If you’d like to listen to some interesting perspectives on being children of immigrants in the United States, click here and see what you think:
http://www.npr.org/series/102615844/immigrants-children-a-foot-in-two-worlds
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Selena Gomez Is a Child of Immigrants
Selena Gomez Is a Child of Immigrants
Selena Gomez, an actress, singer, and entrepreneur is 18 years old and a regular headline grabber. Currently dating singing sensation Justin Bieber, Gomez is best known for her role as Alez Russo in the Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly, Gomez has an Italian mother and her Mexican father.
Gomez grew up in Grand Prarie, Texas and told Twist magazine that she wished that she could blend in with the blond girls she knew. “I wanted to be like my friends. I hung out with girls who had blue eyes and blond hair,” she said.
She credits her heritage, however, for helping her land jobs in Hollywood. "When I went to auditions, I'd be in a room with a lot of blond girls, and I always stood out. It actually helped…II realize everybody wants what they don't have. But at the end of the day, what you have inside is much more beautiful than what's on the outside!"
If you read some of the comments following the article on this web link, you will see how some others feel about growing up with parents from other countries: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/20518292.html?thread=2443157140#ixzz1QVtLdzTV
Selena Gomez, an actress, singer, and entrepreneur is 18 years old and a regular headline grabber. Currently dating singing sensation Justin Bieber, Gomez is best known for her role as Alez Russo in the Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly, Gomez has an Italian mother and her Mexican father.
Gomez grew up in Grand Prarie, Texas and told Twist magazine that she wished that she could blend in with the blond girls she knew. “I wanted to be like my friends. I hung out with girls who had blue eyes and blond hair,” she said.
She credits her heritage, however, for helping her land jobs in Hollywood. "When I went to auditions, I'd be in a room with a lot of blond girls, and I always stood out. It actually helped…II realize everybody wants what they don't have. But at the end of the day, what you have inside is much more beautiful than what's on the outside!"
If you read some of the comments following the article on this web link, you will see how some others feel about growing up with parents from other countries: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/20518292.html?thread=2443157140#ixzz1QVtLdzTV
Friday, June 24, 2011
We Are All Children of Immigrants
A Letter to the Editor caught my eye today in the Bernardsville News (New Jersey.)
The writer had grown up about 20 minutes from where I did in Scranton, Pennsyvlania. The letter's headline reads, “We are all children of immigrants.”
Paula Morasco writes that her mother had been born in Poland she recalls fond childhood memories of marching in Scranton's Memorial Day parades. She says she joined other family parade marchers including uncles who served as American soliders during World War II in Europe.
Morasco mentions a Paraguayan community celebration she had recently attended and shares that the participants’ patriotism brought back her own childhood memories. “It was all the same,” she writes. “ America is the best country on this earth. She has her flaws but her strengths outweigh them in every aspect. One of her strengths is her diversity. Another is her respect for mankind. We are all children of immigrants.”
If you’d like to read this wonderful letter, here’s the link.
http://newjerseyhills.com/bernardsville_news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/article_154918be-97b5-11e0-b15d-001cc4c03286.html
The writer had grown up about 20 minutes from where I did in Scranton, Pennsyvlania. The letter's headline reads, “We are all children of immigrants.”
Paula Morasco writes that her mother had been born in Poland she recalls fond childhood memories of marching in Scranton's Memorial Day parades. She says she joined other family parade marchers including uncles who served as American soliders during World War II in Europe.
Morasco mentions a Paraguayan community celebration she had recently attended and shares that the participants’ patriotism brought back her own childhood memories. “It was all the same,” she writes. “ America is the best country on this earth. She has her flaws but her strengths outweigh them in every aspect. One of her strengths is her diversity. Another is her respect for mankind. We are all children of immigrants.”
If you’d like to read this wonderful letter, here’s the link.
http://newjerseyhills.com/bernardsville_news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/article_154918be-97b5-11e0-b15d-001cc4c03286.html
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Children of Immigrants in the News
The debate over the definition of an American got more heated this week as two stories about children of immigrants grabbed headline news.
Jose Antonio Varga and Mandeep Chahaj don’t know each other, but they have something in common. Both were brought to America at young ages but they have never become legal residents. In the case of Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter – his mother sent him to the U.S. from the Philippines when he was 12 to live a better life. He grew up with his grandparents (legal citizens) in California, near San Francisco. This week, he decided to stop hiding his true citizenship status and in a New York Times article, wrote of the fear of being found out, as well as his love for America and his strong identity as an American. “This is my home,” he wrote. “Yet even though I think of myself as an American and consider America my country, my country doesn’t think of me as one of its own.”
