Our Stories

On January 25th of 1967, my father was born in the ancient city of Patna, India. He grew up with his parents, three older sisters, and a younger brother in a four hundred-year-old house containing an elaborate temple open to the public. He spent his entire childhood in this place, and it was where all of his memories, family, friends, and traditions resided. However, despite all that Patna meant to him, my father had another place on his mind. This was a place with less injustice, an improved education system, and numerous job options. But even more than that, this was a place which bestowed freedom upon all of its people. My father was intrigued by the idea of an individual being able to choose their own path. The United States was a nation of equality, opportunity, and hope made for him, his wife, and his future children.

Ecstatic to make a living in the New World, my father brought a suitcase of clothes and twenty dollars to Budd Lake, New Jersey in 1993, two years after graduating from college. Because he already had a job offer from Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, he was able to begin working at the firm upon his arrival. Although his new job protected him from major financial problems, his transition to the United States was not without struggle. My father had to leave everything he loved behind. Most prominently, he was separated from his friends and family. This issue was only exacerbated by the difficulty of making international phone calls. Additionally, he had to adapt to the culture of the United States. This required making major changes, including speaking English instead of Hindi, as well as relatively minor ones, such as changing his diet.

Despite some early problems, my father has no regrets regarding his immigration. Currently the owner of a software company, he lives in a North Carolinian home with me, my mom, and my brother, who is studying at UNC. Through advances in technology, my father can easily communicate with his family. And when he wishes to see India in all of its glory, he can bring his family with him and let his story be heard.

Ms. Marlene Sanchez did not intend to immigrate into the United States. She also did not intend to fall in love with her future husband within hours of being in the USA, begin living in California, or to get married within her first year in the States. However, fate is fate, and she doesn’t regret a second of it. Ms. Sanchez spent the next two years watching soap operas to learn English, as well as practicing to speak it with her husband. Because Ms. Sanchez had immigrated when she was 20, she was in the middle of her college career. After she learned the language, she wanted to get back into classes, so she continued her studies in Business Administration. However, she paused her education again after a year because she gave birth to her son while also trying to balance a full-time job. After giving birth to her second son and waiting five more years, Ms. Sanchez finally finished her schooling and received a degree in Business Management and certificates for Global Logistics.

When I asked Ms. Marlene what the biggest change she experienced was, she commented that she had to grow up very quickly. In Peru, her entire culture was different from the American lifestyle. She never had to cook or do laundry, because her family had a maid who took care of those things. Her husband had to teach her how to do all of that, and how to be independent in general. Often, he was away on deployments for the Navy, so she needed to tend to the entire house by herself. Although the change was so drastic, Ms. Sanchez said that she was eager to learn to take care of herself, as well as other new customs. American culture demands for people to manage themselves, so Ms. Sanchez also made sure that her sons would be okay on their own.

One of the most important things I learned from our interview was how to be happier. Ms. Sanchez noted that her immigration probably would have taken a bigger emotional toll on her if she didn’t have the attitude she did. She just went with the flow and appreciated the things she had in life, which made it very easy to be happy. Ms. Sanchez says that, if her husband called her and asked her to move to China right now, she’d say “Okay, let’s do it”. I decided that, from now on, I’m going to say “Okay, let’s do it” more often and have fun while I still can.

