The Long Way Home : An American Journey

Immigration is a great part of this country. Immigrants came here for freedom and liberty from their oppressed and miserable country. They come here to find a “NEW” life to live and support their family. America was basically built from immigrants. How else would we have started this beautiful country? If it wasn 't for Christopher Columbus (who was an immigrant) this wouldn 't be the great country it is today.

Joseph Healey’s “From Immigrants to White Ethnics” is a generalized comparison between the varying groups of individuals that accompanied the colossal waves of immigration to the United States from Europe in the nineteenth century. Immigration to this country resulted from a number of reason such as religious persecution, individuals seeking to find employment after industrialization in their home countries limited their livelihood, and political oppositions to name a few. On arrival the immigrants knew immediately they were of the subordinate group and faced “discrimination and prejudice” (Healey, 2012, p. 54), although some more so than others. Among the first immigrants to arrive in the United States were Northern and Western European citizens. Unlike the immigrants from Ireland and Southern and Eastern Europe that chose the United States for their new homeland these individuals were probably the most accepted by the majority, even if considered just nominally superior to the others. Included in this group were the “English, Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Welsh, French, Dutch and Danes” (Healey, 2012, p. 56). This acceptance was due in part to the similarities that the dominate group held as ideals such as their religion, along with cultural values and characteristics. If the Northern and Western Europeans found acceptance difficult, individuals from Ireland and the Europeans from the south and east had an even more traumatic experience. Whereas the more accepted group had

My family and I felt exhausted after driving three days across the country from Albuquerque, New Mexico to California, Maryland.  We were about a half hour from our hotel when the skies turned dark and it started to rain. The raindrops hit the road so hard I thought the road would crack open and swallow our car.  There was lightning all around us and my younger sister Skyler and I thought we would be struck through the glass. We both were so scared we started crying.  I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and I screamed: "we are going to die". I learned that day that the rubber on the tires would ground the car and no way could we be hit by lightning. Usually when a parent tells you in ten minutes it’s more like 20-30 minutes

Even though it hasn’t been a long time since our family has moved to America, it feels like a lifetime ago. I can barely remember the days of walking around barefoot and only having a small piece of bread to eat, while here everyone has shoes to wear and eats pasta multiple times a week. How my life has changed in such a short time. Everyone and everything moves at such fast pace here, if one blinks they can miss a lifetime. Back in Sicily, the days drug on while everyone went through the motions of their days on the farm. There are many differences between Sicily and here in America, but the first time I laid my eyes on the Statue of Liberty, I knew I was meant to be an American.

Native Americans have as we’ve read through each chapter been heavy contributors to troop numbers in every war throughout U.S. history, however, it wasn’t until more than twelve thousand Indians served in the armed forces during the World War I (WWI) that they were recognized (Calloway, 2012, p.446). By recognized, I mean as civilized human beings worthy of being a part of American society. This again showed the ignorance of our historical forefathers in their actions and dispositions in all manners of national and human interest. The president of the Society for American Indians Seneca Arthur C. Parker saw the native contribution to war as a sign of their patriotism and assimilation through their willing sacrifice, whereas the Native Americans saw the war as a chance to win honors through

Coming to America about six years ago and adapting to the new world proved to be a real challenge for me. Aside from the cultural shock, I had to adapt to the usage of a foreign language in almost everything, which in turn forced me to work harder in my studies than in the previous years. My parents sacrificed a lot for their family. They left their country, their own business, and their family behind so that my sisters and I could have a better future. I came to America when I was in the eighth grade. I did not speak English fluently or understood it very well. When I got the admission in middle school my counselor gave the course selection sheet. I did not even know what courses to pick because the courses were almost alien in nature, or

Hundreds of years have past since many people immigrated here, to “The New World.” Life was difficult and many people died on the way here. If traveling by boat, it took about 2-3 weeks at sea. About one half of the immigrants docked in New York City and in Pennsylvania. Some immigrants went to Ellis Island before getting to America starting from 1892 until 1954. On Ellis Island, everyone got inspected for diseases and/or disabilities, in order, to make sure that these people coming in could support the United States economy. The inspections were one of the most dreaded parts about the trip, because if someone was not accepted, they would be sent back. ”The New World’s” population grew rapidly from the 1700s to the 1900s because people were trying to get away from crop failure, raising taxes, famine, religious restrictions, executions and/or to have a chance at a better life.

