Chihuahua, Mexico to Olathe, Kansas Description An account of the resource Rosie is from Chihuahua, Mexico. She first learned English while teaching Spanish to students. She says that the Olathe, Kansas community is friendly. Rosie is active in several local organizations after she found out that she could be a voice for immigrants like herself. Her advice to the younger generation is to understand the importance of giving back to one’s community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Olathe, Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_l2dd05dm" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_l2dd05dm/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Rosie"></iframe> Community Language Mexico Olathe Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Aron Muci Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Nydia Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Nydia (N) Aron (A) N: So my name is Maria Vasquez. I was born and raised here in Wichita, Kansas. I am 23 years old and what I do here is, I'm a teacher–I'm a first grade teacher. N: I've lived here my whole life. N: My family, both my parents are from Trancoso Zacatecas, Mexico and they've been here for, I would say a little over 25 years. I am one of three siblings. N: So with that being said, a little background information about my family to get started. My parents moved here on and off back-and-forth. When they were about dad was probably about 25. Mom was 18. They were married. They got married, came over here. N: We already had family here in Wichita, so it was just common sense to move somewhere where we have family and where things were kind of familiar. N: After that, they started their family. We were all born and raised here. N: There were a couple of times when I was young, probably one or two where they went back a couple of times. And then after they had my youngest sister in 2001, they stayed here permanently after that. N: There was no more going back-and-forth. N: Things got a little bit harder for them to be traveling across the border and coming back. So they decided that the safest thing to do was to just stay after my youngest was born, my youngest siblings. N: So with that being said, the only thing that we had experienced per se was just the traditions and the culture that they brought back. They brought here from Mexico. That could be, you know, just how we celebrate certain holidays. N: We are Catholic twos. So having that into our traditions as well as holidays, I had a lot to do with what we saw about our culture. N: We didn't really know anything else because the only thing we got close to home to Mexico was probably just stories and my older sister was my oldest sister was the one that would probably I think she traveled about three times back-and-forth on her own because she could and she brought back a lot more to me and my youngest sister. N: But that being said, I think when I was around ten, so 13 years ago, actually, not ten. When I was ten years old, my older sister was about 14, 15 [years old]. We decided to go to Mexico. N: Just her and I. N: I had been to Mexico, but that was at one or two, so it wasn't enough for me to remember anything. So we decided to go on this trip for the whole entire summer and the only perspective that they kept giving me was, you know, there's–there's no showers over there like there is, but it's very different in me living here all my life and having access to all these things. N: We were just I was just kinda like questioning. Well, what do you mean? It's kinda different? N: You know, my mom was just preparing me like, Hey, when you go down there, it's very different to the way that we live here. So don't be shocked, don't act a certain way. N: Just appreciate the small things and appreciate try to soak everything in and appreciate that because that's where we all came from. That's where your dad and I came from and that's that's all we know. N: Aside from living here. N: And I was like, why was ten, you know, it wasn't just like it wasn't something that really stuck to me. Her words didn't really stick with me. N: It was just a vacation to me. N: And she kept warning me, you know, there's a lot of things that you may see down there that you'll probably find a little shocking. But don't let it affect you in any way. Don't, don't react in a bad way. It's all good things. N: So me being ten, I went it was the first time I had traveled that far in a couple of years enough to remember. N: And I remember as soon as we got there, we went by bus. We didn't go by airplane or anything like that. We we went on a bus and I think it hit me when I started seeing like the houses and how they were shaped differently. They were made of different material. N: They looked very small. N: I think that's when I was like, we went from city and we went from Texas to complete nothing like desert. We were in Juarez and we hadn't gotten there just yet, but it was just dead. Everything was dead. N: There was nothing there and that's when it hit me where I like. This is probably what I was being warned about. N: This doesn't look like home at all. N: And then the people that you would see on the outside, they were just they were just I guess you would say they were dressed differently. N: And eventually we got to where we're from. And I remember like seeing my family there. And mind you they had met me but I obviously didn't remember. So it was all my family all my mom's side of the families over there. N: And she's only one that came from her family, from her side of the family. So they were very welcoming. They were very happy. They were hugging and they were kissing cousin on each other. N: And just it was just very odd to me because one I never remembered them too. They all look like my mom. They were just like there's like eight of them that look the same. N: Everything was different as soon as I got off the bus. N: Like the smell was different, the environment, the people. N: And we stayed there for two months. N: So in that two month period, I understood what my mom was saying. Like things are very different in what she meant by that was her family over there isn't wealthy by any means. I mean, to shower, we have to heat up a pot full of water and then just go back and forth until the whole big tub is filled. Um, that's how you shower. N: And it's unlike this room. It's not like a bathroom. The toilets aren't flushable over there. So you have to go to the restroom and like this bin and take care of that and it's in the same room. N: So it was very different. N: I would've never thought I would have to do that in my life. And I figured like, Oh, in my brain before I went, it was like, yeah, things are gonna be different obviously, you know. But not to that extent. N: So as soon as I was seeing hello. This part of the house doesn't have a roof. This part of the house doesn't have doors, that doesn't have there's no privacy. N: That's when it was like I think I started to realize why my parents raised us in that way. In a way of appreciating what you have, not thinking that, you know by any means that we have the best of the best. Learning how to save [money]. Learning how to be kind. All of those things that were taught. N: That's when I started to really think like I was ten. N: So it really hit me like, this is why they taught us kindness. This is why they taught us how to appreciate the hard work. This is why they taught us that education is so important. Because in the US, like you are, if you don't go to college, you can still be somebody. N: But education is like the top thing. N: It's full of opportunities. N: And I think that's when I realized that this is why they left. N: They didn't want us living in these environments which are totally doable, obviously because there's still that way. N: But now it's like now I understand why they sacrificed, leaving and sacrifice traveling. Like so far. N: And, you know, back then, I knew, I knew that my parents had done that and I knew the sacrifices, and I knew what that