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Dublin Core
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Title
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Filipino Immigrant Oral History Project
Publisher
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Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies
Description
An account of the resource
<strong><br />Note: Collection upload in process</strong>
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview.
Jenny Khoeut
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Jaselle Abuda
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
[Session 1, June 6, 2019] [Begin Audio File] KHOEUT: Alright, it is June 6, 2019 and it is 9:03 PM. This is Jenny Khoeut interviewing for ASA 150 Filipinx American Experience class and today I am interviewing ABUDA: Jaselle Abuda. they/them/theirs KHOEUT: Alright, and let us begin. So I’m going to ask you a few questions, just about your life history, experience, and journey here to America. So what is your name? ABUDA: My name is Jaselle Abuda. KHOEUT: And where and when were you born? ABUDA: I was born on July 2, 1996. KHOEUT: And where were your parents born? ABUDA: Same town. KHOEUT: Um, do you know what jobs your parents did when they lived in the Philippines? ABUDA: In the Philippines, no. KHOEUT: And what about what they do now? ABUDA: What they do now is that because my dad has disabilities, he doesn’t work anymore but my mom works as a CVS assistant in the hospital. KHOEUT: Okay, thank you. What about your grandparents? Do you know what they did and what they are doing now? [2] ABUDA: Yeah, I’m not sure if my parents did this back in the Philippines, but my grandparents were families of farmers, small owned lands in the provinces, we, I think we grew rice, small plants and then to either sustain ourselves or sell it to the community market. KHOEUT: Okay, cool. I wanna ask you a little more about your family. So do you come from a big family? ABUDA: Yeah. KHOEUT: Yeah? How many siblings do you have? ABUDA: I have a total of five siblings, including myself KHOEUT: Okay ABUDA: I mean 4. KHOEUT: 4 siblings? ABUDA: One unfortunately died. KHOEUT: Sorry to hear that. Um, did any of your family members or relatives move to America before you? ABUDA: So a lot of my dad side moved to america moved to america way before any of us. I believe the first one that moved here is my aunt. She’s the second oldest or the oldest out of my dad side Khoeut: Okay, do you know how that journey was like for them? ABUDA: I know snippets of it, because it’s kinda hard because she has a mental disability so conversations with her is kind of hard, but from my knowledge it was all because she married a person from the military. KHOEUT: What age did you migrate to the US? ABUDA: i migrated around 5 or 6 years old [3] KHOEUT: Do you have any academic experience when you lived in the Philippines? ABUDA: I did preschool and a little bit of kindergarten KHOEUT: Can you tell me why your family decided to move to america or move out of the Philippines? [ 4:38] ABUDA: One of the reasons my parents and my family moved to the US because they really saw how bad it was especially during Marshall Law. My dad explained that it was really hard it was a very difficult time not only for him but everyone else in the family, so what they wanted was a better life not only for us but for future generations KHOEUT: Thanks did you move anywhere before settling in the US or did your family move anywhere? ABUDA: They did here and there. I think mainly from Seattle to LA to Sacramento: KHOEUT: And your family is still in Sacramento? ABUDA: Yeah, well most of them at least KHOEUT: Okay, do you have any thoughts abouts America before you moved here? Did you family have any thoughts? ABUDA: I thought America was its own planet because I always thought each country was in each own. [laughs] I don’t know how to describe it because the plane when you were a young kid it’s kind of a big jump from the provinces to another country so I always thought it was something foreign something new. I didn’t know what I was going to what I was putting myself in. KHOEUT: What about your parents? What did they think? ABUDA: They thought that the US was a great opportunity to make a family and build a family because the education here is free, the K through 12 at least is free. They saw the opportunity for us to receive education the way that they weren’t able to in the Philippines. [4] KHOEUT: Okay, moving on. Did you have any impressions about the culture or politics of america before moving? ABUDA: I did not. In what way? KHOEUT: Like when you were younger? ABUDA: No. KHOEUT: No? Do you know if your parents had any impression about the culture? ABUDA: I think they know about the racism and bias in the workplace, especially for my dad and yeah what was the question? KHOEUT: The impressions about the culture or politics before moving to America? ABUDA: I think a lot of them thought was better like I guess the way of living. A lot of them were I guess full assimilation. They wanted us to be fully assimilated into American culture, because they didn’t want us to struggle in America. KHOEUT: After settling and living in America, did those impressions change or alter at all? ABUDA: For my parents? KHOEUT: For your parents and for you? ABUDA: Definitely yeah. I think they realized that although it’s kind of better compared to the Philippines, the same problem such as poverty and