Practically everyone in the world has experienced the anxiety that surrounds the experience of entering a new school, starting a new job, or just meeting new people in general. It can be incredibly hard to make new friends when shoved into a new environment and oftentimes it can cause immense mental stress. Constantin Zodl, a Cary Academy student and my friend, has experienced this feeling many times expect on a much grander scale. Instead of moving to a new school, Constantin has had to move to a new country many times throughout his life. Constantin’s entry to the United States came in 2013 when he moved from Hong Kong to Florida. Although he already spoke English at a fairly adept level, Constantin had plenty to adapt to with the immense culture shock he experienced when he moved to the United States. Constantin’s main challenges that he faced when entering the society of the United States had to do with companionship and homesickness. Sure, he had his family with him always, but Constantin was searching for friends that he could truly become close with in this new land. Originally he had trouble assimilating to the new society, but after some time Constantin had made plenty of friends in his new home. Finally when Constantin had become accustomed to his new society, he realized he had to move again and leave the close group of friends he had just made. Constantin then moved from Florida to North Carolina, forcing him to leave the great friends he had just made and meet completely new people. This forced him to undergo the same set of challenges he had just faced again; however, this time he had some experience under his belt. Although he still faced the first day of school nerves, Constantin was finally able to settle down in North Carolina and make new friends that he still has today. Constantin also faced the challenge of homesickness when he first moved to the United States. He was constantly searching for something familiar and couldn’t find anything that resembled his life back in Hong Kong. After a while, with the help of his new friends, Constantin began to get immersed in the United States society and truly enjoy it. Nowadays, Constantin lives the life of an everyday American which truly shows how far he has come. Constantin has truly become an American.

Music Brought Her Here and Love Made Her Stay

Cecily grew up in Seoul, South Korea.  She and her family had a good life that most people would have wished for.  Cecily loved music and played the bassoon as her principle instrument.  She was ambitious about her music and wanted to be the best at her instrument.  Cecily decided to apply to school in the United States.  She was accepted to a very prestigious music school, Julliard.  Cecily applied for a student visa to attend school in the United States.  Her visa was granted, and she came to America for a better education and proper schooling in the arts.

When she arrived in New York to study at Julliard, Cecily had many struggles adjusting to the new language and American culture.   She had not had much previous exposure to English when she lived in Seoul.  Americans spoke so rapidly that it was hard for Cecily to understand the people she saw daily. Cecily also found American food really confusing since the food was so different from what she had grown up eating. Cecily spent a lot of time trying to figure things out on her own, but it was hard. After starting school, she met a man who would slow things down and help her in the United States. Martin Sher helped her out throughout her time at school which eventually led to the two of them falling in love.

Cecily and Martin falling in love was the point at which her immigration to the United States took a giant leap. She applied for a permanent visa to live in the United States. Once Cecily acquired her permanent visa, she and Martin moved around the country, eventually settling down in Indianapolis, Indiana where they had their only child, Aidan Sher.  (This, of course, was only after they got married to each other and lived happily together for quite a while.) Their family recently moved to Raleigh, where Aidan now attends Cary Academy and they couldn’t be happier. Overall, Cecily adjusted very well and overcame challenges to be in the United States. She now speaks fluent English at the pace of a native speaker. Although she is a United States’ citizen, Cecily still holds onto her Korean roots, spends time with her family annually, and celebrates her Korean culture.

Paul Maruyama, my great-grandfather, was born in 1907 in the small Japanese village of Yamanashi. Our family has lived in this village for over four hundred years. Paul was the oldest son of the family, meaning that he was obligated to take care of the family business- running a farm and selling lumber. After he graduated college in 1933, he asked his father if he could visit America for one year; something he had always wanted to do. He promised his father he would return to take over the business. Having no English knowledge, Paul traveled to Colorado, where some extended family was living. His uncle and cousins lived there, and were American citizens, so they helped him learn the basics of English. In order to master his English, he went to a first grade elementary school classroom to learn the language. He absolutely loved the education system and how friendly everyone was to him! Not yet a citizen, Paul then enrolled and was accepted to Western State College in Colorado. He majored in business. With all of this education, it only took him six months to learn English! A year was almost up, but Paul requested one more year in America from his father. After he graduated, Paul headed to New York to sight-see. When he arrived, he took more classes at Columbia University and got a Masters Degree in Business and Accounting. Just five years after he arrived in America, he graduated from Columbia in 1939. At this point, Paul’s father was growing very angry, so Paul traveled back to California. Upon arriving, he completely ran out of money. He began to work as a Japanese language teacher to Japanese-Americans. This is where he found his wife, as she was one of his students. After dating for a while, he proposed to her in October of 1941. He wanted to take her back to Japan with him, and they were set to leave in mid-December. However, everything changed on December 7^th. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and they were sent to an internment camp in Tuley Lake. They stayed here for four years, and my grandfather was born in the camp in 1944. When they were released, everyone had lost everything. Paul took the lead and found the city of St. Louis to be the only place that would accept them. After meeting with the mayor, he started a Japanese-American community there that still thrives today. Paul worked in a cleaner for years until he saw that the Japanese people were missing the goods and foods of their homeland. Paul proudly opened up a shop selling these things and was a happy and successful man for the entirety of his life. The one thing he always told my grandfather was, “There is no other country on this earth that will give somebody like me, an immigrant to this country, with five hundred dollars in his pocket, the opportunity to succeed.”