meant and all of that, but I didn't truly understand it until I was able to see all of that. N: So, you know, it's it's the small things. On Sundays we would go out to the street and it's called is the tianguis. That's what it's called. The tinaguis is where all the community gathers together and there's just small businesses. People sell handmade bracelets, handmade curses, shoes, movies, things like that. Really. N: It's almost like a little it's like a thrift store, but all of these handmade items, and you gather every Sunday and you can shop and you can just interact with the community. Everybody sets up their tents, everybody sets up everything. And you just navigate your way through these tiny little stores, through the streets. N: And it was so welcoming. N: And that's not something that you see here. N: You can go to you can go to the mall and there's a bunch of stores, but it's not the community gathering together and actually socializing. And that was what stood out to me. That was one of the things that stood out to me the most. N: And I think it's because you don't, you don't see that over here in the United States, like you see, there's gatherings and stuff like that, but it's not It's not as meaningful. And it's that Trancoso is a very, very small town. Very small. N: Everybody knows everybody. N: I mean, as soon as I stepped out of the bus, they were like, Are you Estela’s daughter? Oh my gosh. She looked like Estela when she left here. And so that's how you know, that everybody just knows everybody. N: And as I was walking to the store, you know, getting to go get milk or something with my grandma. They'd be like “Is that your daughter? Is that your daughter's daughter? The one that's up north?” My grandma would say, “Well, yeah, this is Nydia yeah, this is this Estela’s daughter, the one that's up north. N: And that's what they say is what they call it over here. And I would just just the way that they they talked about over here. N: I feel like people in Mexico. My family has an idea that is so big and great over here. Yes, it's like the land of opportunity, but I feel like they have a misinterpretation of how things are over here. N: And I feel like we have a misinterpretations and we were so busy living our life here and keep going forward that we tend to forget about the small things. So it's kinda like flipped. N: And what I mean by that is that when I got talking to them about how things are over here, they were like, wow, you have money, you know, your in the US like that's awesome. You have everything that you could ever want. N: And I was like, well, no, it's very different. It's hard work. Yes. It looks better if that's what you're trying to get at. You know, there's big buildings and there's, you know, depending on where you live. N: But I was like, It does look very different. The houses look very different. The way of life is very different. N: And they just thought that one of my cousins said, just to put it in the simplest way, the way that they see it over here is that it is a perfect life, like perfection. N: When it comes to jobs, when it comes to families, when it comes to money when it comes to anything that you could possibly think of. They think that the world over here is just perfect, that there's no stress, no struggle. N: And that's when it hit me. N: And I was like, well, we didn't come from a wealthy family, obviously. We do have a roof over our heads. We don't have to worry about anything financially, thankfully. But it comes with hard work. N: And I think that that moment when I went I was over there. It just made me realize why people move all the way over here. N: We said yeah, sorry, give me a second. N: Okay. N: Okay. So I was saying sorry about that. A: No worries. N: It changed my perspective on everything. It kinda made me appreciate a little bit more about the sacrifices that they did. They made for us to be here. The life over there. N: I enjoyed it because it was just kind of like a pause in my life of a moment of realization. Because I feel like over here it's go, go, go. N: It never stops. You wake up, you go to work, or you go to school. You go on about your day every single day, Monday through Friday. On the weekends. It's supposed to be a break day for people. It's family time. N: And I feel like that's just the way that it is already here. For most people is just you either work, you go to school, or you have to be doing something for your life to keep going, to keep moving over there. N: It was a pause because they don't work all the time because there's not that many jobs over there. They have to find ways to get money by doing the smallest things. Cleaning windows, like stop standing outside of a gas station and just cleaning the windows for people just to get a couple of cents. N: Anything that you can think of they make into a small business. And I mean, over there it's different. You don't have to go through the you don't have to go through anything to make it a business. N: You just do your thing, you create things, and you sell it just to just to live. N: I think that was a pause in my life of this is nice because I don't feel like my life is just go, go, go over here. You get to spend time with family. And it wasn't even just “Oh, she's ten.” It was a summertime. It was a vacation. She's she's having fun obviously. N: It was that Is this life? Every single day? N: They–the kids, some of them don't even go to school because they don't have the money, they don't have the money to buy what they need supplies, so they quit and they could be as young as five. They could never go to school at all. That's just the way life is over there. N: And there's people that work their butts off over there. And time passes. And they're still not doing the best that they can. N: They're doing the best that they can, but their dream of like trying to grow and save it so hard to do. You can't really save over there. N: That's and that's what I realized. N: And that's when, you know, light bulb went off and it was kind of like this is why they came here. Because that life as great as it was during that time, it's not the best. N: It's not it's manageable because they have to live. They have to find the greatness in it. N: But you grow up and you're not, you're almost like not a, not a person. You don't feel success. You don't feel like you've done anything over there. N: And I think that's what they were trying to make us feel. Try to be successful and try to feel that within ourselves. And that's, that's the whole reason that they moved here. N: You know, it's the land of opportunity, yes. But for a person that has moved here from Mexico with absolutely nothing because they came with no clothes, no nothing. You know, not just what they had on. N: And to start from literally nothing. N: I think that's that's what I like to say when I tell people like, where did you come from, you know, where, you know, people are always confused. [They ask] Like are you Mexican? Were you born here? Like where are you from? And it's like, yeah, I was born and raised here. N: But that–that's not just who I am. N: I'm not like I'm not just any other American over here. Your typical American that lives over here. It's there's more to me than that. N: And even if I wasn't born in Mexico, I think that that trip made me think of like something bigger, the bigger picture. And they came for our education. They came to have a better home. N: They came because they did not like the way that people ended up over there. And they didn't want us having that vision of what it's like to be up north. N: Like all the other kids that I was talking to were talking to me, you know, like, “Oh wow, How's it up north? Like what are their flies over there? Is it dirty over there?” N: Is it like, what do you guys do for fun, or what what kinds of things? What does your school look like? N: Do you guys have desks because we don't have all of that. And just talking to people my age over there at that time I was like, wow. The fact that That's their perspective