1
50
4
-
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.
Jaynah Palma
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Trisha Garlit
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
[Session 1, June 7, 2019]<br />[Begin Audio File] <br />PALMA: Alright it is June 7, 2019 and it is 1:40. This is Jaynah Palma, interviewing for the Filipino American History Project, and today I am interviewing:<br /><br />GARLIT: Trisha Garlit <br /><br />PALMA: Alright, so let’s begin. So we are going to start off by talking a little about your child hood and early adult life. Where and when were you born? <br /><br />GARLIT: I was born in the Philippines, in the city of San Carlos. I was there until I was about 8 years old and then we moved to America. <br /><br />PALMA: Where were you parents born?<br /><br />GARLIT: They were also born in the same city. And the same with all my siblings too. <br /><br />PALMA: So what jobs did you parents do in the Philippines?<br /><br />GARLIT: In the Philippines my dad worked in the farm which his family has owned for years. So he kind of helped to like, I guess manage it and kind of kept it going and my mom was a stay at home wife. <br /><br />PALMA: So a little more on your family, do you have any siblings? <br /><br />GARLIT: Oh yes, I do! So as I mentioned earlier, I have two younger siblings. I have a sister and a brother. <br /><br />PALMA: Did you come from a big family?<br /><br />GARLIT: In terms of I guess other relatives, yes. My mom had, including herself, there were 10 of then. My dad, including himself, there were 7? Yeah, 7 of them. So I grew up with a lot of cousins. <br /><br />PALMA: Did any of you family members move to America before you did?<br /><br />GARLIT: Yes, So I had my uncle, which is the second oldest child in my dad’s side. He came here because he married his wife so then they moved to America, then they petitioned my grandparents, which are my dad’s parents, then they petitioned my dad. <br /><br />PALMA: When did you move to the US? <br /><br />GARLIT: March 4,. 2006. <br /><br />PALMA: So do you know the reason why your parents decided to move out of the Philippines? <br />GARLIT: At the time when I moved, I didn’t really know the reason behind it. I was just going along with it because I was only 8. We went with the flow, but then now as I got older I understood more and how big of a sacrifice that was. I don’t know if you wanted me to elaborate on that, like now my perspective on it. <br /><br />PALMA: Yeah sure. Go ahead. <br /><br />GARLIT: So I guess now, growing up with people, I guess I met more people that had the same experience as me. It was more of that American dream. They [Parents] prioritize our future because in the Philippines, they said that they don’t think that they could afford to give us the life we have now. <br /><br />The major things that play into that was education. I feel like here we would have more opportunities with that. So I think that was really the main reason, for a better future for the three of us [her and her siblings]. It was definitely a sacrifice on their end because during that time, my mom had to stay behind and I didn’t really understand that part of it, but I guess they only had 2 options then. It was between both my parents coming to the US or it was my dad and his kids. And obviously, they wanted the kids to have a better education, better future, so that’s why they chose their decision. <br /><br />PALMA: So you mentioned education, what was you academic experience in the Philippines? <br /><br />GARLIT: I went to a public school, just because I grew in the province and that was the only type of school they had. I was there until third grade and I guess the schooling system was like first to sixth grade and then high school. I just stopped at third grade.<br /><br />PALMA: So what were your thoughts on America before you moved here [US]?<br /><br />GARLIT: You know, I guess my dad over-hyped it. “Oh America, the land of the rich,” you know? I just think of money this. I just thought of it as a fortune, where it was like landing the jackpot once landing in America. I was eight, so that’s all I thought. That’s all my parents said when they talked about America. It was like, you know, we would have a better life. You know, US dollars is worth more so I guess rich, I don’t know. I guess that would have been the first thing I probably thought of. <br /><br />[5:15]<br /><br />PALMA: Ok, so would you say that your thoughts on America changed after you arrived here. <br /><br />GARLIT: Yes, during that time. The first few months I didn’t really think much of it because I was just adjusting. My aunts and uncles were spoiling us. They were taking us to the mall, buying us candy, chocolate. Especially chocolate as a kid, you know, you got chocolate you are good. And after that, I guess the reality of it kind of sunk in.<br /><br />I remember my dad working at a lumber company, and he worked night so we didn’t really see him and my grandparents took care of us. And so, it was like that from Monday to Wednesday. He would just drop us off in the morning and then he would come back and then we won’t see him until the next morning when he drops us off. I guess I definitely saw the big sacrifice. <br /><br />I didn’t like it honestly. I would rather be home where I lived a comfortable life where I had cousins, where I had my mom. I was missing my mom a lot. I guess during that time I had to play the mother figure for my siblings and myself. I had more responsibilities. I had to care for them on top of myself, so it was definitely rough. <br /><br />PALMA: So can you elaborate more on what was different living in America vs. the Philippines? <br /><br />GARLIT: In terms of life, with food, we have access to that and transportation was easy because we had a car here, where it was easier to get around with, but in terms of family time. There was definitely very minimum of that. <br /><br />Barely anything on the weekends because my dad would be so tired, that we would barely spend time with him because he would be sleeping, and my cousins would take us to church on Saturdays. Then on Sundays, he would say, “Oh I want to rest before I go back to work.” So definitely we lost a lot of family time. I feel like we didn’t really see each other that much or even had that connection because my dad was so busy providing the basic stuff. <br /><br />Making sure that basic needs are met, that we have food, we have clothes, a roof over our heads. But there was more to that I feel that I didn’t really get. Which was the love, the one on one time, that I got a lot of in the Philippines because we just lived a simple life. But my dad had to work harder and we had a lot of family time and that was definitely different when we came here. <br /><br />PALMA: So I’m going to move back to your professional and academic experiences. You did come here when you were 8, so you have kind of been here for a while. What jobs did you perform when you moved here as you grew up?<br /><br />GARLIT: I didn’t start working until I was in Highschool. My first job, I was a sophomore. I worked at the business office at my old high school, then I moved in the middle of the school year to Lathrop Highschool and I didn’t get another job until my junior year of high school. I worked for an organization called Students in Prevention, which is a year program educating the public, especially the elementary students on substance abuse disorder and mental health awareness. It was more like learning and school based so I didn’t mind that. <br /><br />When I went to college, I worked the front desk at my dorm. I started my sophomore year and I worked until my senior year. I also did some caregiving jobs on the side during my summer vacations and Christmas break. I worked at a care home that my mom works at. <br /><br />PALMA: So you are in college right now?<br /><br />GARLIT: Yes <br /><br />PALMA: So what are you majoring in?<br /><br />[9:53]<br /><br />GARLIT: So this is my senior year, I am a nursing major. I am currently doing the bachelors program at Pacific Union College, so I took my board exam back in February, and so I am a registered nurse and I am just going back to school to pursue an even higher education and then hopefully start applying for jobs at a hospital. <br /><br />PALMA: Is there a reason you chose nursing as a Filipina?