“Some people would say ‘I got an uncle in America I’m leaving next month’ and it was like woah you go it made”
Carlos was one of the few people I talked to that was not from a country in Asia, and going into this project I knew it would be important to include people from different backgrounds. I love that he agreed to let me interview him because I've known him for so long. We first met at the 5th-grade overnight camping trip, where his enthusiasm lifted our spirits throughout the day. After that trip, I would see him around campus, wave and say hi, but our conversations were limited. This project gave me the chance to learn more about him and Peruvian culture, which has been an amazing privilege. Carlos was born in Lima, Peru to Julio and Rosa Grimaldo. With four brothers in the house, there was never a moment that wasn't filled with soccer, eating, dancing, and of course, fighting! Carlos highly emphasized the role fighting played in his childhood and community, and he told me that at his large family reunions "there is always a fight, but a lot of food.” He mentioned the playful fighting again by saying, “that’s how we fight, with the neighbors. Because if my next store neighbor also have three or four children in the household, automatic- it’s a fight with us.” He described this type of roughhousing among siblings and neighbors as "friendly" and "for the spirit of game." He chuckled as he went on to say, "But with rivals from the next town, it wasn’t so friendly.” His vivid memories of play fighting as a boy were very different from the stories Asian immigrants told me, which makes me wonder if this is a cultural difference. However, one thing that was consistent throughout most of my interviews was the importance of practicing religion, particularly Christian/Catholic. I asked if everyone in his community practices Catholicism, in which he quickly and seriously replied, "Back in my day, if you’re not Catholic you’re not welcome.” I'm not surprised by many of the similarities between Filipino culture and Peruvian culture (mainly the religious aspect and respect for family and elders) because Peru was conquered by Pizzaro, Spain ruled a Spanish conquistador and the Philippines.
Carlos' interview provided me with a different type of schooling program. Most of my other interviewees went to Catholic school or the public school in their area, but Carlos attended military academy because his father was in the Peruvian Air force. He attributes his school's strictness to be the reason why he never got in legal trouble during the eight years he was undocumented in this country. Again chuckling, Carlos said, “I guess military school paid off because in those eight years I didn’t get in trouble in America.” I was surprised to learn that he was undocumented for a brief period, but it goes to show the flaws of immigrating. His family came here legally on a diplomatic visa after his father was stationed in Russia for a month. But they overstayed their visa in an attempt to create a better life for their family in America. I think this is a crucial part of his story to tell because it shows that you can do everything "right," and life, policies, whatever can still get in the way. Luckily for his family, Ronald Regan passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which created a pathway for undocumented immigrants without a criminal history to become citizens. But before this was passed, he had already started a family with a Peruvian woman, thus making his children US citizens because they were born on US soil. This presented a problem for Carlos if he and his wife were to get deported- where would his kids go? So, we did a smart thing and also registered his kids as Peruvians, so he could ensure his family would not be split up.
"When you live outside America, going to America is paradise," and Carlos has seen this first hand. He told me that the lifestyle is not comfortable for his classmates still living in Peru and it makes him heartbroken. When he talked about what he has built for himself in America, his eyes light up, and his smile got bigger (which I didn't think was possible)! Like all my interviews, I asked him about his thoughts on discrimination in our country. It took him a little longer to answer this question, and I could tell he was processing a lot, but he finally began talking saying, "Yeah not gonna lie, discrimination is all over, in any country. But the discrimination you have to endure in America is a little different... You have to swallow it and ignore it.” But regardless of any discrimination, he has faced he still loves this country and the people in it and believes America is a place that welcomes immigrants. His final remarks to me were, “We can't allow the newcomers (immigrants) to replace slaves. We (America) don’t require to go to any continent and remove people as workforce because now immigrants are coming by themselves. But we have to protect them and give them support.”
Carlos' interview provided me with a different type of schooling program. Most of my other interviewees went to Catholic school or the public school in their area, but Carlos attended military academy because his father was in the Peruvian Air force. He attributes his school's strictness to be the reason why he never got in legal trouble during the eight years he was undocumented in this country. Again chuckling, Carlos said, “I guess military school paid off because in those eight years I didn’t get in trouble in America.” I was surprised to learn that he was undocumented for a brief period, but it goes to show the flaws of immigrating. His family came here legally on a diplomatic visa after his father was stationed in Russia for a month. But they overstayed their visa in an attempt to create a better life for their family in America. I think this is a crucial part of his story to tell because it shows that you can do everything "right," and life, policies, whatever can still get in the way. Luckily for his family, Ronald Regan passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which created a pathway for undocumented immigrants without a criminal history to become citizens. But before this was passed, he had already started a family with a Peruvian woman, thus making his children US citizens because they were born on US soil. This presented a problem for Carlos if he and his wife were to get deported- where would his kids go? So, we did a smart thing and also registered his kids as Peruvians, so he could ensure his family would not be split up.
"When you live outside America, going to America is paradise," and Carlos has seen this first hand. He told me that the lifestyle is not comfortable for his classmates still living in Peru and it makes him heartbroken. When he talked about what he has built for himself in America, his eyes light up, and his smile got bigger (which I didn't think was possible)! Like all my interviews, I asked him about his thoughts on discrimination in our country. It took him a little longer to answer this question, and I could tell he was processing a lot, but he finally began talking saying, "Yeah not gonna lie, discrimination is all over, in any country. But the discrimination you have to endure in America is a little different... You have to swallow it and ignore it.” But regardless of any discrimination, he has faced he still loves this country and the people in it and believes America is a place that welcomes immigrants. His final remarks to me were, “We can't allow the newcomers (immigrants) to replace slaves. We (America) don’t require to go to any continent and remove people as workforce because now immigrants are coming by themselves. But we have to protect them and give them support.”