My grandfather’s name is Reddi Bommareddi. He comes from a small town called Benaras located in north India. He is 76 years old and now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has been living in the US for 40 years now and hopes to continue to do so until his dying breath. When he first immigrated into the USA, life was new and exciting to him. He was shocked by the culture, the lifestyle, , and everything here. This immigration was the biggest change he had experienced in his life.

When he was living in India, he had a lot of friends, hobbies, and many experiences. However, times were hard in India with no electricity, no clean water, and very little food. Even though he never wanted to leave his home country, when he was offered a graduate assistantship in Canada, he lost his mind. The opportunity that this gave him and his family was incredible. In 1969, six months after debating back and forth whether he should leave or stay, he finally made the decision to immigrate. He came to Canada with a 1.25 cents in his pocket. He didn’t have any friends, he lost his home town, and he knew nothing about this country. He felt like he had lost all his previous life, the memories, and even valuable experience & skills. He eventually started working in Ontario, Canada and seemed to be comfortable with the new journey he is just starting. Three years later, the company he worked for offered a different job working at a hospital in Texas. Just like that, he had to start from the beginning again. No friends, no home, and no information about the country. He packed up a Uhual and he drove with his wife and daughter 20 hours to the great state of Texas. He was ecstatic this time because he knew he was immigrating into the land of the free. During his first days, he was already accustomed to this new society as it wasn’t that different from Canadian life. At this point, he couldn’t even remember why he was debating about leaving India. He knew that this is where he is going to spend the rest of his life.

Now, his wife and him live in a small but comfortable two-story house in Raleigh. They both are retired and both are avid gardeners. Everything is very good for them in the United States. He told me how much he really appreciates the life America has given him. Sometimes, he thinks what would life have been like if he stayed in India his whole life. I simply replied, “Then I wouldn’t be sitting in front you right now.”

–Koen Winemiller on his grandfather’s immigration

I am Narcizo I am from Veracruz, Mexico. I was brought here by my parents in hope for a better education. My life in Mexico is unknown to me as I remember almost none of it. And while I agree with my parent’s intentions of a better education. I do not believe that it will help me in the future as I have no use for it. I do however believe that my life could’ve been better had I grown up in Mexico. As I child in the us I was forced to deal with challenges such as a battle of racism and learning English. However, with knowing anything about where I came from through personal experience, I am not sure whether this is true. While I came here with my mother and father my father has gone back to where he came from.

Meet Guilherme:

My father’s name is Guilherme Vilas Boas. He came to America 19 years ago. He’s from one of the largest cities in the world, Sao Paulo, Brazil. He came from his home with a large, tight-knit family, to a whole new world, to start a family of his own.

Life before America:

He explained to me that he had wanted to come to America ever since he was a young child. His mother had always pushed him to go out of his comfort zone and go after what he wanted. At 17 he did just that and came to Texas as an exchange student for his senior year of high school. Ever since then he knew he wanted to return and pursue his life here.

Reasons for Immigrating:

He came back at the age of 28 for graduate school. He was accepted into Ohio State and got an MBA there. His main reason for coming to the US was to further extend his education, and obtain a better quality of life. He later went on to become an entrepreneur and own his own business

My father sees himself as an American, and even said that if he moved back to Brazil, he would feel out-of-place. He could feel a sense of security and independence once he hit American soil, that he never felt before. Although he was finally in a safe and stable environment, he didn’t feel like he really belonged until about 10 years after the move. He mentioned how it is easy, as a born American, to misunderstand just how difficult it is to adapt to a new country.