<br /><br />GARLIT: Yeah there is. My senior year of high school, the teachers were asking and kind of helping us choose a profession and I wanted to avoid being a nurse just because of that stereotype that you are a young Filipina choosing to do nursing. <br /><br />My mom is not a nurse, let me just clarify that, but other than that it just comes with that. So I thought, oh I’m not going to do that but then my dad kept insisting “why dont you want to do nursing,” and I would tell him I don’t want to do nursing, but as I looked more into the profession itself, I really liked the stability. I think that played a major role, besides the caring aspect of it, because I grew up not really having a sense of stability financially. Growing up, I didn’t want to repeat that. That is mostly the reason why I chose it. <br /><br />PALMA: Did you notice anything different being a first generation immigrant and the Filipino American Community?<br /><br />GARLIT: Yeah there were definitely some differences. I think one of the major ones, would be the motivational kinds in the things that you do. Like I mentioned earlier, throughout nursing school there was definitely a lot of pressure because my parents have made so many sacrifices for us. They worked so hard to be where we are today. So I feel like with everything that I do, for example with exams, it would be more stressful because I look back and think about my experiences of being where I am today. <br /><br />The past situations with people who are Filipino, that were born here, I feel like they didn’t get to see the sacrifices that were made. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, but I think that it made me work harder. <br /><br />PALMA: So how has coming to America effected the person you are today? <br /><br />GARLIT: I am definitely more grateful that what I was in the beginning of this journey. The whole move made me a stronger person, just because being an immigrant here the first few years, I feel was the hardest for us. But then overcoming it, in a sense of having the stability right now made all of those few years and hard work, and all of that, worth it. I feel like the person I am today, I guess I am very grateful and I work harder to achieve my goals. It’s not just with school too, I mean in general I am always reminded how fortunate we are to be here. <br /><br />PALMA: Would you ever consider going back to the Philippines? <br /><br />GARLIT: Going back to the Philippines, in the sense of vacation here and there. In terms of living, not so much. I feel like, just because here we have family and friends here, we found a community. I guess we made a place to call home, so I feel I wouldn’t want to go back and have to restart that. That was the whole purpose of that sacrifice to give us a better life and I feel like we do have a better life here than we do in the Philippines. So yeah, in terms of that, no, but with vacations here and there to visit relatives then yeah. <br /><br />PALMA: So you mentioned that you stopped school in the Philippines in the third grade. So how was transitioning in school for you when you came to America?<br /><br />[15:00]<br /><br />GARLIT: It was rough. After we came here, I was just at home for three weeks adjusting to the life here and then I went to school. It was already rough with the fact that I was starting in the middle of the school year, and yet alone different language played a major role in that. We learned a little bit of English in the Philippines but it was only from reading books. So communication was definitely hard. <br /><br />For a couple of weeks, my cousins would come to the classroom with us. Because I went to a small church school, we only had two major class rooms, one for the lower grades and one for the upper grades. Since I was in third grade, I was in the lower grade level class, which was second to fifth grade. Anyways, it was really hard. I was really shy, and I wouldn’t really talk to people because I didn’t know how to communicate. <br /><br />What I did was, I paid attention to how they [other students] communicated and their facial expressions and based it off of that of what they were trying to say. They knew I had spoken little English, so they were very understanding but then eventually I started picking up the language and started talking. But it took a while, and they were very nice. The teacher was very understanding about it, and really helped me. She even took the time out of her day after school, and we would read books to really just help me out. <br /><br />PALMA: So did your parent speak English?<br /><br />GARLIT: No, that’s the thing too. Not really, not a lot. So eventually once I started picking up English and kind of getting comfortable with speaking it, then I started being the spokesperson at such a young age for them communicating with other people. <br /><br />PALMA: So you would say that you learned English through observing people at school. Not directly from your family member. <br /><br />GARLIT: No, not really. Well I mean my cousins that group up here and were born here. I learned a little from them, but mostly from school because that’s where I spent most of my time. <br /><br />PALMA: Ok, I’m going to bring it back to saying that there were only two options where it was either your mom or you and your siblings that come to America with your Dad. How did you feel being separated from your mom? <br /><br />GARLIT: At first, I kind of liked it because growing up, when I was little I didn’t really have a good relationship with my mom because she was more of a Boss. The person that would make the decisions, and so she would always tell me to do this, do that. As a little kid, you don’t like being told what to do, and that was a lot of the parenting style that she practiced so I didn’t really like her. I remember at one point when we would argue, I be like “I’m glad we are leaving you, and that we are going to America,” without really realizing the impact it would have. But it was definitely hard towards later on. <br /><br />I remember celebrating Mother’s Day. At first, I didn’t really know of the Holiday, so the first couple years I was like, “Oh okay, it’s Mother’s day, celebrate mom,” but a lot of my friends understood that my mom wasn’t here, especially my teacher. But then as I got a little bit older, at about fifth grade, we would always do an activity. I remember this clearly because every year we would do an activity about Mother’s day or whatever the Holliday was and I would put so much effort into that activity to the point where my teachers and cousins would say, “Wow, that’s so nice!” and then I remember just coming home and not having her there. <br /><br />PALMA: So can I ask, how long were separated with your mom and how long was you dad separated from your mom and your siblings? <br /><br />[19:54]<br /><br />GARLIT: We left 2006, and she didn’t come here [America] until 2013. So 7 years. <br /><br />PALMA: And then what year did your dad come to America?<br /><br />GARLIT: 2006. <br /><br />PALMA: So you all came the same year?<br /><br />GARLIT: With my dad? Yeah, the three of us and my dad came at the same time. <br /><br />PALMA: How was your relationship with your dad? Because I know you said that he was working, and that he wasn’t really home, or when he was home he was asleep.<br /><br />GARLIT: It wasn’t really, I’m not saying it was a bad relationship in terms of you know, like nothing physical or abusive. None of that. It was more distant, I would say. He was just sort of like a stranger. It was just like, yeah that’s my dad. Conversations were just very vague and general. <br /><br />I felt like there was really not much of a connection. And I’m not blaming him. I’m never mad looking back because now I understand why he was always at work and all that. But I feel like it did affect how I formed relationships with people. Like friendships, it was more, it was very general. Nothing personal about it. So it definitely affected how I interacted with other people just because I feel like I didn’t have that I guess… I don’t know if it is foundation. I would say I didn’t have the experience to be able to do the same thing as others. <br /><br />I know people would be like, “Oh my dad, would read me bed time stories, this and that,” but I never had that experience growing up so I was more kind of tough, not much of a soft spot just because of that. <br /><br />PALMA: And you said it was your grandparents who were taking care of you when he would work, did you live with your grandparents? <br /><br />GARLIT: Yes. So I don’t know how it is for other people but I feel like that’s very common in the Asian culture to have your grandparents live with you. And yeah, I guess I kind of had a mother figure because my grandma was there. But again, it’s different you know having your own mom. <br />But my grandparents were there, I felt like I had a better connection, a deeper relationship with them than I did with my Dad. But I am not hating on him or anything. It was just the circumstances. <br /><br />Some of my friends did not understand that. They would say things like, “Oh your grandparents live with you, we would visit my grandparents during Christmas,” and you know it was definitely different growing up. It was because my school, my elementary school, it was a lot of Americans. Not really, We were the only Asian family there. So there were a lot of whites, so they didn’t really understand that it was normal for grandparents to live with you. <br /><br /><br />PALMA: So I guess that’s all we have time for, I just want to thank you again for taking the time to do this interview with me. <br /><br />GARLIT: Thank you for having me. <br /><br />[Stop Audio File]