While we are currently experiencing tumultuous politics and increasing hate and oppression towards various religious or ethnic groups, I think it is of particular importance to think about immigration in the United States, a country founded by immigrants, where no one besides the original people who have long been oppressed actually have a right to the land. David Chang describes the oppression and colonization of the land and its people in his Enclosures of Land and Sovereignty (Chang). He explains that the Europeans stripped the control from the native people by re-distributing the power of the land to the government and then suggested that people believed race, not politics, is what differed the native people from the settlers (Chang). However, the difference in identity of the native people is simply an excuse as to why they were colonized. Like the slaves in the African slave trade, the motives of the conquerors were political and the differences in identity were an excuse to label a group people as inferior

Back in the 1700s, as English men and women traveled to American land in the Mayflower, among other ships, the foreigners were considered “immigrants.” Many of

I never understood how I got to the United States. I decided to uncover my past and ask my parents,my father; Jae Cho at the age of 60, and my mother; Eunwoo Cho at 53. My parents met at a bar in Seoul during high school. From there they knew they had a special connection. After a year, my .father moved to tennessee because all of his friends were there. His days consisted of struggling in high school trying to learn english, and skating every other second he had. After years of agonizing training, he qualified for the 1984 winter olympics. After his skating career, he went to the University of Wisconsin. My mom was still in korea at the time, starting her acting career. She acted in indie films but eventually got recognition and was chosen

By the end of the war, the new immigrant groups had been fully accepted as loyal ethnic Americans, rather than members of distinct and inferior “races.” And the contradiction between the principle of equal freedom and the actual status of blacks had come to the forefront of national life.

Growing up in Ghana, I had heard a lot of things about the U.S. This was a country I had always wanted to visit; my prayer was answered when I got the opportunity to travel there. Arriving in a new environment came with many experiences. Adjusting with food, language and the weather was not easy. With the passage of time, however I have been able to0 adjust and fit it. This write-up therefore is to elaborate on my experiences since coming to U.S.

“Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them. They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits. We can make our new normal any way we want”. -Kristin Armstrong. When I heard this quote it reminds me of a specific time in my life when I moved to another country. There are a couple of events that helped me become who I am now.

Studying in a foreign country is an interesting experience of an individual lifetime. One tends to learn a number of things relating to ways of life in a foreign land. Social, political and economic values and aspects are usually different from one region to another. Therefore, through studying abroad one is able to learn different issues about another society such as gender and sexuality issues, social class and race/ethnicity issues. Having come from a developing country studying in the U.S.A has been a great experience personally. This paper will attempt to provide a reflection of my personal experience on studying in the U.S by comparing the history of Angola and the U.S.

Being in America means a lot to me and my family. Since I was born here I don’t have a story to type, but, my mom told me her story of how she got here. In 1997 my mom came to America wanting a better life for herself and her future kids.She was 24 when she came to America. She came from a small village in Mexico. She took a plane from her village to Tequila. When she made it to Tequila she meet up with her brother (my uncle) so he could help her find a coyote who will take her to America. She had to pay $800 to get to America a better and safe way. She could have payed less like about $200 but, the route would be a lot more dangerous. She got in a car with the coyote and his girlfriend and with another woman who looked to be around 45 years of age. The coyote drove from Tequila to the U.S border as he was driving the coyote’s girlfriend gave my mom and the other woman an American ID that worked but, it didn’t have my mom name on it. As they made it to the border the person that checks for either papers or American ID asked the driver (the coyote) for either one of identification in order to pass. The coyote showed all 4 of the ID’s and he called out each name. When the person that was checking the ID’s he called out my mom’s ID name (which isn’t her name on the ID) she said that was her. The person let them enter. The coyote took my mom to LA where her brother was waiting for her. When they got to LA my mom and the other woman gave them the $800 so they