Ana Jovel

Ana is originally El Salvador, she lived near the countryside in a ranch. "The place where I lived was called El Veinticinco, the twenty-fifth, because it was 25 kilometers from La Union [the nearest city]," she says when asked about where she lived"

Her family grew corn and cotton. "We had huge cotton and cornfields, and a majority of our land was covered with cows, making cheese played a large part in my life in El Salvador," she said, "With all the right ingredients and chemicals yes {I could still make cheese]. When I first got here a woman actually offered to start a business with me, but I declined. Now she's doing well somewhere in Texas." As for school, she went every day, it took her 2 hours to walk everyday. She could have taken the train but it would mean she would have to wait at school for an hour.

She left in 1972 when she was 19, during the civil war. She left before the war started so it didn't have an effect on her life. Her parents didn't like that she was leaving but she still made the choice to move to America. She left with the clothes on her back and a bag with some money, and to this day she is thankful she did it safely. She made a few friends along the way but she had to split up with them. When she left El Salvador she went to Guatemala, Mexico, and TJ, and from there she swam to the US border. It took her between 4 and 5 days to get from El Salvador to the US.

When she first arrived on the US border she found herself in a small neighborhood, West Chester. The first thing she did was go for a walk. Ana one day was riding on a bike and a guy screamed at her calling her the b-word, she did not know English so she repeated what they said back to him. She wanted to learn English so she took an English class. After learning English she went to become an American citizen. Ana's first job was working in a clothing factory, she took this job because she thought she would be making dresses, which had always been her dream. Her second job was working a gym instructor, she took this job because she was allowed to use the gym for free. She also tried getting a license to sell homes but failed the test, so instead, she decided to get a license to sell insurance.

About the Author: Daisy

Hi, my name is Daisy Emily Palafox and im 14 years old.i was born on January 25, 2005, in the hospital queen of the valley in West Covina. I go to Alvarado intermediate school. I live in Rowland Heights but grew up in La Puente. I have 4 siblings. My older brother that 28 my older sister that is 26 and my younger sister that is 12 years old. On funny thing about us is that we have different last names my older sister and my older brother are both last names "Soto" by my mom's last name and my sister and I are "Palafox" after my dad. I want to be a social worker that works with kids. One thing I enjoy to do is being with my family. In my free time, I like going out with friends to eat or to the mall. I like keeping myself busy. 

About the Author: Julia

HI, my name is Julia, I am 14 years old and I go to Alvarado Intermediate school. My grandma is from El Salvador and while doing this project I actually learned a lot more about her. I also learned a lot about my family and where exactly they are from. This as inspired me to ask other family members about the way they got to America too, so I can learn more about where my family is from.

Reflection:

It has helped me answer the question because it has shown that immigrants all have different reasons why they come, and how they come. It's important to hear immigrants stories because it gives us a better understanding as to why they are here. I learned that not everyone comes to America in the same way, for some people it feels like an adventure. I used interviewing skills, like eye contact and follow up questions, when interviewing my grandma. I used communication to share what I learned with