View/Download File(s)
Link to download files
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_9fFQGM4X1gwKk2lDwfpu_GqG3nGkixq/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_9fFQGM4X1gwKk2lDwfpu_GqG3nGkixq/view?usp=sharing</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1evmIM9bXekHqcdKmIq2dJat5Y4tr5rZL/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1evmIM9bXekHqcdKmIq2dJat5Y4tr5rZL/view?usp=sharing</a>
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 Trisha Garlit, interviewed by Jaynah Palma
Subject
The topic of the resource
San Carlos -- Philippines, First generation immigrant, Immigrant children, Farm owners -- Philippines, American Dream, Immigrant Children -- Education -- California, United States -- Immigration -- Economic aspects, Immigrant families -- United States, Family & Relationships-- Parent and Child, Lumber, Children of Migrant laborers, Transnational Families, Working Student, Immigrants -- Education (Higher) -- United States, Nursing, Filipino American Community, Education -- Language barrier in schools, Filipino Immigrant Oral History
Description
An account of the resource
Oral history interview with Trisha Garlit, interviewed by Jaynah Palma
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
6/7/2019
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_0035
American Dream
Children of Migrant laborers
Education -- Language barrier in schools
Family & Relationships-- Parent and Child
Farm owners -- Philippines
Filipino American Community
Filipino Immigrant Oral History
First Generation Immigrant
Immigrant children
Immigrant Children -- Education -- California
Immigrant families -- United States
Immigrants -- Education (Higher) -- United States
Lumber
nursing
San Carlos -- Philippines
Transnational Families
United States -- Immigration -- Economic aspects
Working Student
-
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.
Ellen Hickman
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Janelle Calaguian
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
It is June 4, 2019 and it is currently 4:05 pm this is Ellen Hickman here for the Filipino history project for the class Filipinx Experience in the US with Dr. Robin Rodriguez. Today I am interviewing Janelle Calaguian. Where and when were you born?<br />So I was born in the Philippines on June 24, 1998 in Metro Manila San Juan<br />Where were your parents born?<br />My parents were also born in the Philippines. My mom was born in Naga city, in Bicol region in the Philippines. My dad was born in Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines too.<br />Awesome yeah were those cities also where your grandparents were from?<br />Yeah so my Mom’s parents were also from the Bicol region they were based there, and then my grandparents from my dad’s side was also from Cagayan de Oro both of them are from Cagayan.<br />All right that’s awesome so did you have any siblings?<br />I have one older brother and he is currently in the Philippines right now, he graduated from De la Salle University in Manila and he studied information systems. <br />Good for him! Yeah that’s awesome. Uh yeah so did any of your family members move to America before you?<br />Uh yes so my family didn’t move to America but we have a lot of family in America, especially on my mom’s side. So three of her siblings are here. First my aunt, Auntie Edith moved here when I would say she was about 25. She’s a Registered Nurse. She moved to southern California, LA and my Uncle, Uncle Francis, he moved to San Francisco when he was, um I would say also like 23-24 years old and uh he lived in San Francisco with his wife, and then my Aunt, Aunty Mungu also lived in San Francisco. All my relatives here actually live in California. And they were all petitioned by their husbands or wives. <br />I think you mentioned that you were moved from the Philippines when you were really younger so for academic experience could you tell me about after the Philippines in Qatar?<br />So I was actually born in the Philippines but I moved to Qatar in the middle east when I was 9 months old because my dad found a job on Qatar Airways. He’s an Aircraft engineer. So I grew up in Qatar and I went to an international school like all my life and there were like many foreigners there. I would say it’s pretty similar to the education system here inn the states except we had a British curriculum, well there were also America schools but I was in a British school. So from elementary to middle school I was in a school called Al Jazeera Academy so that school typically, most of the students are actually Arab so many of them are Qataries and Muslims so like it was a different culture than mine. There weren’t many Filipinos at that time but I still managed to make friends. After grade 6 I moved to Doha British school and I was there from grade 7 to grade 12 and I graduated high school there. I actually did the international Bachelorette program so the IB diploma<br />Congratulations that awesome! <br />Yeah so I did that, so I would say that my academic experience in Qatar was really good, all the teachers were really professional and they all came from good backgrounds. Studying in an international school I was exposed to many different cultures not only to Filipinos like myself but also Indians, Pakistanis, South African like all my classmates were from different countries. We were all I the same boat where their parents had moved to Qatar to work so it was really nice learning about different cultures and making friends from different countries. <br />So what motivated your family to move out of the Philippines?<br />So my dad actually had a job in Philippines airlines in the Philippines so it’s also the same airline it’s the same industry as Qatar Airways but he found Qatar Airways was better. It payed more, higher salary better benefits. So he took that opportunity and moved to Qatar, so that’s what motivated my dad to move, then his company was able to sponsor him and he was able to bring our whole family to Qatar<br />6:00 minutes.<br />So when did you move to the United States?<br />I moved here in 2016 so when I started college so my freshman year<br />Alright so yeah that sounds good! We talked about Qatar what is your current immigration status?<br />So I’m currently on a Foreign 1 Visa for international students and it was I would say it was a pretty easy process on my end because first I had applied to all the schools that I wanted to go to like to college for so like UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Irvine,<br />So a lot of the California schools?<br />Yeah a lot of UC, and then a bunch of other California universities including state so like SF State, San Diego State university, California state Long Beach, so that was the first part of my process to become to getting the F1 Visa. Then once I got my acceptance letters in the emails it would say like “the next steps to your acceptance” <br />Now that I have accepted what do I do now<br />Yeah so you would figure out the F1 Visa and they would just like link you to the website. It was pretty easy because they give you step by step. I would just have to upload my passport, and make sure I actually got an acceptance from the colleges that I wanted to and in that case, it was UC Davis. I had to wait for the I20 to be mailed to me, and then I had to go to the US Embassy and submit all my documents. After that it took about two to three weeks to get my F1 Visa on my passport so it wasn’t that long of a process. I honestly did like everything myself because like my parents had already studied in the Philippines so they wouldn’t know how to apply to like US schools so I did everything by myself. So like my F1 visa lasts until I graduate so next year 2020, but I have the option to extend it if I want to go for like a masters program or if I want to go for optional practical training which is like working in your field of study.<br />Do you plan to stay on after you graduate or are you still in the process of working that out?