working harder than you should is the same here then there. So like all their struggles didn’t leave the Philippines. It was the same here in the US. KHOEUT: So what was different about living in America as opposed to living in the Philippines? [9:49] [5] ABUDA: So something that was different was especially the environment especially in the Philippines or in my region, it was predominantly trees, fruits that you could pick out of the trees near my house. Just being able.there‘s a different connection to nature in the philippines compared to here where it’s predominantly buildings, building structures. KHOEUT: What do you have a preference living in? Would you have rathered stayed in the Philippines or continue to living here? ABUDA: As a young person or now? KHOEUT: Now. ABUDA: Now I think I would’ve lived in the ph because it’s simpler there and also it’s just different there. And also, but I know there’s things that I can’t run away from and the situation in the ph especially for my family in the Philippines, we’re not the migrants that migrated to the Us who were educated and well-off and have financially stable. I think that will always be a dream not only for me but for all of us here and like yeah I would love to live in the Philippines, but I don’t think it’s sustainable considering the state of the Philippines and like I don’t know you have to work harder than you should to survive. KHOEUT: So earlier you mentioned you went to school in the Philippines. Did you go back to school here in America? ABUDA: So my situation is I came to the US at 6 years old and then I stayed here for 3 more years. Did and finished my kindergarten years here and then went back to the Philippines at 9 years old and stayed there for 3 more years so I was there for 1st grade and 2nd grade and then after that 4th grade, I started 4th grade in the US, so it’s like a back and forth situation. Sorry I didn’t give you that context. KHOEUT: No worries about it. Can you describe how that transition was like and if you can what was different about the education. ABUDA: The education in the Philippines is by period, from what I can remember. Its by period where the 1st period was like math or science and then there’s so the curriculum that I was exposed to there was always math, science, social science, I guess that ties into history, and then Tagalog as the language and then English as the language. That was kind of a little too much. I didn’t excel in Tagalog. I didn’t excel in English either, so I don’t know. [6] [15:00] The transition to the US is that although I had a fundamental understanding in English, I wasn’t fluent. So coming to the US around 4th grade to 6th grade, I was always taken out of the classroom to go to a different classroom because I was considered ELS, English learner student. We would always have separate worksheets that I would do for English, so have me be more fluent and meet the requirements to pass to the next grade. Yeah, okay. [laughs] KHOEUT: [laughs] Okay. What generation would you consider yourself? ABUDA 1.5 KHOEUT: 1.5? Okay. Do you notice anything different between 1st generation immigrants and Filipino Americans? ABUDA: I think I see a difference because in the first generation there’s certain ideals that they’ve been exposed to in the Philippines compared to in the US, so I guess there’s a hint of or a mixture of American culture, not to say there’s no influence of Ameican culture in the Philippines but there’s more here in the US [pause] KHOEUT: Okay. ABUDA: Oh wait, I want to add this in. A lot of what I noticed is that there’s always this push for authenticity within the Filipinx diaspora where the Filipinx migrants from the Philippines to the US feels more authentic than their FIlipin American counterparts and that’s something that troubles me because the notion of authenticity is kind of in a grey area and it doesn’t necessarily define a person or country, and I’ve been seeing that throughout my years in the US and the Philippines, and all around my community. KHOEUT: Okay, thank you for sharing that. To end this interview, can I ask what you believe is culturally authentic or what makes someone Filipinx? ABUDA: I think what I believe what makes someone Filipinx is not forgetting Filipinx American and Filipinx history. As much as there’s hurt and trauma in our history, in Filipinx history such as 330 years plus 4 years of Japasnese colonial and 48 years and beyond of US imperialism. [7] [20:00] I think that even in those histories, they’re important because it not only shaped the Filipinx identity because it also shows our resistance as a Filipinx diaspora and nothing defines a person authentically but what I think defines a person’s authentic self is looking back on their own history. Not only their families histories, but their ancestral histories and not forgetting where they came from and how they came to be and how they came to exist. KHOEUT: Okay, thank you so much for taking your time for this interview. ABUDA: [laughs]
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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
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Oral History Interview with Jaselle Abuda
Subject
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Martial law -- Philippines, Immigrants -- Education, Discrimination in employment -- United States, English Learner Student (ELS), English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers, Education -- Philippines.
