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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
A name given to the resource
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.
Isabel Pel
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Sebastian Zablan
View/Download File(s)
Link to download files
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N17M5O9H03SaqOLmfr1XFRSVTwUwcu-C/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N17M5O9H03SaqOLmfr1XFRSVTwUwcu-C/view?usp=sharing</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jJGlCfncmODH7z2aSVLUTWr0Y7VbwwsQ/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jJGlCfncmODH7z2aSVLUTWr0Y7VbwwsQ/view?usp=sharing</a>
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
[Session 1, June 9,2019]<br />[Begin Audio File]<br />PEL: Today’s date is June 9th, 2019 and it is Sunday, 2:05 P.M.<br />I am going to be interviewing Sebastian Zablan for the oral<br />history project.<br />When were you born?<br />ZABLAN: I was born in January 20, 1965.<br />PEL: And where were you born?<br />ZABLAN: I was born in the Philippines in the town, we call it<br />Minalin, Pampanga, Philippines.<br />PEL: And where were your parents born?<br />ZABLAN: They were born in the same town, Minalin, Pampanga,<br />Philippines.<br />PEL: Do you remember what jobs your parents did?<br />ZABLAN: My parents, they [were] businessmen. They had their own<br />rice mill where they also traded household goods stuff to<br />different places.<br />PEL: And do you remember what jobs your grandparents did?<br />4<br />ZABLAN [ Laughs]. So basically I don’t know what their job was<br />because, I think I was two [years-old] then when my grandparents<br />passed away. So I have no recall of my grandparents.<br />PEL: How many siblings did you have?<br />ZABLAN: So I have three brothers and five sisters, and I’m the<br />youngest in the family.<br />PEL: So did you come from a big family?<br />ZABLAN: Yes. So total, we were like ten [siblings]. One died<br />when she was two, a baby, so I didn’t get to see her.<br />PEL: Did any of your family members move to America before you?<br />ZABLAN: Yes. So my oldest brother, Thomasito Zablan, he married<br />a<br />U.S. citizen, but [she was] from the Philippines also. So, they<br />got married in the Philippines and they moved to the United<br />States right after that. That was back in 1980, I think.<br />PEL: What was your academic experience in the Philippines?<br />ZABLAN: So, I went to high school in the seminary for the whole<br />year thinking that I’ll become a priest but just like they said,<br />“many are called but few are chosen.” So I was not the one who<br />[was] chosen. So right after high school, I went to college to<br />5<br />take [a] bachelor in medical technology for four years, which I<br />graduated [in].<br />PEL: Did you have any professional experience, like job<br />experience?<br />ZABLAN: Yes. So right after I graduated college, I was able to<br />find a job at the Philippines Heart Center for Asia. It’s a<br />government hospital where I was doing [a] job as a Nuclear<br />Technologist.<br />PEL: Why did you decide to move out of the Philippines?<br />ZABLAN: So, when my parents moved in 1985, so they decided to<br />petition us and since I… I wanted to be in a better place and to<br />be with my family. So I decided to move to the United States.<br />PEL: When did you move to the United States?<br />ZABLAN: So I worked at the Philippines Heart Center for two<br />years and in 1991, that’s when our petition came and so, my<br />brother… together with my brother and sister, we moved to the<br />United States in August 1991.<br />PEL:Did you move anywhere else before settling in the U.S.?<br />ZABLAN: No, that’s the only place I went. So my entire… until<br />the age of 25 I’ve been in the Philippines and then [in] 1991<br />that’s when I moved to the United States.<br />6<br />[4:45]<br />PEL: What were your thoughts about America before you moved<br />here?<br />ZABLAN: Well of course, when you say America, that’s everybody’s<br />dream. Better places, better life. You can own your own car or<br />house someday as long as you work harder.<br />PEL: Did your thoughts change after you arrived [to America]?<br />ZABLAN: No. When I arrived, that was in 1991, that’s when it was<br />hard to find a job, but with the help of my brother-in-law, he<br />helped find a job. But, this [was] in the military service,<br />which I joined after three months after I arrived here in the<br />United States.<br />PEL: What was different about living in America compared to<br />living in the Philippines?<br />ZABLAN: Living in the Philippines… it’s… life is harder and<br />salaries for employees are lower, and government employees are<br />corrupt. Whereas here in the United States, you’ll find a better<br />job and you’ll find a better salary also, or pay. And as long as<br />you work harder, you are [able] to get what you want when it<br />comes to material things, things like that.<br />PEL: Where did you first live in the United States?