<br />Currently I know I want to take a gap year in-between my undergrad and masters so in the gap year I’m not sure if I’m going to stay in the States or go back to Qatar <br />To catch up with family to relax<br />Yeah or travel around<br />Yeah that’s closer to Europe so it’s easier to travel around<br />Yeah so I’m not sure yet but I definitely want to do my masters program so in that sense I would have to extend my F1 visa, and my hopes are hopefully when I finish my masters I want to apply… I want to work in a hospital in the health field hopefully after my master’s program I would be able to land a job and so through there I can start my process of stating to wanting to live in the states. <br />What were your thoughts about America before you came here? Did you always know, “I want to go to college in America” or just like “it’s that place like my relatives are in”. <br />Honestly because a lot of my relatives are here, we actually come here every summer so it wasn’t a shock to me when I got here. Like we always come here for the summer, but I guess my thoughts on America are obviously I would say the movies like what I see on TV. And literally would be like “oh it looks so fun!” and there is so much to do everyone is partying <br />Disneyland<br />Yeah but I’ve know, that I’ve always known I wanted to study in the states and the same goes for my parents like they wanted me to study here because like because opportunities are much bigger and like personally I always knew I wanted to study here. I guess my thoughts definitely I wanted to come here because like first I wanted to experience being more independent. I didn’t want to study in Qatar. It’s not that there aren’t good universities there it’s just I wanted a different experience. To like try to be independent on my own and like not relying on my parents. And I don’t know I always thought that America would give me a better future and I know that everyone says that, that’s what motivates people to want to immigrate here because there is so much more opportunities here in the states. <br />So how did they change after you arrived? I know you said you lived here in the summers so what was the biggest change of living in an apartment setting or a dorm setting? What were like the biggest changes that you didn’t expect?<br />I guess the biggest change after I arrived. Living in Qatar the values there are more conservative. Like in Qatar just to give context you have to cover your shoulders. We’re not typically allowed to wear shorts in public because of their conservative culture and like moving here it was like “Oh I can wear anything I want now” like no one is really going to care what I wear. So that was more like culture change that I noticed also how people interact here so like just in Davis in some ways it’s really easy to make friends whereas like in Qatar it’s like making friends with Qataries or at least like locals in Qatar is really intimidating. Typically Qataries are very wealthy and like they typically look down on foreigners and like they always stay in their circle. It was like coming to the states I could talk to whoever like I wasn’t scared to socialize with people on campus and once I joined clubs, like actually I joined the Filipino American clubs here on campus <br />Like the Fill-ams<br />Yeah the Fill-ams so it was easy to make friends and it was nice knowing that there were a lot of Filipinos here in Davis and uh what else… another change is obviously living on my own. First I lived in the dorms and the first quarter was really rough for me because I’m really close to my parents and just my family in general and that’s one of the values of Filipinos in general like family is so important and being away from them first quarter like I was really home sick. I was like “could I do this? I don’t know if I can handle this by myself…” and like I just wanted to go home. But then like as the quarters progressed, I got used to it and it’s like, I was able to see my family during Christmas breaks and summers. So that eased the process.<br />Yeah that makes it a lot easier<br />But yeah I defiantly learned a lot being independent and doing things on my own.<br />That’s really cool, let’s see culture shock I think we talked about that, and then the differences. Let’s see, so did you first live in Davis or did you live with relatives? You mentioned in San Francisco or other places first?<br />So when I came in with my F1 Visa there was a period of time where we didn’t have school yet, we started like September 20 something<br />Yeah 20 something <br />Yeah I came here early September. So first I lived with my Uncle Francis I mentioned him earlier because he lives in Elk Grove which is closest to Davis. So I lived at his house with like my cousins. I lived there for about 3 weeks then after that I moved into the dorms and currently because I’m a third year, I live in my own apartment with my two other friends <br />That’s good, yeah awesome so like, that answers if you were with family or alone,<br />You could ask any other questions if you are curious <br />Yeah so like well I’m curious about the student organizations, so did you join that the first quarter or did you just over time find out more about organizations? Or did you just hop into the Asian American Study center and just find a thing<br />Ha Ha, so I think my first year fall quarter almost all of the clubs tabled at the MU so I was just walking around the MU and I was tabled by Ahmelahabated (Transcriber’s note Mga Kapatid?) it’s the main social org for the Fill-am community here in Davis and though that I was able to branch out to other Filipino orgs. Just to give you like a background like so the Fill-am here in Davis has 7 orgs for your major or what you are interested in. So first I joined Mga Kapatid like the social club to meet new people first to like make those connections and like after that I joined Filipino Americans in health careers so that’s short for FAHC and though there I was able to meet people who also wanted to go into health care like nursing, Physical therapy, dentist ect. And then after that I also went to events for FILAH Filipinos in Liberal Arts and Humanities. That club is more for like expression if you’re into poetry ‘cause they have open mics <br />Yeah so like the Filipino open mics night like we can go for extra credit <br />Yeah so like I joined FILAH and like I really like the atmosphere there so like I actually applied for a board position just cause I felt like I was really close to all the people there and I like being able to give students like in Davis a place to express themselves so I applied for a fundraising chair and currently I’m FILAH’s secretary, so I would say like I’m really involved in the Fill-am and one other thing is every year we have Filipino culture night which is like the annual show that the Fill-am present to their families and the Davis community and we really engage in our culture though dance and like singing and like acting and we’re really able to tell our stories to everyone who comes so yeah I’m really thankful for the Fill-am community here, it’s like a home away from like back in Qatar <br />Yeah! That’s great, I’m glad you found that. So have you been back to the Philippines?<br />Yes so I actually go back to the Philippines at least every year to visit my LoLo so my grandfather, yeah on my Dad’s side of the family his younger brother so my uncle is still there and a bunch of my cousins are still in the Philippines so we go there every year to visit during Christmas or the summer break. I think the last time I went was last Christmas. It’s nice going home even if I didn’t grow up in the Philippines it still feels like home and I’m still able to get that experience of like being in the Philippines because it’s so like different from Qatar and the states. You really realize how privileged we are to be, to have you know all the things we have. Like in the Philippines like in your car when you are stuck in traffic you’re going to see kids like bagging for money and like doing what they can to support their family even though they are like so young. It’s just I’m always reminded how blessed I am to be able to study here in the states to be able to have my parent’s support me to like have an education so like yeah I love going back home, it’s nice to be with family. It’s nice like being in a country where everyone is like yourself. <br />Yeah you feel like you belong <br />Yeah <br />Ok so I think that’s about it, thank you so much for talking with me. I really enjoyed hearing your story. <br />Of course! Thank you for letting me share.<br />Alright.