on like a whole different place. N: It's almost like they're talking about a different planet. N: That's what it seemed like to me, but it wasn't it. I feel like my parents didn't want us asking those questions. I feel like they wanted us to know everything that we could possibly know about our culture and where they came from as well as how we are going to be growing up. And that's the thing. N: I feel like those conversations always happen throughout our childhood and even now at 23. I don't I feel like since I haven't been to Mexico since then. N: So I think that that was definitely life-changing in a sense where I'm a mom now. N: And, you know, it's funny because the things that my parents used to say to me, like appreciate the little things you know, you need to be raised with kindness. N: Like that's what I want for my son, is to have those opportunities to be a good person and appreciate those little things. And hopefully one day I'll be able to take them just so he can have that moment too. N: Because it's it's hard growing up with parents who came here and were never able to go back. It's hard. It's it's probably if I could have one wish, it's for them to be able to go back to that moment. And it's hard because a lot of people don't understand that unless they've experienced it themselves. N: So my son will never get to experience like, you know, being born over there or anything like that. But I think that's what's important is to carry those things in those experiences and talk about them in order for younger generations to understand. N: Just like they did to me. Like they talked about all the sacrifices that talked about their life and and all that they did for us. And it didn't mean anything until you see where they came from and you live there for two months? N: And the only thing that I would go through my head that summer was my mom's comment of “Don't react a certain way. Don't behave as if you came from something bigger. Because although you were born here in the United States, we didn't raise you to act like you have it all.” N: Because there were people when they came here that judge them that they didn't speak any English. So that's why it was very important for them to teach us Spanish and to teach us all about and to teach us about our culture and where we came from. N: And as much as they could talk and on and on and on about it. You don't get it unless you live that life even for just a moment. N: So my goal is to talk about my father's life and my mom's life and share that with my son and share what I experienced at just ten years old with him. N: And I think that's important because that is the true meaning of where you came from. You know, you didn't just come from, you can say that two came from a place all you want, but it's not it's not exactly who you are. N: And that's, I think that's probably the most important thing to me is it's families. So now I want to work hard and I want to experience all these things and I want to teach my son about how to be a hard worker, how to do his own thing, how to interact with others, and how to respect people who don't have all of that. N: So then coming back after our trip and coming back, I like I noticed I did things differently. N: Like I would turn off the water and not let it run for such a long time anymore. Or I would turn off the lights if nobody was using them or I would if we if we went to the store, I would just I would tell my mom like, oh, you know what? I don't want anything. That's time. I don't need new shoes. I have the ones I've had for such a long time. I'll just use those. N: I felt like I was I came back a whole different person in terms of like saving money and learning to appreciate what I do already have not being so needy. N: And I think I started to ask my parents a little bit more like how was work or where I could see it that they were tired and I would do something around the house for them. It's it's it's coming from there that I feel like if I hadn't gone on that trip, I would have never gone later on. N: I think I was meant to go. So I could see exactly why they came over here. N: And it looks the same as how they left it because nothing changes over there. Nothing really ever does. So it was life changing. It was a great experience. N: I feel like I'm a much kinder person. N: Obviously, it's been 13 years and you grow a lot during that time. But I feel as if if I hadn't gone, I'd probably just be not as appreciative of all of those things. I wouldn't find those things meaningful. N: I would just kind of throw them off to the side and say, Hey, you know what? This is, where I am. I came from, you know, I've never been, but that's just all I know. N: And I think it's important to actually go to those places to see and to, to bring something back. Not to just yourself but to other people. N: So now people ask me, like where are you from and all this stuff. N: And I could go on for days about all of that. N: But it's like I'm proud to be Mexican and I'm proud to speak Spanish, and I'm proud to talk about my culture and I'm proud to talk about my parents hardships because that's that's who I am. N: It's not just about me, it's about all the people and all the factors that came in together to raise me, to build me N: You know, I am like my dad. I am my mom. I am that I’m Trancoso and everything that has to do with that place, that that's who I am. N: And I don't know. I think I think that's what's the most important thing for me, is just knowing all that and soaking it in. So after coming back and to this day, I'm still very picky about like certain things, you know, like if you're not going to use the water, then turn it off or if you're not going to be in that room, turn the lights off. N: Like it takes a lot of work to get to where you are. I definitely have much more respect for my parents. They still haven't stopped working. My mom is 47 and my dad's 53. So they're still going. N: Things are very different for them here. They don't get to just retire and get money after they don't. They have to save and they've been saving since they came here just to prepare for anything that were to happen. N: So the fact that they're still working, it just shows that that's what they came here for. You know what I mean? N: They want to leave us something and just be prepared for anything that has to come so we can get into the details about that. You know, when whenever they if they decide to speak a lot about, about their life. N: But yes, That is, that is my story. A: Thank you so much for sharing that I mean, I can tell from sharing that story that this was a really formative and an important experience in your life. And when as you say, where you learned a lot about where you came from, and most importantly about how much you learned about yourself, right? A: And I'm very happy that you are able to have that experience. Because as you say, not everyone gets to have that kind of experience. So that's very fortunate for you. A: And one of the things that I'm kind of curious a little bit about. You mentioned that what you mentioned wanting to take your son, hopefully someone day back to Mexico and in a way so that he can kinda see that unexperienced that for himself. I'm kind of curious if there are any differences in terms of how you are raising your son now versus how your parents raised you? Just trying to because he's going to have a little bit of a, he's going to have a little bit more about detachment, right? Compared to you. A: And so as you as you kind of started off your story, you talked about how much your mother was trying to prepare you, going back to how that experience and what that what that would mean. So what is the kind of preparation that you think that you would give your son before heading back? Like, what how would you prepare him to be there to experience and what would you hope that he would get from that? N: I think. I mean, you could always see no, anybody can always just wait until somebody's order to understand. But I feel like my parents