Privilege as an Immigrant:

My father grew up in a fairly wealthy family with the means to provide him with Brazil’s best education. He explained to me that being an immigrant to escape poverty or harsh conditions is a completely different experience than those who have the opportunity to come for better education and to experience new life.

Family Life After the Move:

The first couple of years after his arrival in the US his relationship with his family at home struggled. His family relationships faltered due to the distance. Now that he is smoothly running a business that is anchored in both America, as well as Brazil, he gets to see his family every few months, and was able to rebuild the strong relationship they once had.

He mentioned, in the interview, that marrying an American woman and having American kids, has enabled him to much better adapt to his new life. He feels proud that he is able to give his children a multicultural experience, and immerse us in his culture at such a young age.

At the tender age of 4, Eniola Lawal moved from London, England and moved to the grand ol’ USA. At the age of 4 that wasn’t a big deal, he just thought he was going on a new adventure. With new people, teachers, and surroundings, Eniola has a lot to take in as a young kid. Until my brother entered what would be his new school and walked into his classroom, he knew that this time would be an entirely new experience. He went on to learn as many things he could while in living in Houston, making new friends, learning roads, riding out with dad and mum, and playing outside in the 100-degree heat. But sooner or later he began to realize his accent didn’t fit in. Some of the same words he knew were given different names. One day he realized people were mocking him while he was speaking making funny faces and faking his British accent. Eniola wasn’t happy. He went home to tell our mum and she told him, “We all came here from different places, something to be proud of. People from the north part of America have accents, people from the south have accents as well.” That reassured my brother and he went on to learn to make his actions and speak more Americanized. Sooner or later it was time to move to New York, saying bye to his friends in Texas was hard because he’d experienced it before. Over the course of the next 7 years, Eniola has lived with his mum and dad to New York, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. North Carolina is where he grew up and mixed wonderfully with everyone around him. Due to him moving a lot, he did miss many people, but it just gave him a better opportunity to make stronger relationships with new people. From the time of he was in high school he did DECA, has all A’s, played football, and graduated. Now he will be a graduate from App State in Boone next May. All the way from London, England, Eniola is living the life he’s always perceived for himself: being God-fearing, successful and happy. 17 years later, he became an amazing part of America like most people do when they come. He has made an impact on people’s lives, will make an impact on the world, and has made a lasting impact on his little sisters’ life, Oyinlola.

Nabila with her siblings (red sweater, on right)

Nabila Nadjimzada is originally from Afghanistan. At the young age of 7, the Russians invaded, bringing the communist party. Like many others, her family fled the country to Pakistan. The Nadjimzada family fortunately had some money and could pay mujahidin to escort them. They provided them with the safest routes, and donkeys for people to ride if they were tired. For the 3-day and 2-night walk, Nabila did not ride the donkeys because they tended to walk right next to the very edge. When they arrived in Peshawar, Nabila had glass in her foot, so she her dad walked around trying to find a hospital. But what they didn’t know was how strict and religious Peshawar was. When they were walking around without a head scarf it upset people, so when her father asked one man where the hospital was the other man spat in his face and said things such as “get your dirty whore daughter and they rest of your family out of my country.” “I try not to remember a whole lot of this, but the spit is something I’ll never forget.” Nabila told me. They stayed there for one month before they knew that they had to leave, so they moved to Islamabad for what they thought would be a short time but ended up being 2 years. In that time, things were better. The people were nicer, the rules were less strict, but they still wanted to leave and come to America. They needed an American sponsor which was a slight issue because they knew almost no one. Luckily, Nabila’s father worked with some people from the American government and they eventually sponsored the family. Nabila was 13 when she and her family moved to America. Since then, her life has been on a pretty good track. When she first started school she was put in 10^th grade because she knew the material, but didn’t speak English. Eventually, she got it and graduated with a 4.0. from there. She studied in college and was on her way to law school but had her first and only child instead. After that she studied to be an accountant, and eventually bought a restaurant called La Shish which she now owns and runs with the help of her friend Patricia (and Patricia has worked for Nabila since she was 18 years old).