<br />End of Recording. <br />Notes from the interview:<br />Janelle was kind enough to let me interview her after class and to sign the consent form for this interview. I asked if I could interview her after the class on June fourth after I heard a portion of her story. She explained how one of her relatives in Qatar was treated poorly since she was a service worker while her father was treated better as an engineer. As I interviewed her, I started to see how being connected to her Filipino roots influenced her life positively. One of the important aspects that helped her succeed was the strong support of her family including her nuclear family and extended families support for her as she pursued her dream of one day being able to work in the United States. Her Filipino heritage also helped her make friends, not only in Qatar but also in the United States when she joined Fill-am groups discovering friends with similar interest. I initially came to her because she was a student immigrant however as we talked it was clear that she really had a heart for others in her community. She even decided to run for a leadership position to give back to the same clubs that helped her find community when she came to Davis. A second point that stood out to me was that although she had grown up in Qatar and had spent time in the United States, the only place she really felt at home was in the Philippines. Even though she lived most of her life in Qatar and was hoping to get a job after graduation in the United States, the Philippines was the only place she felt like she belonged. She did understand some of the challenges of living in the Philippines and also why her parents had moved away for work, yet she still felt like that place was her real home. She did appreciate the freedom of dress in the United States, wearing a light summer top that showed her shoulders, or the opportunity to talk to anyone that she wanted to. That didn’t mean that the United States felt like home though. Potentially this could come from feeling like she wasn’t represented in society or the fact that she had strong connection to her Filipino people back in the Philippines. Even though she did have a strong love of the Philippines, she still felt like that there was more opportunity in the United States. This could be contributed to the effect of colonialism in encouraging a system which makes it easier to leave the country than to stay in it. That explains why her father left his job in a Philippines airport for a job in Qatar since that payed more. In the course we have continually returned to colonialism and how the countries who have been under its savage reign still suffer from some aspects such as exportation of workers. This interview did have one extremally positive example though in that showed how groups in the Filipino community like clubs helped students like Janelle find a safe network of friends far away from home. This is a victory for those who have advocated for these organizations in that it shows how one student was directly affected by those working for these organizations. It was an honor to interview her and hear about her life, history and dreams as she continues her studies in Davis.
View/Download File(s)
Link to download files
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yiWeSaKTBR9nOoHhmL3H4n77dsK4ZnNb/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yiWeSaKTBR9nOoHhmL3H4n77dsK4ZnNb/view?usp=sharing</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u198V3053UQ8UoEchagoRLGuzuBoh9Ya/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u198V3053UQ8UoEchagoRLGuzuBoh9Ya/view?usp=sharing</a>
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 Janelle Calaguian, interviewed by Ellen Hickman
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bicol, Cagayan de Oro, De la Salle University, Registered Nurse, Nursing, Qatar, International Students, F1 Visa, Filipinos in Liberal Arts and Humanities, FILAH
Description
An account of the resource
Oral History Interview with Janelle Calaguian, interviewed by Ellen Hickman
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
4-Jun-19
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
Video Recording and Transcript
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
ucdw_wa014_s001_0019
Bicol
Cagayan de Oro
De la Salle University
F1 Visa
FILAH
Filipinos in Liberal Arts and Humanities
International Students
nursing
Qatar
Registered Nurse
-
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.
Wendy Hernandez
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Paolo Banaag
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
Hernandez: “Alright, it is June 3, 2019 and it is 9:43. This is Wendy Hernandez, interviewing for the Filipino immigrant Oral History Project. Today I am interviewing:<br /><br />Banaag: Paolo Banaag<br /><br />Hernandez: Alright, let us begin. So we are going to start by talking a little bit about your childhood and early adult life. <br /><br />Banaag: Alright.<br /><br />Hernandez: When and where were you born?<br /><br />Banaag: I was born in the Philippines, Manila<br /><br />Hernandez: And where were your parents born?<br /><br />Banaag: My parents were also born in the Philippines.<br /><br />Hernandez: Do you know what jobs parents did in the Philippines?<br /><br />Banaag: My mom was a hotel and restaurant manager and my dad is an engineer. <br /><br />Hernandez: How many siblings do you have? If you have any?<br /><br />Banaag: I have two little sisters.. Well, they’re not that little anymore [laughs]<br /><br />Hernandez: Do you come from a big family?<br /><br />Banaag: Well, my immediate family is only 5. But my dad has 9 nine brothers and sisters and my mom has four brothers and sisters. So, I would say its a medium size family. <br /><br />Hernandez: And did any of your family members move to America before you?<br /><br />Banaag: Yes. My uncle did. <br /><br />Hernandez: When.. When did you immigrate to the U.S? If you by any chance remember?<br /><br />Banaag: Yeah, I came here November 2000.<br /><br />Hernandez: Do you remember traveling by yourself or with other members of your family?<br /><br />Banaag: No, we all came together.<br /><br />Hernandez: How would you describe your experience immigrating to the US?<br /><br />Banaag: It was kind of tough, because I had to leave all my friends behind but it wasn’t as tough because before coming to the U.S my family migrated to another country. When I was seven, my family moved to Brunei, which is a small country in South-east Asia. Then from there, we came to the U.S. So in terms of transitioning, it wasn't as physical.<br /><br />Hernandez: Do you know the process? [Such as] did you have a visa; was it easy? <br /><br />Banaag: No, definitely not. We actually came to the U.S with a tourist visa. We were only supposed to be [in the U.S] for a couple of months and then we decided to stay. So for a while we were actually undocumented and it was quite a process to get our green card, our social and then all of that documents.<br /><br />Hernandez: Since you did immigrate to the U.S at a young age, did you know, at the time, that you were considered an immigrant?<br /><br />[Pause]<br /><br />Banaag: I actually had a cousin who married this white guy and he, for some reason, would tell us that we were immigrants. So that’s how I was like ‘okay, yeah, okay .We are immigrants, I get it.’<br /><br />Hernandez: Did your status affect you in a specific manner? Like in education, work, etc.<br /><br />Banaag: Definitely, I came here when I was fourteen. So I went to a high school. I attended community college for two years. I actually did nursing for two years and then, when it was time for me to apply for a nursing program, they wouldn’t even give me an application because I didn’t have a social security number. Also, I didn’t have.. I couldn’t work and I didn’t have financial aid which was before California Dream Act, DACA. So I had to do a lot of under the table jobs to put myself through college. I had to refigure out my career goals and educational goals because I was undocumented. I took the bus everywhere because I couldn’t really drive; we [couldn’t] get our license.<br /><br />Hernandez: How was your academic experience like being undocumented?<br /><br />Banaag: Well, since I was still the first person in my family to go to college here, in the U.S, it was quite like nobody could really help me figure it out. I had to rely a lot on friends, counselors, professors to really figure out the way to a higher education. Again, being undocumented [meant] you don’t really know what is available to you. You don’t know kind of like where the system is just going to tell you can’t move anymore forward. So there was a lot of unknown and it was really tough to motivate myself to pursue or to continue with a higher education. But I guess I just had the right people around me, who just kept pushing me forward. I was eventually able to transfer to UCLA and majored in English. But even at that time, I was commuting from Glendale to UCLA; which is like a two hour bus ride back and forth-that how it affected my education. <br /><br />Hernandez: What jobs did you have? Like you said you did like under the table jobs.