Description
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Oral history interview with Jaselle Abuda, interviewed by Jenny Khoeut
Date
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6/6/2019
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The Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies and the UC Davis Asian American Studies department holds intellectual control of these recordings. Usage is restricted for educational, non-commercial purposes only. For other uses, please contact archivist Jason Sarmiento at ajsarmiento@ucdavis.edu
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Audio Recording and Transcript
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ucdw_wa014_s001_0023
Discrimination in employment -- United States
Education -- Philippines.
English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers
English Learner Student (ELS)
Immigrants -- Education
Martial law -- Philippines
-
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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
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Filipino Immigrant Oral History Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies
Description
An account of the resource
<strong><br />Note: Collection upload in process</strong>
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview.
Geryko Menta
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Joy Callejo
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
Filipino Immigrant Oral History Project “Filipino MENTA-lity”
Oral History Interview With
Geryko Menta
30 May 2019
Davis, California
By Joy Callejo
UC Davis Asian American Studies Department
[30 March 2019]
[Begin Audio File]
CALLEJO: This is Joy Callejo a student at University of California, Davis interviewing Geryko Menta, an NPB major at University of California, Davis. This is for Asian American Studies 150 in regards to the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies. I will be asking questions for him in regards to how he was prior to living in the United States and his current situation in the United States. So Gerkyo, where and when were you born?
MENTA: Hi, so my name is Geryko and I’m an immigrant from the Philippines. I was born in January 4, 1998 in the city of Olongapo in [the] province of Zambales.
CALLEJO: Where were your parents born?
MENTA: My mom was born in the city of Palawig also in Zambales and my dad was born in the city of, also in Olongapo city.
CALLEJO: What jobs did your parents do?
MENTA: Well my mom started as a cashier at a hardware store and she eventually worked her way up as a math teacher and my dad was originally an architect. That was the career he pursued back in the day.
CALLEJO: Do you know any information about your grandparents like what jobs they did or where they were born?
MENTA: Yeah, so for my mom’s side, my grandpa, he was a farmer. They mainly just worked on the-- their fields. They were taking care of their crops. And my grandma was just at home taking care of the family because there was a lot of them so she had to take care of everyone. For my dad’s side, I’m honestly not sure. I never asked my dad’s side what their jobs were but from what I can remember they were a little bit more well-off so they had a more financially stable life so I never really bothered to ask them.
CALLEJO: Was it also in the same places that your parents were born or were they, at like, different cities?
MENTA: My grandparents were originally from the city of Bataan, which is a little bit far off from Olongapo but, yeah, they weren’t born in Olongapo, my dad was and they eventually moved to Olongapo together and lived there.
CALLEJO: Okay, so we’re gonna talk about your siblings. You can also talk about how, like, your family lineage, if you know anyone older than your
grandparents, if you’ve talked to them but we’re gonna start with your siblings. How many did you have, or how many do you have? Do you come from a big family? Yeah.
MENTA: I’m an only child. At an early age, my mom [laughs], she asked me if I wanted a sibling and I said, “Well, I like my life right now,” because I was somewhat spoiled as an only child so I enjoyed that. Well for my lineage, my family lineage, my mom’s side, she was a part of eight siblings. She was the middle child so they had a bi-, really big family and for my dad’s side, there’s only two of ‘em.
CALLEJO: Cool, okay. Did any of your family members move to America before you?
MENTA: Yes. Only my mom, well for my, like, closest family, only my mom was the first person that I know of that went to America. But for my dad’s side, I have a lot of uncles that were already in America from, like, the 80s and the 90s. They served in the military and they eventually moved to South [Southern], California. They were living in San Diego and LA [Los Angeles] and they were able to have a good life.
CALLEJO: So something I learned from ASA 150 [Filipinx Experience in the United States class from the Asian American Studies department at UC Davis] is that a lot of Filipinos dreamed of being in the military, was that the
same case for your family relatives in America or was it because they were forced to join the military.
[4:52]
MENTA: Yes, I believe that they actually had a passion to be in the military because back in the day, America and the Philippines, we had a very close bond because I would say because of World War II. We had a more positive view on what America was and so it feels I’m pretty sure from serving America in the military, in a way, you’re also serving your own nation. So-- and they also wanted a better life. They believed in the American Dream that if they’re able to serve in the military they were able to be accepted as a part of America. So that’s why my relatives chose to serve in the military. They weren’t forced to do it. And a lot of ‘em, they ended up having high rankings and were very successful, and they, most of ‘em are retired already.