<br />ZABLAN: I remember, when we arrived here, my parents lived in<br />Daly City. I can’t even remember the street name but I was only<br />there for three months then I joined the military after that.<br />7<br />PEL: Did you stay with your family or were you alone [when you<br />moved to the U.S.]?<br />ZABLAN: So, the first three months after I arrived here I stayed<br />with my parents, and then that’s when my brother-in-law helped<br />me find a job and [I] joined the military. And so, I went to San<br />Antonio for the basic training for six weeks and right after<br />that, I didn’t get to go back to Daly City so I went to my tech<br />school [in the military] right after my basic training. So that<br />[was] for another eight months. Finally, after finishing my tech<br />school, I went back to San Antonio for my first base station. I<br />was there for five years as a physical therapy assistant helping<br />and working in the hospital.<br />PEL: So you worked in the military when you arrived in America,<br />but were there any other jobs besides that, that you worked?<br />ZABLAN: Since I had my Bachelor’s [degree] in Medical Technology<br />and it was hard to find a job here without any experience. So I<br />tried not to get a job that’s as… nothing to do with [a] medical<br />[training or background]. So, I waited a little, for like, three<br />months and then just like I said, with the help of my<br />brother-in-law, he was able to help me find a job at the<br />hospital, which I really like so basically that’s the only job I<br />applied for when I first came in [to America].<br />PEL: Did you professional or academic experience in the<br />Philippines help you get the job?<br />ZABLAN: I would say yes because of my Bachelor’s [degree] in<br />Medical Technology which has a medical background. It kind of<br />helped me choose hospital related jobs like physical<br />8<br />therapy,tech… so I would say that [experience in the<br />Philippines] helped me as far as because taking the subjects<br />again and different related medical courses.<br />[9:53]<br />PEL: Did you go back to school here in America?<br />ZABLAN: So just like I said, when you join the military, they<br />send you to a technical school where you take classes to prepare<br />you for that job. Like in the physical therapy [classes], I took<br />a lot of medical or science courses or subjects, like anatomy,<br />physiology, biology, things like that. And so, that was a<br />fast-paced course, so once you finish your tech school, you<br />don’t stop right there so you go to your first base and you<br />continue with your training [in the military] and taking some<br />more classes until you get certified. So, that’s what I did, so<br />it took me, I would say five years, to finish my career… or<br />courses in [being a] physical therapy assistant.<br />PEL: And did you notice anything different between first<br />generation immigrants, which is like you [coming from the<br />Philippines] and then you live in the U.S. after that, and the<br />Filipino American community, which is like other Filipinos who<br />were born in America?<br />ZABLAN: The difference you said?<br />PEL: Yeah.<br />ZABLAN: Oh okay. I’ll say, during our [referring to other first<br />generation immigrants] time, we’re more old-fashioned and very<br />9<br />conservative and we… brought that Filipino culture. While, the<br />kids who were born here, we call them millennials, though they<br />don’t know anything about Filipino culture. Basically they are<br />like… born here and whatever culture they have here it’s not…<br />they’re trying to… live by. Very liberal… they’re not so polite<br />[ laughs] -- I would say, just like… the way they call our<br />elderly, they just call them by their first name. While during<br />our time, we’re always taught to be polite with elderly people.<br />PEL: Okay and that is the end of the Oral History Interview with<br />Sebastian Zablan. It is currently 2:17 P.M. and it is still June<br />9th, 2019.<br />[End of Audio File]
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
Oral History Interview With Sebastian Zablan
Subject
The topic of the resource
Minalin, Pampanga, Philippines, businessmen, Business, Seminary, Priests, Medical Technology, Philippines Heart Center, Philippines Heart Center for Asia, Radiologic Technologist, Nuclear Technologist, United States, Military, Salaries, Daly City (Calif.), San Antonio (Tex.), Physical Therapy Assistant, Technical education -- Philippines, Culture, Immigration
Description
An account of the resource
Oral history interview with Sebastian Zablan, interviewed by Isabel Pel
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
6/9/2019
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Audio Recording and Transcript
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
ucdw_wa014_s001_0037
Business
businessmen
Culture
Daly City (Calif.)
immigration
Medical Technology
Military
Minalin
Nuclear Technologist
Pampanga
Philippines
Philippines Heart Center
Philippines Heart Center for Asia
Physical Therapy Assistant
Priests
Radiologic Technologist
Salaries
San Antonio (Tex.)
Seminary
Technical education -- Philippines
United States