<br /><br />Banaag: I was a—. Well I worked for—. I was a receptionist at one point. And then I actually worked as a nursing assistant when I was like seventeen or eighteen. So I was like on life-input, feeding elderly people.. I was working at a convalescent hospital. And sometimes I would work from like 11pm at night till 7am in the morning. Then I would go straight to school afterwards. I kind of had to do whatever job was [available]—. I had to go anywhere where they would let me work pretty much and do whatever they would ask me to do. <br /><br />Hernandez: Did you state that you didn’t have a social security number? Did you use a fake social?<br /><br />Banaag: At the time I had a PIN number and I think they were able to use that. But they knew that I didn’t have papers. And actually, their reason that I got let go was because they were going to do an audit or something like that. So that’s why.<br /><br />Hernandez: As a first generation immigrant do you feel like there’s any difference with like within the Filipino-American community?<br /><br />Banaag: In terms of..?<br /><br />Hernandez: In terms of education experience and job experience.<br /><br />Banaag: I feel like being undocumented kind of separated me aside from the Filipinos who grew up here and have their papers. But there are a lot of Filipinos and actually not just Filipinos but a lot of Asian Americans who are undocumented. I feel like there’s a stigma where people hear like ‘Oh, undocumented people [are] only referring to the Latinx population.’ But there’s actually a big population of Asian Americans who don’t have their papers. But I do feel like the subculture that I belong to there’s not a lot of Asian Americans or a lot of Filipinos who belong in because I did have my documentation. <br /><br />Hernandez: Yeah, did you have any specific thoughts about America before you moved here?<br /><br />Banaag: [laughs] Yeah, you know, like America is supposedly the land of opportunities; the land of the great or whatever. I just feel like it still gave me a lot of, obviously, opportunities but I feel like it is a lot harder than what people, especially in LA, it’s a lot harder to get to that position than what people typically say. I feel like I still have relatives in the Philippines who think that money just grows on trees here and it’s not really like a struggle or process to find work and to be competitive or to be marketable. So I feel like there’s a misconception that people have outside of the U.S that think about the U.S. <br /><br />Hernandez: What was different about living in America as opposed to the Philippines?<br /><br />Banaag: I feel like there’s just so much options here. Maybe, even a little too much. In the Philippines it’s—. The level of education there is also pretty high but definitely in the U.S it opens a lot more doors for you. In the Philippines too, its like mobility is very hard. You can't just drive anywhere. I think, actual physical mobility and then also social and upward mobility, the states definitely provide you with a lot more. <br /><br />Hernandez: You mentioned that you now in LA. Did you first live in LA when you first moved to the U.S?<br /><br />Banaag: Yeah. So my uncle lives in Glendale, which is a part of LA county. We actually lived in his attic, for like a good year. There were five of us living in his attic before we got our own apartment. But ever since then we´ve stayed local.<br /><br />Hernandez: Are you still under DACA?<br /><br />Banaag: No, my dad—. Ironically enough, my dad got petitioned right after I graduated from UCLA. All through my education I didn't have financial aid and when I graduated my dad got petitioned by his job. And that's how we were able to get our paperwork. I believe this was six years ago that I got my citizenship. Five or six years ago. <br /><br />Hernandez: How would you describe your education as a DACA recipient?<br /><br />Banaag: Again, I wasn’t DACA. I feel like—. DACA didn't start until 2012. I was undocumented from the year 2000 to like 2009. I never really got to apply for that. Just being undocumented, again, there were so many opportunities that I wasn´t able to get. Even like scholarships, there were some scholarships you can ́t apply for because you don't have your social. On top of having to work to pay for college. I feel like it did kind of pushed me a little bit more. You know, they have that word ´ganas,´when you´re undocumented. You kind of are a little more resilient than your documented peers only because, to me, I was paying for those classes out of pocket so if I failed them I would have to pay for them again. So I kind of had that motivation of like, ´okay, you can't mess around because you're just wasting your money.´ So in a sense, being undocumented kind of humbled me in a sense’ to pursue and persist in my education. (Sp?)<br /><br />Hernandez: Do you remember your academic experience in the Philippines?<br /><br />Banaag: No, I left the Philippines when I was like in fourth grade. I wasn ́t experienced, I can tell you that. It was definitely a learning experience for me. <br /><br />Hernandez: Have you traveled back to the Philippines since then?<br /><br />Banaag: Yeah, I went back in 2011 and came back, actually recently, this past Christmas. I was there for a couple of weeks. <br /><br />Hernandez: How would you relate your experience now going back to the Philippines-do you miss it?<br /><br />Banaag: I miss my grandma because she still lives there and so does some of my family members. But, I feel like my life is here now. But I do still treasure having to come from the Philippines and the experiences I ́ve had then. It has definitely shaped me into the person I am today like being able to speak another language, being able to have another culture aside from just American. I'm a professor and a college counselor, it helps me be a little more relatable and adaptable to my students. <br /><br />Hernandez: Do you see any difference, like your family in the Philippines, in the way they treat you?<br /><br />Banaag: Not necessarily, my mom's side of the family is a little bit ´Americanized.´ So they don't even live in the Philippines. They don't really treat me any differently. But my dad's side of the family is a little bit more on the lower socio economic side. So they do feel like being in American, again, you're automatically rich. Money falls from trees over here, so I feel like they have that expectation of like ´oh, he’s going to be snobby or he’s going to be better than other people.´ But I try to not be like that. I don't show off when I'm in the Philippines, I just try to like hang out with my family. <br /><br />Hernandez: Well, that is it for my questions. Would you like to enclose anything else from your experience?<br /><br />Banaag: No, I mean, again, I think being an immigrant it teaches you how to be flexible and adaptable to a lot of things. You also gain a lot of grip and a lot of resilience by being an immigrant because, again, you have an experience from another country and uprooting everything and risking everything to just come to another country. It takes a lot of courage and determination. It does teach you a lot of things in life that other people who might not have left or traveledñ they don't understand that process. It has really shaped me today. <br /><br />Hernandez: Thank you for your time!<br /><br />Banaag: No problem Wendy. [Laughs]
View/Download File(s)
Link to download files
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CWRK_irLcbMVKGdyvRUuB1D19X3D4SqE/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CWRK_irLcbMVKGdyvRUuB1D19X3D4SqE/view?usp=sharing</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VLChp5YwiGwHSUcn4xLeRCIAyOcdgMYJ/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VLChp5YwiGwHSUcn4xLeRCIAyOcdgMYJ/view?usp=sharing</a>
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 Paolo Banaag, interviewed by Wendy Hernandez
Subject
The topic of the resource
Manila, Philippines, hotel manager, restaurant manager, engineer, Brunei, Southeast Asia, visa, undocumented, green card, immigrant, immigrant families--United States, California Dream Act, DACA, nursing, first generation, first-gen, UCLA, University of California Los Angeles, Glendale, convalescent hospital, physical mobility, social mobility, upward mobility, petition, petition visa, professor, college counselor
Description
An account of the resource
Oral history interview with Paolo Banaag, interviewed by Wendy Hernandez
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
3-Jun-19
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_0017
Brunei
California Dream Act
college counselor
convalescent hospital
DACA
Engineer
first generation
first-gen
Glendale
green card
hotel manager
immigrant
Immigrant families--United States
Manila
nursing
petition
petition visa
Philippines
physical mobility
professor
restaurant manager
social mobility
Southeast Asia
UCLA
undocumented
University of California Los Angeles
upward mobility
visa
-
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.