CALLEJO: So you talked about having acceptance in America, was that true for your family relatives? Did that end up becoming-- did their dreams end up becoming what they hoped for when they wanted to be in the military?
MENTA: Yes, I believe so. I think in the beginning it was probably tough for them since, first off, they have to adjust to the culture in America or just being around Americans, in general. I’m pretty sure the way they act is
different from Americans. And also some of them were women that served in the military as, yeah-- they were also women that served in the military. My grandma worked in the navy and, but, at the end of the day they were able to successfully achieve what they wanted because right now they’re just relaxing, I guess, after all of their endeavors and their children and their nephews and nieces are pretty successful right now, from their hard work they’re able to, given that extra edge to be successful.
CALLEJO: Okay, we’re gonna deviate from family relatives and we’re gonna start talking about your personal experiences now. So you mentioned before or to me that you moved here when you were nine so I assume that you had some sort of academic experience in the Philippines. So what was that like?
MENTA: Well, I went to this private K-12 school in the Philippines. It was called Olongapo Wesley High School or just school, I guess, because it was K-12. It was-- it was very strict, I would say because the teachers there weren’t as lenient as they were in America. You wouldn’t really hear like them, like, calling you “honey” or like “sweetie”, you know, stuff like that. They were very blunt.
CALLEJO: Yeah.
MENTA: And some of them even have bamboo sticks. That scared me but their way of teaching was more straightforward and blunt. It was-- for me it
was very academically tough. We’ve had, well we had a lot of subjects. We also covered English so I had experience with speaking in English too. What else was there? [laughs]
CALLEJO: So how was that different from here in the U.S? You talk about it being less strict [education in the U.S.] but how about the environment? Like talking to your classmates? How is that different in America as opposed to the Philippines?
MENTA: It’s about the same when you’re talking with your classmates. You still get to hang out with them and meet new people. But I felt like the hours in the Philippines, for me, was very long. I’d say, for America, you would wake up, go to school around seven [in the morning], and then leave home, like, around right after noon, like right after twelve. For me, I went to school at like 6:30 [in the morning], ended at noon, and went back, go to class from one through five [in the afternoon] everyday. It was very different and for the most part, the experience was about the same. You still get to meet new classmates, still get to hang out with them. And yeah.
CALLEJO: Cool. Okay, so we’re gonna deviate from academic experiences. So, why did you and your family decide to move out of the Philippines? For me personally, I moved out of the Philippines because of, obviously, my parents wanted me to get a better education. Was that the same case for you all or was it just other reasons?
[10:15]
MENTA: Well, as for my mom, she was a math teacher that was offered a sponsorship, from what I can remember, to become a math teacher in America. So seeing that opportunity, she wanted to create a better future, that’s what she saw, she was following that American Dream, that these Filipinos were striving for. So when she was offered that sponsorship she immediately went to it. And she went to America with a couple of math teachers. After about a year, she wanted to bring the rest of the family and that’s how-- that’s the whole reason for me being here. And also my dad was-- he worked in Dubai. And he ended up just coming back home. It was tough for him so financially, we were a little bit unstable, I guess. And since he saw America as an option, he was also interested and told my mom that he could maybe find a job once he gets to America.
CALLEJO: So your current city now, besides Davis, obviously, did you move anywhere else before settling in that specific city or was it always just that one.
MENTA: No, as soon as we went to America, we immediately went straight to Stockton. And I’ve lived most of my childhood in America there-- or all of it actually, I’ve always lived in Stockton.
CALLEJO: Okay, do you have any thoughts about moving out of Stockton? Or do you think you’ll be settled there for a pretty long time?
MENTA: I, honestly-- I, honestly do want to move out of Stockton. I-- I prefer other places. I have a couple of places in mind like Washington. Sea-- I would love to live in Seattle or settle down somewhere in South [Southern] California. Maybe like Redondo Beach. [laughs]
CALLEJO: Ayeee. [laughs]
MENTA: But, well Stockton is an alright place but I’ve had more better places in mind, I guess, that I prefer.
CALLEJO: I see you fitting in SoCal [Southern California]. Just the way you dress too. [laughs]
MENTA: Wearing my Hawaiian shirt. [laughs]
CALLEJO: Okay, so did you have any thoughts about America before you moved here. Any-- let’s say [long pause], yeah, did you just have any thoughts?