started telling us. My parents were very honest with me about their lives at a very young age. N: And I think it was two. Prepare me. Not just in case I visited, it's just to prepare me for the conversations that I would one day be having with people. Because people do ask people. N: I think I remember as young as like first grade people would ask me like, why was why, like why I was a little bit tan or why? Like if I was born here, if I was from a different place and I think that they did that to prepare us for those conversations. N: And I didn't think that was like, Well, I would just tell people what we got. Like I was born here. What are you talking about? But you're just so young. N: But I think that they were very honest and upfront and they didn't wait until we were older to understand, just so we wouldn't be able to be prepared for any of those questions at any age or comments. N: So what I would do is is just that is, you know, just be 100% honest with him and what kind of things he may run into. So young at school, what kind of things people ask at school. N: And I think that's the meaning of conversation in those experiences because I feel like we have to do we have to have more conversations, not just with me and my son about all of this, but I feel like in general, people need to be a little bit more informed and exposed to those experiences, even if it's just conversation to truly understand. N: So I think what he would get the most out of that is definitely I feel like he would experience the same things because even if I was to raise them to be kind and respectful and all that good stuff. N: I feel like it would be the same thing. Like hopefully he's like, great and just very respectful and it's hope, hopefully understanding everything that word is to say in conversation. Your grandpa, he came here with Grandma and all this stuff. N: But until somebody actually goes, you fully wrap your head around it. And for me it was that's why she would say those things or that's why she would warn me about about these things. N: I feel like all I could give him now is photographs or conversations and experiences and talk about those things as a family. And hopefully he's old enough to where my dad could even tell them about those things. N: And it come from direct person who actually came here. Instead of just having to hear from somebody who was born and raised here. It's very different. N: And I think that's why it's these types of conversations or interviews are important because you get a glimpse of somebody's authentic life and who they truly are. N: So hopefully it's not me having to do all of those conversations. Hopefully it's between him and my dad or him and my mom. Hopefully. We're in that that time with them too. If he ever has any questions, it's coming from somebody who experienced that themselves versus just me. So I think that's key to just keep having those conversations, those stories, keep telling them. A: My last question for you is, I mean, I think one of the things that you talked about him in his interviewer and the various conversations that you've had with your family with them just kind of asking you what was it like in the North and vice versa. Just stories that you were told, what life was like there. A: And so I'm kind of curious. Have you had a conversation with your parents about how important or how pivotal this trip was when you were ten? And if not, or if even if so, I'm just kinda wondering, what do you feel you wish to older generations or younger generations, the ones that are coming? What do you, what do you hope that they would know about your experience that is important and how you identify yourself? A: I mean, like I said, I'm kind of curious to know how much your parents, how much they know how influential this moment was. He said something that you've talked about? N: Oh, for sure. I think as soon as we got here, I mean, I started to tell him like: Oh, we went to this place and we went to, we went to the tianguis on Sunday and my tías gave me a Domingo and all this stuff like the smile on their faces was just was That's how, you know, you know, like they were they were like, Oh, well, yeah, yeah, yeah. N: Like, I feel like we couldn't have those conversations prior about those specific places and us visiting places that they've been two or 0 like we went to. La Esquina Blanca, which is in English, it's the white corner. N: But it's like this corner where a bunch of people hang out and they have smoothies and stuff like that. And just and I'd be like, Oh, we went to this place and they were like, Oh my gosh, they still call it that. N: And they, you know, I think we were finally able to have these conversations comfortably to where I truly understand like, oh, I feel like we became closer as a family because even now, she's like “Do you remember when you were ten? This this lady that you go up a little bit and then it's next to the blue house?”, like it, That's how small it was, the town. N: So I think as soon as I was talking to them about all the things I got to do, all the places, all the things that I saw, they just smile the whole time and I feel like they just were grateful that I went in. I truly saw things for myself. N: And what I would, what I would probably like my best advice to younger generations and older generations? It is for older generations to not stop talking about those things. You know, to just truly find out where your family came from. N: Like if you were born here like me and have no knowledge of anything, I think the best thing that they could do for themselves to truly find out who they are and where they came from, is to start from the root to either go there, ask about it, do research, talk to their older generation if possible. N: Because that was very influential. N: And I know, I know that. I'm not the only one that has, you know, has done that. But me and unknowingly going on vacation for two months. N: But I feel like more people need to start doing research or asking questions to get to the root of that. And for older generations to not, not stop that conversation from happening. If anything. Teach them and share all of those experiences. N: Because it is important for people to know where they came from. Otherwise, you don't know, that's a part of you. N: You can say, like I did at the beginning, I'm a teacher. I was born and raised here and that's it. You don't want to. Although people are okay with just saying that like there's just more to it than that. N: There's a reason why family is a certain way or family does certain things. I could start a tradition and it could start with me. N: But everything that we were taught came from somewhere. So I think that's important to keep, keep doing that, keep having those conversations and sharing them. Language of Interview English, some Spanish Format Video, audio only, text only Video City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Trancoso, Mexico Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Wichita, Kansas Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nydia Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Mexico to Wichita, Kansas Description An account of the resource Nydia is a first grade teacher in the Wichita area and her parents are from Mexico. Before the strict regulation of the U.S.-Mexico border, she remembers that her family used to go to Mexico more frequently. Nydia speaks about the prevalence of community and how the same sense of knowing one another is not as common in the U.S. Her advice for the younger generation is to find out where their families came from. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marta Caminero-Santangelo Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Late 1900s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Wichita, Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_8drchrvr" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_8drchrvr/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Nydia"></iframe> Community Identity Mexico Wichita Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Joohye Oh Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Maria Format Video, audio only, text only Video City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Mexico Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Wichita, Kansas Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Maria Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Wichita, Kansas Description An account of the resource Maria is a detective within the Domestic Violence/ Sex Crimes unit of the Wichita Police Department. She came to the United States as a young child and attended elementary through college within Kansas. In this interview, Maria reflects on her identity as a first generation individual and someone of Hispanic heritage. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Parents immigrated in the late 1900s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Wichita, Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_mgos7f4q" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_mgos7f4q/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Maria"></iframe> Community Education Identity Language Mexico Wichita Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Joohye Oh Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Luis Format Video, audio only, text only Video City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Santiago de Veraguas, Panama Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Lawrence, Kansas Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Luis (L) Joohye (J) L: My name is Luis Sanchez. I'm a Panamanian student from Panama, Santiago de Veraguas, Panama. L: I came to the United States for the first time ever. That was 15 years old. I was in high school in Panama and they won a scholarship to–for an Intensive English Program in Northwest Missouri State University, which I stayed for two months. L: That's pretty much of a bubble when I went over there in the sense that everything was provided, you know, like very like our interaction was…not manipulated. That's a strong word, was controlled or when did we go out? We went out. L: I was 15 years old. So I guess it's understandable. L: Then I went back to Panama with a pretty clear sort of impression of what life in an academic environment looked like. L: For the next years of my life, up until I was 22, I stayed in Panama when finished my finish high school. And I got my undergraduate degree from the University of Panama. And then when I finished that, I was working in a call center and I got this opportunity to come to Emporia State University, in Emporia, Kansas to be a GTA, a graduate teaching assistant for the composition department, for the English department, sorry, in the compensation program. L: So I decided to go ahead and do that. It was pretty rough. That opportunity was a great opportunity and I am pretty grateful and, you know, like all the things that I experienced or valuable, however, it was very difficult to go through it financially speaking. L: Emotionally speaking, it was a little bit of a roller coaster, but I was already in that–already, that kinda person in that point in my life in which I was very open to changes. L: I guess I was raised with this mentality of just take whatever opportunity you can No. Just kidding. But yeah. I was raised with that mentality was like take whatever opportunity you can–carpe diem. Abroad, study abroad. I'll just go for it. That's why I went, but I wasn't really thinking everything that it meant. L: It meant living on a minimum wage salary because that's what they paid me at that time. In here in Kansas, it was like $7.25 an hour and 20 hours max. So what was making? I was very, very tight budget. L: But I did that for two years until I graduated The English with an English MA. Ironically, all the classes that I took over there [at Emporia State] were related to Latin America. Well, most of them, not all of them. Of course, you have to take your rhetoric classes during history of English classes and all that. L: Because up until that point, I thought that I just really wanted to do English literature. I want it. I liked literature, I like reading books. I liked the discipline and I wanted to know more. And English gave me that sort of leeway, that door that I could begin doing that. I said I can do that over there and just getting my degree, but by the end of my master's program and I'm Boys State University, I had all these classes that had to do with Spanish Literature. In a way, I mean, look, look, look. I was looking at them through the lens of this English studies or English literature sort of thing, so to speak. L: So, you know, I had a very good mentor. Her name was Rachel Espalding at Emporia State shia helped me a lot. She got it in yellow and she gave me a lot of advice on what to do and not to do. And I remember her saying that after I was done with my masters, she was like, “Hey, if you don't know what you wanna do, why don't you stay here and you teach Spanish for a year? And then we'll see what happens after that.” L: And the idea of teaching Spanish at that point was a little bit like weird for me because I had been studying English over time. And teaching my own language wasn't something that I had like seriously considered or had done before in my life. L: So I went ahead and thought about it and decided, you know what, I'm gonna do it and I have a lot of momentum, so to speak, in my life right now. And I'm gonna go with it and see where it takes me. L: So I taught Spanish for a whole year after I [graduated?] with my MA in Emporia State. And then in order to be able to do that, because I was an international student, I enrolled in a class that has something sort of like related to teaching. And that was TESOL, which was teaching is teaching digital English as a second language. The problem was that the TESOL program at ESU as a completely online. As an international student, that's not something that's allowed. You have to take face-to-face classes. One thing one way that we did to go about it was that I was also enrolled in this program for IDT, instructional design and technology. That was face-to-face. I was getting a certificate and IDT taken face-to-face classes on that while I was taking all the online classes for the TESOL program while I was teaching Spanish simultaneously. L: So I was doing that. I did that for a year. L: The problem was that just teaching Spanish just wasn't doing the trick for me. I was still missing the literature reviews, reading the novels, analyzing them, or reading nonfiction. L: And I love doing that. L: And I was like, I'm a little bit not doing what I wanted to do. L: So I was like maybe I can start applying for a PhD programs. And this is when again, my mentor told me is like the best way I think I could start it you can do since the market right now for jobs after you graduate is pretty tight is to try to diversify and use that Spanish background that you have. So you can be in the position you want. And she said, I think a masters or a PhD in Spanish literature would really do the trick for you because since you are interested in, in literature is you're just switching the language, but you're still basically going to be doing the same. And you can focus in on those papers that you've written for us in the last years that were in Central America, Central American literature in the Boom. And it's part of, it's part of it all. L: And I was like, sure, that sounds like a good idea. L: So I applied okay, use It's very important to department Spanish and Portuguese PhD program that year. And it was a little bit it was a bit weird because I ended up being accepted into their masters program instead of their PhD. L: So I was upset, but in hindsight, it was it was for the best. It was necessary. That's how we needed to happen. I just I just needed to trust what was going on in that moment. L: But in the moment I was upset. I remember that was like No, and I was planned blah, blah, blah. But anyway, I entered KU’s department of Spanish