Clarimin Diaz
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Noemi Botor
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
Diaz: Okay it is June 2, 2019 and it is 3:00pm. This is Clarimin Diaz interviewing for the Filipino Immigrant Oral History Project for the Welga! Filipino American Labor Archives and the Welga! Project. Today I am interviewing:<br /><br />BOTOR: Noemi Botor<br /><br />Diaz: Okay, let us begin. So lets begin our discussion by talking a little bit about your childhood and early adult life. Where and when were you born?<br /><br />BOTOR: I was born in Baguio City, Philippines.<br /><br />DIAZ: Can you talk about your childhood experiences in the Philippines?<br /><br />BOTOR: I moved at kind of a young age from the Philippines so from what I can remember, I just remember like the area I lived in and going to school but like not too much [laugh].<br /><br />DIAZ: Okay Noemi, where were your parents born?<br /><br />BOTOR: So my parents were also born in the Philippines [Baguio City].<br /><br />DIAZ: Do you know anything about their experiences in the Philippines?<br /><br />BOTOR: Not very much, I know that they went to college there and what not. They didn’t come from or move to the states or go to college here [The United States] so we didn’t know very much about what to do with that process [going to college]. Their experience there, they were both working as nurses and we moved because they didn’t get paid very well in the Philippines so I guess they were looking for a better life elsewhere.<br /><br />DIAZ: I see, so do you know what kind of jobs your grandparents had?<br /><br />Botor: My grandparents. I know for my dad’s side, my grandmother was an office worker and my grandfather was in the Navy.<br /><br />DIAZ: So did you come from a big family?<br /><br />BOTOR: Yeah, it was a pretty big family. I remember for my first birthday there were like hundreds of people there, so it was a pretty big, yeah [laugh]<br /><br />DIAZ: Did any of your family members move to America before your you or your parents?<br /><br />BOTOR: There were a couple, but it wasn’t family that we were very close to so, I am not sure where they are now. But I know there people who had moved before us.<br /><br />DIAZ: Earlier you mentioned your experiences in school, can you give me any more specific details about your academic experiences in the Philippines, like what it was like to be in school in the Philippines at that age?<br /><br />BOTOR: Well I remember first I went to a private school and our teacher was only responsible for our class and within our class there was only about I would say 10 kids max. It was very small, private, and personal. I remember having to walk to the school every day. I feel like the basic things that I learned were things I needed when I moved here [United States], but I also learned other things like brushing our teeth [laugh] and stuff like that [laugh].<br /><br />DIAZ: Why did your parents decide to leave the Phillipines and move to America?<br /><br />BOTOR: Well first we actually moved to England before moving to America and I feel like one of the biggest factors was just basically how much they were getting paid. Like I said, they don’t pay nurses in the Phillippines very well and so they got jobs offers in England so we moved there, but I think they got better job offers in California so then we ended up moving to California.<br /><br />DIAZ: Around how old were you when you were living in England? Do you remember what it was like living in England?<br /><br />BOTOR: I left the Phillippines when I was like 4 or 5 and then I lived in England for two or three years before moving to California.<br /><br />DIAZ: Do you know what year your parents moved to the United States?<br /><br />BOTOR: I am not sure [laugh].<br /><br />DIAZ: That’s fine.<br /><br />DIAZ: So what were your thoughts about America before you moved here?<br /><br />BOTOR: I feel like it was the typically stereotypes that people think about. I was just thinking about the types of food that I would like to eat because America is known for burgers and like really big foods and things like that. So that was one of my expectations but like culturally, that wasn’t something I thought about I guess when I was younger [age 9] but I just knew that this is how this place is and so I am going to move there and it will be fine [laugh].<br /><br />[5:20]<br /><br />DIAZ: So, growing up in America, how has your view changed about living in the United States?<br /><br />BOTOR: Well there is a lot of talk about why people move to America in the first place and its because people want to chase that American dream. So when I moved here with my parents, I knew how lucky I was compared to my cousins who had to stay back in the Philippines. But I think just like the image of the American dream and like what it stands for, that has definitely changed over time because things are a lot harder than like how people say it is.<br /><br />DIAZ: So what do you think are some of the differences between living in America as opposed to living in the Philippines, like the culture and overall experience?<br /><br />BOTOR: Yeah, I would say one of the biggest differences in definitely transportation. Back in the Phillipines my family and I would mainly travel by Jeep or like taxi but coming here or like when my parents moved to the UK [England] at first, they had to like get their own drivers licenses which they didn’t need before. So, I think that transition was definitely a big thing. And then, I also think, I remember when I was younger, I would like always be outside playing [in the Philippines] and it didn’t matter where I was or what time it was. So, I feel like when we first moved to California, when I was like living in the city, because I was living in this place called Berlingame, instead of like here where I live now in Brentwood. It was a lot more city like so I didn’t have the chance to go outside to the park and play with my friends and things like that.<br /><br />DIAZ: What is your academic experience like here in America?<br /><br />BOTOR: I feel like compared to when I was back in the Phillipines, I feel like for one the classes are bigger and I guess you’re not like so personal with your teachers compared to back in the Philippines. We [the Phillipines] still teach the basic stuff, like the education and GE’s are the same but then there are some differences because I remember back in the Philippines they would like teach us like basic hygiene, cutting out nails, and check our hands if they were clean and if they weren’t they would tell our parents about it [laugh] and I didn’t experience any of those kinds of things [here in the United States] because I thought like initially coming to America like, oh I wonder if they are stricter here but it was like to opposite.<br /><br />DIAZ: I see, so from your experience do you notice anything different between first generation immigrants and the Filipino American community here in Davis?<br /><br />BOTOR: Yeah, I know first generation immigrants speak out more on like the culture since they’re the ones who know how to speak [the native language] and things like that. And so, it’s nice to see that being involved with the community that way, educating like Filipino Americans who’ve like never have been back home [the Philippines] and things like that. <br /><br />DIAZ: How do you retain your culture in America?