Meeting Children of Immigrants Where Ever I Go

While renting bikes in Hungtindon Beach, California at Zach's, I meet Joe Ali, whose father (not sure about his mother) was born in the Old City in what was then, Palestine. When Joe had asked us if we wanted locks for our bicycles, I made some wisecrack like, "Sure, we'd like some lox......and bagels."

Joe asked me if I was Jewish and one thing led to another and we had a brief talk about being children of immigrants and I mentioned that my high school boyfriend was also the son of Palestinian immigrants. He showed me the photo of his father behind the counter. He's pictured wearing a uniform during his service an American soldier in the Vietnam War.

It seems wherever I go in California and in other states in this country, I meet children of immigrants who grew up in the United States.

I challenge you to walk into any hotel or other service employer in a major city and strike up a conversation. The stories you will hear will amaze you and they will help you appreciate the beauty of this country even more.

Let me know what you hear.

From Third World Country to Prestigious University

Madelyn Estrada is 27 years old and came to the United States as a Guatemalan immigrant at the age of 7. Her mother worked in an upscale neighborhood as a nanny and her father was a day laborer awaiting work each day at a 7 Eleven store in Maryland.

Today, Estrada is a full-time graduate student in Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University.

She credits her parents and other important people who came into her life for inspiring her to make the right kind of choices that have landed her at this prestigious university.

Estrada remembers the time when her family became U.S. citiziens, She says it had been "a big deal" because she, her two sisters, and her parents had become "official" members of the special club in the United States. "This country has an all-start team and our citizenship has helped us blend in and we earned to right to be called Americans just like everyone else," she tells me.

It hasn't been an easy road to travel for Estrada and her family, but one well worth following, as her story displays.