and Portuguese masters program in 2019. Oh, actually, sorry. Fall 2018. If I'm not wrong, I could be wrong about that one. L: Then I started doing my masters there. I really liked it. I think I was in a place where I was doing what I want it. I studied very hard. I made friends there and got to know the professors and it was great. L: And it was a lot better than, you know, financially than than I was when I was an ESU because the feeling that was the most recurring for me was of this being pinned to the wall. Sort of like a sort of like a like a rag doll or something like that where you are like leaning against the wall and then there's little pins that don't let you move and there's like little things that you can do. And that's how I felt a lot of times when I was at ESU. L: Not really because the people there, because I met wonderful people there. But it was mostly because of the situation. I was making. I wasn't making enough money because as an international student, I couldn't work outside campus. There were very limited options I had; my parents couldn't send me much money or any money at all because they just don't make them. What do you want to compare two here. Compared to here. L: And so I was, there were many times in which I seriously considered going back to Panama. And I was, I was lucky and fortunate enough that I met people that were willing to help me and that went outside of their way to help me do that thing, do this thing. L: So I cannot say that I did that just by myself. I had a lot of people helping me. L: There were a lot of times in which if somebody hadn't intervened, I wouldn't have been able to do it. L: So my experience is not like, Oh, I just went and did this thing, everybody else can do it. That's that I feel like such a fake to say that because not–that would be assuming that everyone's going to have my same luck. L: You need both things: You need your luck and your preparation. L: Both things to be able to do it. And that is I think the most of your current feeling that I had, at least during my time in Emporia, I came to KU and that decreased a lot, I would say. But I was still feeling pin for different reasons. L: I think mostly because just here, I feel like this country is a lot different than Panama in terms of health care. Obviously, that is one of the things that worried me the most and one of the reasons for why every time my mom asked me, “Are you planning to stay and get a job over there?” I always answers like, “I don't know if it's” because I don't yeah, it's great and it makes a lot more money than I would probably ever make in Panama. L: But I don't I'm afraid that one day I will have an accident and then I'll, you know, financially screwed forever because fricking health, health care is just not good enough. L: One of the things that really worries me is how fragile. The whole thing is. How I'm just basically going on the momentum of things just hopping from one opportunity to the next one. And then the moment that something goes wrong, there's very little contingency that that can happen. I can say that now I have built a little bit more of a pillow for it. If anything ever happens. L: That's like in the great scheme of things, it's not much. L: And I can't imagine why, like newer generations of students or people that are just beginning to do this are going through because it's only going to refer. L: Here. I wasn't part of the story I was telling was that I was at KU. Do my master's. I finished it. I finished my masters in Chapter two years of completing it, and then I applied to do the PhD program here so I can continue working on what I wanted to work. L: And here's what I am. And my third semester of my PhD program, it's been a little bit over six years. And in the United States, I left San Diego to work in and poorest state. L: That is more or less made journey the United States has been in a lot of decision-making, having to be super flexible, not letting stress completely overwhelm you because that's not as a survival strategies like just letting stress just numbs your mind and you can't just think clear. L: And that's something that I had to I had to deal with but, but deal with, but stress was still there nonetheless. L: I can talk about this very particular time. Just very good example of one time I was super stressed when I was in Emporia. I had to leave my apartment because my roommate and I were having a lot of disagreements and I had to live it and I didn't have enough money for a deposit for a new apartment. L: And I can only afford an apartment that was under $300 a month. That's as much as they could afford on my paycheck on that considering all the discounts they did and all the fees that I had to pay the university. L: So for whatever reason. Somebody let me stay in their apartment for like two-three months. But even after that, I was also going trying to say the least, this extra little room there, but for whatever reason, I ended up finding this apartment that was under $300. And it was like a very small studio apartment. And asked what I was going to decide that this is where I'm going to live for the semester. L: However, I had everything set up until they said that the deposit was twice the amount of rent and you'd have to pay this this and this. And I just simply didn't have that kind of money. It was like $500. And I remember one of my friends said she asked “What's up? What's the matter? What what's happening?” And I said “I'm seriously considering just not finished my masters here and just go back to Panama with the little money I have. Buy a plane ticket, and just go back to Panama tomorrow night. And that's because I cannot afford an apartment.” L: It's kinda like playing checkmate and that is just playing chess and there's just no more moves, like absolutely no more moves. And then she said, “I'll write you a check, you'll pay me back whenever you have it.” And she let me borrow $500. Now I was like thank you very much. I didn't have any words. I was like, okay, this is, this is one thing that's happening. L: And I really appreciate it. Appreciate it in unfortunately, that person and I are not really talking anymore other than other things that have nothing to do with it. L: But I really appreciated her her gesture and she helped me and that's that's a big part of the reason for why I'm still here today. Because I found people in the way that we're willing to help another person. L: And then that's one example of one time that I just felt like super, super like I don't I don't think this is going to work out and not because it has nothing to do with my will to work. L: It wasn't because I was being lazy, wasn't because I wasn't being focused enough or it wasn't because I wasn't working hard enough–it was entirely and absolutely because the rules of the game, how everything was set up, there were just no more moves, so it's no more possible options for me to be able to stay in the United States in that, in that fashion. L: So that's one thing that happened where I felt like this was just not meant for me to happen. I was just lucky that somebody helped and stepped in. L: And then I lived in that apartment for I think it was a little bit over a year, year-and-a-half. L: The reason for why I ended up leaving, because the landlord did not respect the rules of my contract. And they tried to kick me out a month before. L: Yeah. L: They tried to kick me out amongst a whole month before my apartment under the claim that they said that they didn't have a payment for my rent, which I had receipts and everything. L: So they proceeded to throw all my stuff away out of the apartment and keep them in this little room, but they threw a lot of it away. And when I protested and I said, “Here's the receipt” and it's like, okay, we were in the wrong and I was like, “Okay, now I want you to pay back for the match rates and those stuff.” And they basically said, we're not going to pay for something old. Something–appear as if it was new, since it was old, they didn't want to pay it at all. L: And I had I had to go to the Emporia small claims court. I had to talk to a lot of people. It was very stressful, but it was one of those times where I just felt like the world wanted to just mess mess me over, screw me over essentially. L: After like three months of talking to them and going to small claims court, I got some money back and some replacement. L: It wasn't really much compared to really the damages, but I didn't know what I was doing. L: I had never sued anyone because that's basically what I ended up doing. I didn't know how much money to ask or anything. L: But it was [exhales] it was very stressful and a horrible situation that I don't wish on anybody. L: Yeah, That is a good example as though when I felt like there's not very many options for me. There's not very many things I can do to just keep moving forward, you know. L: So yeah. L: And then luckily after that…After after that happened with my landlord and the awful experience of essentially being wrongfully–it's called wrongful eviction, wrongfully evicted. I lived with my with my girlfriend for a month. L: And then I will put a month. I think it was a little bit over that until they completely moved over to Lawrence because I started my program at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. L: So that's basically two examples that I can give when the times where things it was the darkest hour, I guess, where I honestly didn't know what I was gonna do and then know what I was going to live. Didn't know what the heck was going to happen. If I didn't, I was like, Oh my gosh, if I didn't know these people, there wasn't somebody that I that I can say, “Hey, can I stay over at your–at your house for the night?” L: What would have happened? L: You know, and–and I know I'm sure that people would say it's the Lord's or some religious explanation. I myself, I'm not a very religious person. L: But I can say that it's, it's pretty messed up that you want to excuse, that you would try to excuse a system from its failures by saying like, Oh, this is some, how we're supposed to happen. L: So I found a lot of people in my life that would tell me, try to tell me that and it would particularly annoyed me to hear that “no, this is not how it's supposed to happen.” This happened because the lack of consideration for for for people that don't make that much money. L: I don't know…There's been many instances in which I feel like there are institutions, there are situations, at least here in the United States and this part, part of Kansas that literally prey on the poor. L: They judge one people to be poor and those are the ones that people like the most vulnerable. L: And like like my fricking landlord that they thought I wasn't going to do anything because I was an international student. As I'm not gonna pay your things new because they were old. L: That's that's expecting me to just be like, okay, you know, humble down and back down. And I was like No, no, no. L: So that was my first, That was my first year as an important and I'm just saying the bad things to make some sort of statement. L: But at the same time, I also met a lot of great people, people that were willing to work at. Again, people that helped me, people that consider that I was in a very vulnerable situation in my life. And that's mostly what I am grateful. I am grateful that I may make awesome connections. J: And I don't just study them because of what they did for me. But because I was able to learn a lot from them. L: So yeah. L: I don't know if there's anything else that you would like me to do. J: I really appreciate your specific examples. And yes, that's exactly what we're looking for in the way he told her story was absolutely perfect. J: And also, I'm curious, would you be willing to share some more positive, brighter, specific examples from your life in contrast to the ones you share? L: Well, as I said, the fact that somebody let me say that when when I needed the most, it was something that I thought was like, I don't think that many people back in Panama would do this for me. L: But I can tell you one quick, that sort of set set the mood for everything that was to come. L: The first night that I arrived in Kansas City and MCI on the airport, there was a pandemic. There's a Panamanian teacher, professor at ESU, that it was the one who helped me with everything and set everything up. He was my point of contact and everything right. L: I was supposed to stay the night with in his sleep on his couch for the night and then he was going to help me find an apartment and a blah blah blah and for whatever reason that didn't happen as planned. L: He I think he would he got to basically doing things that he got that night, but he was just picking up his phone. And I was very worried. I didn't know what I was going to sleep. I didn't know a single soul in this part [of Kansas]. L: It was three in the morning. It was cold and it was dark. And I didn't recognize. Because it's my first day in the United States after, you know, ever since I was 15, as I said before, that that was very I was very worried. L: But anyway, so I was about to stay the night at a hotel. That's what it was going to do. I was like, Okay, he's not picking up. It's almost three in the morning. And I need to sleep; I've been traveling all day. L: And tomorrow. I mean, saying they actually mean in the morning, I need to be somewhere for the orientation. It was like I had to be there at nine in the morning, so I was just going to sleep for a few hours and then pack up my stuff. L: And I was I was looking for hotels and I was looking for a place. And then somebody came to me, somebody from Emporia from the, I think it was like local church members that would volunteer to help or greet international students. And he was helping me call the hotels or the more like the cheapest possible option. L: And then I remember he said he said, “I want you to hang up that phone. And just would you mind sleeping in my couch?” And I was like, “Yeah, that would really help me. That would really help me because all I need us to sleep for a few hours, getting my stuff and then go to the introduction.” L: And then that's why what I did. I slept in his couch and I was very grateful that he did that. And then I spent the rest of the day–the rest of the day. Next morning, I guess, walking around campus with suitcase on my hand, going to the workshops with my suitcases and my hands and trying to get a hold of the professor that was supposed to help me. L: And until the very end of the day, it was like at 7 P.M. when he finally answered and it was like, Dude, where have you been? L: I remember I remember that. I remember that his kindness that his name was Karen foresight. His kindness not only set the tone for what was to come, like, how my ears, we're going to be like, yeah, this is gonna be harsh and you're going to need people to help you. L: It was like you also have to be more flexible and be ready. Be ready that sometimes things have just not going to go the way you think they're gonna go. L: That was, that was like, uh, you could, you could think of it as like a negative moment, but you can also think of it as a positive in the sense that as a stranger that just helped me out and as the reason for why it's a big part of part of the reasons for why I'm here. L: Because somebody came and helped me. L: Another good thing is that I can call, I can, I can mention at the top of my head is the-the professors. The professors that I met at ESU. They were great. They were passionate about what they did. They lamented the fact that the university wasn’t paying me enough. They lamented the fact that I wasn't such a tough situation and they just tried to help me. L: I don't think that I would have become as passionate and interested in. I feel that I'm doing right now in getting at PhD, if I hadn't met the professors that I met in Emporia and the professors that are made here at KU, they served us as a model. L: And and I just I don't know. I think that before I came to the United