<br /><br />BOTOR: I feel like a big part of it is my parent’s influence because obviously if they decided not to eat Filipino food anymore then I eventually forget what Filipino food is. So it’s a good thing that my parents you know kept cooking Filipino dishes, they always speak Ilocano and Tagalog in the house, so that I would not forget how to speak [Tagalong and Ilocano] and yeah I would say that my parents role in retaining the culture is a big part of it. <br /><br />[10:05]<br /><br />DIAZ: Do you visit the Philippines often, and if so what type of things do you usually do when you go back to the Philippines?<br /><br />BOTOR: I visited last last summer [2 years ago] but before that I haven’t been there in like six years. When we do visit I notice that we never go to like where people consider tourist areas of the Philippines. We always like go back home [Baguio City] and stay around that areas or we would be in Manila just because that where the airport is. <br /><br />DIAZ: Is there anything you miss about the Philippines when you come back?<br /><br />BOTOR: I definitely miss the food because for example, us living in Davis, there is not a Filipino restaurant near by so when I like come home [Brentwood] on the weekends one of the things I like to eat is Filipino food. Its just not accessible to me back in Davis. Also like how cheap the food is [laugh] and things like night markets and stuff like that are really fun and I miss those. And of course, most of my family is in the Philippines so it’s nice seeing them because back here [in the United States] its mainly just me, my mom, and my dad.<br /><br />DIAZ: Do you currently go to college right now?<br /><br />BOTOR: Yes<br /><br />DIAZ: And what are your plans for after graduation?<br /><br />BOTOR: So after graduation, I’m thinking of taking a gap year and during the gap year I want to continue to taking education classes and I also want to start preparing for the GRE and take that. I am hoping to apply to grad school in like this upcoming year. I am going to apply to Davis [UC Davis] again so hopefully I can stay in the area but I am also going to apply to other places like UC Santa Barbara for their toxicology or environmental program.<br /><br />DIAZ: What are your career goals? Is there anything you want to pursue specifically?<br /><br />BOTOR: Well one thing, there is something I keep telling myself that I am going to do but I don’t think I will end up doing it until I really have the time and certain outlet to do it for, but I’ve been really wanting to become more fluent in my language [Tagalog and Ilocano] because I would want my kids to know it too and so I can teach then obviously, but I don’t know it myself. So I think it would be cool to become more fluent in Tagalong and Ilocano.<br /><br />Diaz: Have you been involved in any activism while in college at UC Davis?<br /><br />BOTOR: No not really.<br /><br />DIAZ: How involved would you say you are in the Filipino American community on campus [UC DAVIS]?<br /><br />BOTOR: I was more involved during my first two years. I definitely went out to more events and things like that. I’ve kind of been more focused on my other club activities during my junior and senior year, so I wouldn’t say that now I am extremely involved with the Fil-Am community.<br /><br />Diaz: So, I want to as you a few questions about your academic experience here in America. Have there been any obstacles you’ve experienced while pursuing higher education?<br /><br />BOTOR: I think one of the biggest obstacles that, I don’t know much about it, but I just know from what my parents have told me but people always say that “Oh if you want to apply for this, just know that they also offer financial aid” because there was this one summer where I wanted to study abroad in Japan but I have never applied for financial aid and I know from my parents it can get frustrating because sure they both make enough to be considered okay financially but I feel like they don’t consider that they put their money into other things like for example, my parents always send money back home to the Phillipines to help out there, they don’t just use all of their expenses on me. There are so many other things that are not considered. So its kind of annoying that we are not able to get aid.<br /><br />DIAZ: Have you struggled in college or has it been a smooth sail for you?<br /><br />BOTOR: No, I would definitely say that I struggled a lot, just like trying to figure out how the [academic] system works I guess. Like I said, my parents didn’t go to college here so we didn’t really know the things that I could have taken advantage of. I later found out that people take college classes at a community college while they are in high school to help them with GE’s and stuff. I wish I would have known that because I would have done that if I did, but I didn’t. So there’s just little things like that that my family and I didn’t know just because they haven’t been to college here so I’m kind of like the guinea pig in this trial.<br /><br />[15:00]<br /><br />DIAZ: Is there any advice that you would have for any Filipino immigrants that are pursing higher education?<br /><br />BOTOR: I would definitely say if you know family that have been here for a while, definitely talk to them and ask for advice because sometimes when you go to [academic] counselors they have the same experience as you do and although some of their advice may be helpful, there is no harm in finding someone who’s like more similar culturally and how they went about things.<br /><br />DIAZ: Okay Noemi, thank you for your interview today.
View/Download File(s)
Link to download files
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PLgpOo4hJf2sw08uD22E-Rw9D8TTPnbd/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PLgpOo4hJf2sw08uD22E-Rw9D8TTPnbd/view?usp=sharing</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zMO_7fTa-xndInro7jGALQoXIjrlxOXa/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zMO_7fTa-xndInro7jGALQoXIjrlxOXa/view?usp=sharing</a>
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 Noemi Botor
Subject
The topic of the resource
Baguio City, Philippines, nurse, nursing, office worker, Navy, England, UK, OFW, California, American Dream, Berlingame, Brentwood, Filipino school curriculum, Filipino education, Davis, Tagalog, Ilocano, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, toxology program, environmental program, graduate school, grad school, financial aid, finances, Japan, study abroad, first generation, first-generation, immigrant families--United States
Description
An account of the resource
Oral history interview with Noemi Botor, interviewed by Clarimin Diaz
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2-Jun-19
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 archivst 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_0008
American Dream
Baguio City
Berlingame
Brentwood
California
Davis
England
environmental program
Filipino education
Filipino school curriculum
finances
financial aid
first generation
first-generation
grad school
graduate school
Ilocano
Immigrant families--United States
Japan
Navy
nurse
nursing
office worker
OFW
Philippines
study abroad
Tagalog
toxology program
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
UK