MENTA: Oh, yeah.
CALLEJO: Norms-- like norms you thought and were actually true.
MENTA: Well, I think the most untrue, or one of the beliefs that I had when I came to America, because, okay-- since Filipinos wanted to come to America so much they glorified America, as like, as soon as you get to America, you’re gonna be set for life and well we find out, the hard way, that was not the case, there’s still poverty in America. And that was one of the things that I was misled to, believing that America was going to be a salvation for all of the problems that we had in the Philippines. No, we still had to struggle through a lot of things and we’re-- we still are. The only other thoughts I’ve had regarding America, I guess, we’re like the cultural part, like I watched a lot of American movies growing up-- Rush Hour [laughs], that was actually one of the ways that I learned English. I watched a lot of movies and I’m not sure actually. [laughs] Yeah, I don’t know.
CALLEJO: Yeah, I learned-- I learned English watching a lot of movies too. I remember Rush Hour. [laughs] So I’m assuming they didn’t change after you’ve arrived in the U.S. but I guess, talk about how you feel about it. If there is something you could change, what would it be?
MENTA: Change in?
CALLEJO: Like change, like I guess how Filipinos always thought that America would be our salvation. Like how--talk about like what could you change. What do you think should change?
MENTA: I think Filipinos should be more exposed to what America really is because we only see the good side of America. They never really show us the bad side of America. Yeah.
CALLEJO: Cool. So when you first came here to the U.S., did you stay with extended family? Because for, in my case, I had to stay with extended family because obviously it was kind of hard for us to completely settle down first. Or were you just with your immediate family?
MENTA: I was just with my mom and dad. When we first moved to America, we didn’t know about our relatives until about a year later or so. We didn’t really keep in touch with any of them until my dad was able to contact most of his relatives, or our relatives.
CALLEJO: Okay so this is going to be talking about your attendance here at UC Davis. Did you have any, I guess, career goals in mind as you began to settle down here in America? And if so, what were they?
[16:33]
MENTA: Well, when I first moved to America, I was very inspired by my mom’s hard work and determination as a math teacher so growing up I’ve always wanted to become a math teacher. Because she would also teach me mathematics during after school. So I got used to numbers, in general, so seeing her work
hard, it made me really want to just be like my mom because she’s the reason why we are able to survive nowadays. And so I wanted to continue that but as soon as I got into high school, I’ve had my doubts seeing how tough it is to deal with high school students so I thought that as soon as I get to college, when I get to college, I’ll figure out a different career path. And my parents, they persuaded me to go towards the medical field. I wanted to become a computer engineering major, in the beginning, but they wanted to-- me to go towards the medical field because that’s what most-- that’s what most parents want their kids to be. They wanted their kids to be doctors or a nurse. Which is very cliché for a Filipino family but it’s true in most families. But yeah I was essentially forced to be in the medical field but I managed to find some interest and nowadays I’ve been wanting to become a physical therapist.
CALLEJO: [laughs due to a long pause] Okay so, I guess, not completely talking about how [we] haven’t been direct-- or haven’t been talking too much about like differences between first generation immigrants-- I’m a first generation myself so I kind of have just this tunnel vision of what a
first-gen immigrant is as opposed to someone who’s in the Filipino-American community here at UC Davis. In my previous city-- previous cities, there’s been a high level amount of [Filipino Americans]. So I kind of know what the Filipino-American person or immigrant was prior to living here because I was always consistently living with other Filipinos especially like Carson, Long Beach, Redondo Beach [cities in Los Angeles County]. Do you notice anything
different between first-generation immigrants to the ones here in like our community here at UC Davis. Or do you talk to a lot of first-gen immigrants, in general?
MENTA: So the difference between like first and second-gen?
[19:56]
CALLEJO: Or just differences between like first-gen and other Filipinos within our community. Like you know who’s specifically first-generation and who’s not?
MENTA: As opposed to the ones who are just born in America.
CALLEJO: Yeah.
MENTA: So for first-gen immigrants, they know what the Philippines is like so they’re more closely tied to the culture from the motherland. So they still act more, like, [air quotes] “Filipino”. And they still talk in Tagalog for the most part, they are fluent in Tagalog. What I’ve noticed for Filipinos born in America, they don’t really appreciate Tagalog as much, I guess. Tagalog is a dying language and it’s not really spoken by Filipinos in America. And also since they didn’t really have to go through just the process of dealing with immigration or the stress of acquiring a green card
and the possibilities of being sent back to the Philippines, they weren’t really exposed to that issue. So in a way, I guess, they probably take it for granted.