Mandeep Chahal came to the United States with her mother when she was six to join her father, a legal U.S. resident. Mother and daughter had both been scheduled for deportation to India this week, but thanks to Chahaj’s Facebook campaign, they’ve been granted a stay. Chahal is a pre-med student at the University of California, Davis.
On Tuesday, America’s Voice Education Fund held a news conference in Washington, D.C. saying Chahal’s case highlights the need for immigration reform for people, like her, who had not control over their entry into the United States and have ended up becoming productive citizens.
The readers’ comments after the Sacramento Bee article about Chahal shows the deep division among Americans on this issue. A sampling: “She came here when she was six! Do you think after going through 14+ years of American schooling she is any different from the average twenty year old girl? She is as much an American as your kid or mine. “
Yet another, which is among the majority of readers’ sentiments: ’It is unfortunate that sometimes parents make bad choices and their children may suffer for it. Go back to India, stand in line with the rest of the people from around the world and wait your turn.”
Jose Antonio Varga and Mandeep Chahaj don’t know each other, but they have something in common. Both were brought to America at young ages but they have never become legal residents. In the case of Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter – his mother sent him to the U.S. from the Philippines when he was 12 to live a better life. He grew up with his grandparents (legal citizens) in California, near San Francisco. This week, he decided to stop hiding his true citizenship status and in a New York Times article, wrote of the fear of being found out, as well as his love for America and his strong identity as an American. “This is my home,” he wrote. “Yet even though I think of myself as an American and consider America my country, my country doesn’t think of me as one of its own.”
Mandeep Chahal came to the United States with her mother when she was six to join her father, a legal U.S. resident. Mother and daughter had both been scheduled for deportation to India this week, but thanks to Chahaj’s Facebook campaign, they’ve been granted a stay. Chahal is a pre-med student at the University of California, Davis.
On Tuesday, America’s Voice Education Fund held a news conference in Washington, D.C. saying Chahal’s case highlights the need for immigration reform for people, like her, who had not control over their entry into the United States and have ended up becoming productive citizens.
The readers’ comments after the Sacramento Bee article about Chahal shows the deep division among Americans on this issue. A sampling: “She came here when she was six! Do you think after going through 14+ years of American schooling she is any different from the average twenty year old girl? She is as much an American as your kid or mine. “
Yet another, which is among the majority of readers’ sentiments: ’It is unfortunate that sometimes parents make bad choices and their children may suffer for it. Go back to India, stand in line with the rest of the people from around the world and wait your turn.”
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Jay Leno - Funny Man - Child of Immigrants
Saw Jeno Leno perform in Reno, Nevada last night and enjoyed his jokes and references to his family. His parents are from Italy and he often refers to them and his aunt and uncle during his routines. "I must have the oldest relatives," Leno tells the audience after relating that his parents gave birth to him when they were "older" than most.
"We're not fancy people," his mother said when Leno took them to a classy restaurant where actress Connie Stevens happened to be dining. One of Leno's mother's favorite actresses, Stevens came over to the table to say hello. Leno's mother gushed with excitement and said, "I always wondered what happened to you."
Leno lovingly pokes fun at his relatives and the audience eats it up.
His timing couldn't be better and he has a real pulse on what tickles Americans' funny bones.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Wedding Bells RIng
Last night, my husband, John and I attended a beautiful wedding in Loomis, California, for friends who merged the American and Persian cultures in their vows. Parmis played hard to get during the ceremony waiting several times to say aloud that she would take Kevin as her wedded husband. It's a tradition in her family's culture. Her parents are from Iran. She was born in the United States. One of the most touching part of the ceremony was when some of the married women used wrapped sugar canes and rubbing them together over the canopy-covered heads of the bride and groom to let the falling sugar crystals symbolize wishes for a sweet life together as husband and wife.
Several hundred people witnessed the exchanging of vows underneath a clear, blue sky, with Folsom Lake and the rolling hillside in view. It was an evening filled with love and laughter and learning about customs new and old and all better than good.
Several hundred people witnessed the exchanging of vows underneath a clear, blue sky, with Folsom Lake and the rolling hillside in view. It was an evening filled with love and laughter and learning about customs new and old and all better than good.
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