States, I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life or what I wanted it to look like. L: And I've been able to sort of like mold my thinking. Not just really like who I am, but like my, my thinking how, how do I want to approach life? L: I like the fact that now I can be like, What do I want my life to look like in five years? Why do I want my life to look like in a few months? Do I want to be in a situation that looks like this? L: That has been just invaluable. And that is the most positive thing that I have from this journey. L: It's been this experience that has helped me grow and it has helped me become a different person that I don't think my parents or my sisters or any of my relatives would recognize, you know, I don't think I'm the same person that left the airport at that so much time ago. L: Yeah. L: Does that answer the question? J: Yes, it does. J: And you did touch on this end. I was wondering if you mentioned having it was important to you that you grew up with with sort of like an open-mind or like that mentality, you know, like let's take these chances. And also you stressed how it was really important to be flexible in a lot of your situations. J: Is there anything else you'd like to add on for just general advice or wisdom reflecting back on your journey or everything you've learned? L: Well–I'm not entirely sure that I would call that open mind. I mean, yeah, it sounds like it and I can see why it is, but it's more like… L: Okay, okay, how about this? L: It is very common, I think, the idea that the idea here in the United States that if you live with your parents, that turns–tends to not have a very positive connotation. It tends to be more like, oh, you're a loser type of thing, right? L: And that's usually because your parents or parents here, generationally speaking, they tend to have a lot more money than their children, right? That's fair. L: Not all the cases. This a generalization obviously. I'm just talking in big, big ideas. And obviously there are things that are there like that you need to consider like race, ethnicity, and all these cases. L: But I'm just making a generalization here. To make a point. L: However, I feel like in Hispanic countries, especially in Panama, the idea is not so much to leave your parents. Like this sociality of success is not so much to leave your parents–it is more to get a job so you can help sustain the family. L: And even if you still live with them, the sign is it's okay to live–to live with your parents. What's not okay is to live off your parents. L: And so when I say like, oh, I was raised with this idea to go get it to go live the country with the idea of trying to improve, try to get the best education you can. L: So you can make money to help the family to get out of this sort of like generational–I don’t want to call it poverty–but because I didn't really live in extreme poverty, I lived, I didn't, I wasn't rich–my family was middle-class, but I wasn't. L: I cannot compare myself to a lot of my friends that were poor. L: So that's what I mean when I say this: Go, go do it. L: It's, it's more like go make some money, go get educated because this is going to, this is going to be only good for your family, you know? L: But there's a lot of things about it that are not open mind, you know? It's a traditional mentality in essence. And that's not open mind: It's just “do this so you can help your family.” L: You can help your mom. L: I remember that when I came here my thought and it still is though it hasn't changed as much, but it was more predominant. And everything I did was I'm gonna go to the United States, is I’m going to get a degree, come back to Panama and get a job. And then I'm going to buy my mom everything she wants. L: I remember that was–that was my thought. I want to buy my mother everything she wants because she does a lot of things that we've always wanted to do and I'm going to take her on trips. L: We’re going to buy her…and be her awesome son and all that. But that's not necessarily open-mind. That is, I want to stress that out. L: That is not necessarily to have an open mind because there's a lot of biases. There's a lot of things that come around with it. L: Like for instance, let me think if I can think of an example of [pause]... L: I, I think that the idea that education by itself, like getting a degree by itself, will get you out of poverty. It's not necessarily true. You know, there's, there's things that you need to get. You need different skills. You need to know people. You need to make friends with everyone, not just with the people that agree with you. L: I think with the–with the years and with experience and with meeting all these people, I became more open-minded. L: And that is something that I can, I can say. L: But it wasn't necessarily just because I wanted to go get it. L: I think it was just something that was passed along as a survival strategy from maybe people that have been a lot. I mean, disadvantaged. So does that make sense? They have been in rougher situations than I have and it can, it has been a survival strategy. L: And then again, that is not necessarily because of an open-mind. L: That's just because you need to be adaptable. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Luis Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Panama to Lawrence, Kansas Description An account of the resource Luis came to Kansas from Santiago de Veraguas, Panama. Due to limited opportunities in Panama, he arrived in Kansas to pursue a Masters degree at Emporia State University. However, things were not always so positive: when he first arrived at the Kansas City International airport, the individual that promised to pick him up never showed up. Despite the challenges, he persevered through numerous obstacles and ultimately decided to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. Today, he continues his research and studies while teaching students Spanish. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Language A language of the resource English Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_ukm3i0i4" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_ukm3i0i4/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Luis"></iframe> Community Education Identity Language Lawrence Pananma Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lourdes Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from El Salvador to Lawrence, Kansas. Description An account of the resource Lourdes is a filmmaker based in New York. She is bilingual due to her mother’s efforts to teach Lourdes as well as her younger brother and sister Spanish. She reflects on being Latina in Kansas and how several individuals have had difficulties pronouncing her name. She found learning about the American interventions in countries like El Salvador to be shocking. When asked about what the older Latino generation should know, she says that there should be less secrecy and that it is important to share stories in order to preserve histories. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marta Caminero-Santangelo Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Mother immigrated in the late 1990s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Community Education El Salvador Identity Language Lawrence Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Josef Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Michocan, Mexico to Wichita, Kansas Description An account of the resource Josef was born in Michoacán, Mexico to a Mexican father and a mother with Spanish and indigenous heritage. He was married in St. John, Kansas. He worked on the railroad through sweltering summers and freezing winters. Josef received two degrees from Wichita State University and went on to become an educator and principal in the Wichita area. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aron Muci Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource middle of the 1900s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Wichita, Kansas Community Education Mexico Wichita