CALLEJO: Do you-- do you think it’s because they don’t appreciate it, because they’ve been Americanized by their parents or just the American school systems or do you think that it’s just because their parents are not educating them enough-- or do you think there’s a cause as to why they’re not appreciating Tagalog or Filipino culture as much?
MENTA: I feel like it’s a mix of that-- everything you just said. But I’m pretty sure most Filipino parents that are first-gen, that are immigrants, even though their kids are born in America, they probably still talk to their kid in Tagalog. But, I guess, for the kids they don’t really, like, have a reason to learn Tagalog because English is the main language in America. So there’s not really a reason to. And also even in the Philippines, English is a pretty popular language.
CALLEJO: Taglish.
MENTA: Yeah, we call it Taglish. We just mix Tagalog and English together. But I also feel like it’s not-- it’s not really their fault because they weren’t born there, they weren’t exposed to it so we can’t really blame that but it’s just-- that’s just the truth.
CALLEJO: So I’m curious, have you been to the Philippines recently and is it weird going back?
MENTA: Yes, I actually came back to the Philippines this past winter break. I was there for two weeks. I was able to visit my cousins and get to hang out with them after about-- after about, I left there when I was nine, now I’m 21 now-- so about twelve years ish I’d say. It’s been quite a while. My cousins are still the same, they still treat me the same. They’re a bit shy because I’m-- I’m not American but I’m from America so they think that I’m a completely different person now and they treat me with more care, I guess, since I came from here but they have some slang there that have evolved that I don’t know about anymore. Like, let’s say I’m talking to them in English, they would try to respond to me back in English but if they can’t, they’re like, “Nosebleed,” so it’s like they say that they’re trying to think of English words in their head that their nose-- it’s too tough for them to think about it so their nose is bleeding. Yeah, that’s one of the things that I’ve noticed. Yeah, about it.
CALLEJO: So why do you think they’re treating you differently. I mean you say that it’s because they’re probably haven’t seen you in a while or so. But is it because they’re intimidated? Do you think they’re scared there might be a language barrier?
MENTA: Yeah, I definitely think that the language barrier issue, they probably thought about that but I actually try to alleviate that issue because I started to talk to them in Tagalog since they’re having such a tough time talking to me in English. I was the one that adjusted to them. So they never really had to deal with that for too long and I just spoke to them in Tagalog the whole time.
CALLEJO: So this is probably going to be my last question for you, and this is definitely a question that you may not even be-- may have not even thought about or has even crossed your mind but so I guess in saying that since you’re [a] first-generation immigrant, what do you think will happen to your future children? Do you think you’ll still be talking to them in Tagalog? Do you think you’ll be keeping up with Filipino culture, in general?
MENTA: I do believe that for my child, I want them to be exposed to Tagalog. I want them to cherish-- just them being Filipino. They’re part Filipino, that’s a fact-- they’re my kid [laughs] but I want them to understand and [laughs] to understand that they are Filipino and not just American and I don’t want them to forget where they came from-- me and I came from the Philippines.
CALLEJO: Okay thank you, Gerkyo Menta for those comments. Yeah, this will conclude this interview.
[26:24]
Dublin Core
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Title
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Oral History Interview with Geryko Menta
Subject
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Zambales, Palawig, Olongapo City, Farmworker, Farm, Bataan, United States [US] Military, US Navy, US Military Civilian Employees, Private School [Philippines], American Dream, Stockton,
English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers, Asian American Parenting, Filipino Parenting, First Generation Immigrant Family, Nosebleed [Slang], Language barrier,
Description
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Oral history interview with Geryko Menta, Interviewed by Joy Callejo
Date
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May 30, 2019
Rights
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The Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies and the UC Davis Asian American Studies department holds intellectual control of these recordings. Usage is restricted for educational, non-commercial purposes only.
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Audio Recording and Transcript
Identifier
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ucdw_wa014_s001_0004
American Dream
Asian American Parenting
Bataan
English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers
Farm
Farmworker
Filipino Parenting
First Generation Immigrant Family
Language barrier
Nosebleed [Slang]
Olongapo City
Palawig
Private School [Philippines]
Stockton
United States [US] Military
US Military Civilian Employees
US Navy
Zambales