THEIR STORY

Si Chen and Guozhong Saeliu were a happily married couple living in the capital of Beijing, China. They were both living their normal lives. Both of their families were wealthy as they owned their own family businesses and property so life was very smooth for them. The two got married in 1936 and ran a family business. Everything was perfect for them, until it wasn't.

In 1937, Beijing was invaded by the Japanese as part of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese invaded their city of Beijing and destroyed homes, businesses, and killed millions of people. "It was really a terrible and horrific time and place to be in," Guozhong said as he described his painful past. Their home and business were burned down to the ground, they were hopeless. This gave them no choice but to leave China. Three months after the invasion, they soon boarded a fishing boat to Thailand. "30-40 people were on the boat and it took almost a month to arrive," they said. It was really cramped with a large amount of people on a small boat. Many people got seasick and couldn't the rough seas.

A month later, they arrived in Thailand. Because Thailand didn't enforce many rules on immigration, there were no problems getting into the country. However upon arrival, there was a huge language barrier because they were unable to speak Thai. Fortunately, there were a lot of Chinese people in the area who helped them understand the Thai language. After learning the language and adapting to their culture, they proceeded to have seven children and raised a whole family.

In November of 1996, they moved to the United States to be closer with their children who had moved there previously. They had no trouble getting into the U.S with the help of the Immigration Act of 1990. They imagined their lives being great because their children had already settled into homes and created businesses so they didn't have to worry about anything when they arrived. They felt welcomed when they came because their children took care of them and taught them the lifestyle. When asked if they had any regrets moving to the U.S., they said, "Nope, no regrets whatsoever. We were very happy and pleased with our decision."

LANCE

My name is Lance Taningco and I'm currently an 8th grader at Alvarado Intermediate School. Some of my hobbies include watching YouTube, Netflix, and listening to music. One of my favorite activities I partake in school are band where I play the trumpet. In terms of academics, I am an A+ student with a 4.0 GPA. My college goals are to attend a university with a good engineering program as I want to be an engineer. I have also expressed interest in attending the Naval or Air Force Academy to pursue a career in the military.

Immigration has shaped America in many ways. Every person that lives in the U.S isn't exactly from the U.S (except Native Americans), therefore making everyone either an immigrant or related to one. When settlers from Europe came to North America, they fought a revolution in the 1700s to escape British rule and create a new nation where people can have freedom. Another example of immigrants shaping American history are the Chinese. They needed work so they worked in the mines during the California Gold Rush, built railroads to connect the country, and started businesses. Many immigrants that faced discrimination fought for their rights to be treated like everyone else. Immigration has not only changed America's history, but it's culture as well. When immigrants came to the U.S, they brought their languages, food, and traditions. Although I didn't learn any new skills, I did utilize my social skills in partner work to be more collaborative with my partner. Usually, I don't get emotional about this kind of stuff, nor did I ever feel a personal connection to it. However, one thing that did stand out to me was the story of this one woman who was offered a good-paying job in America through an advertisement. But the advertisement was fake and she became a victim of a human trafficking ring. It put me into perspective on how many immigrants take risks coming to the U.S in search of a better life.

NATALIE 

My name is Natalie Saelao and I am a 13 year old currently in 8th grade at Alvarado Intermediate School. I was born in California in the year of 2005 and is living with my parents in Rowland Heights right now. Since I was a kid, I loved playing piano and later grew into the love of playing tennis. The people mentioned in this article are my grandparents who immigrated first from China, then to Thailand, and now here to America.

This project made me realize how diverse the population is in America and how everyone is very different yet similar to each other. Immigration in America has increased over the decades and its changed this country for the better, with immigrants coming in from different regions of the world, they teach us new cultures, new experiences, and new perspectives on life. These immigrants came in with many struggles and hardships told as different stories but all of the people have a certain connection with each other, that is told through story-telling. Skills that I have learned from this project is how to collaborate better with my partner and how to communicate with one another. This project made me discover the past of my family which is really fascinating because I realized the struggles my grandparents had to go through to give my other family members better opportunities, and it made me realize that I have life easy and how I should always persevere to get my goal.