Interview with Paula Escobar
For this project chose to I interview my very close friend, Paula Escobar, who immigrated to America from Chile at a young age, and then back to Chile as an adult. Knowing Paula for over fourteen years, there was much about her journey that I was pre-disclosed to and was a part of for, especially during high school when we were both deciding our futures. But having the chance to be able to sit down and talk with her about her life as an immigrant has truly been eye-opening to many things that I was previously unaware of.
Meeting Paula in the second grade in the highly diverse area of Northern Virginia, I had no clue about her life as an immigrant. I learned more about her story moving from Chile to America when we had grown up enough to better understand the concept of immigration. When we reached the age where we started to get our driver’s license, work minimum-wage jobs, or even apply to college, things were significantly much more complicated for Paula.
Through this interview, I have learned that Paula had immigrated here from Chile with her family at the age of three. Being so young, and not having had a pre-exposure to any kind of school yet or significant socialization with other children, she mentions that she had a much easier time assimilating into American culture than her parents, or her sister who was twelve at the time, both of which had already established a life in Chile and were accustomed to Chilean culture and traditions.
Because of the fact that Paula had never attended Chilean schools before, Paula describes that being socialized around American children, teachers, and getting started in the American school system immensely benefitted her in terms of fitting in and adjusting to American culture. Being introduced to American culture and being immersed in the American public school system at the same time as the children around her who were born in America, it comes to no surprise why Paula and I were not only oblivious to each other’s immigrant backgrounds, but all the other kids in our class as well.
On the other hand, she explains that her sister had a different story. Having immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve, and having already attended Chilean schools, her sister had a significant difference in her experience. She struggled with the change in language, as Paula mentions that her sister was bullied for having an accent, and also had to be in the ESOL program (English as a Second Language).
Along with language, the difference in culture was also another challenge for Paula’s family to adapt to. She discusses how it was difficult for her family to adjust to American customs and how they struggled with getting used to not using Chilean customs. An example that she shares is a traditional Latin–American custom of greeting people by giving them a kiss on the cheek, which is not generally used in America, where we usually shake hands, or hug if they are a close friends or family member.
This aligns with many concepts that we have learned about in class, including DACA, which protects immigrants who come to the United States as children and have been integrated into American society and know American culture better than the country in which they came from. Paula relates to this idea as she explains that her family wanted her to assimilate as easily as possible, so they did not eat traditional Chilean food often, and they did not celebrate Chilean holidays. This resulted in her feeling more American than Chilean, despite the fact that she was born in Chile.
It also reflects the ideas that we discussed regarding cultural customs. Many immigrants may struggle to adjust to American culture, and many parents may hold back from teaching their kids their country’s culture for the sake of blending in.
Though it may be difficult adjusting from culture to culture, areas with a high immigrant population generally have resources available to help immigrants better integrate into American society. When asked about the resources that were available to her and other immigrants in the city that we grew up in, Paula describes our hometown as “one of the best places to immigrate to.” Because we grew up in an extremely diverse area, the resources that were available to us was plentiful in comparison to other areas of America that do not have a large immigrant population.
A variety of ethnic markets, restaurants, and services were easily accessible for us, as well as programs that existed in school that acknowledged the high immigrant population, such as ESOL, or clubs like the Hispanic Leadership Club, which Paula was president of.
The library in our town also offered assistance for those who did not speak English as a first language, which Paula says that her father took advantage of. And besides resources that are specifically catered towards immigrants, Paula explains that our city’s resource of public transportation is extremely helpful for those who are unable to attain a driver’s license.
Because the resources available to us were abundant, and Paula had grown up with American culture, integration is something that Paula says that she did not struggle with too heavily, but her sister who had immigrated here at as an older child and had already gone through elementary and middle school in Chile struggled with much more.
Being born in Chile, Paula and her family immigrated to America for a variety of reasons. Paula’s father being offered a better job in the United States was one of the biggest the biggest pull factors, but the future of not only Paula’s education, but her sister as well was an extremely strong reason to come to the US.
Paula explains the privatization of education in Chile, and how that affected children who wanted to go to school in Chile. Having to pay for uniforms along with other school fees, Paula describes the education that was available in Chile as “subpar,” despite paying so much for it. And since America offers public education at a decently high quality, especially in the area that we grew up in, education was an extremely significant benefit of moving to the United States.
As discussed in class, immigration is a result of many different factors. The main factors for Paula and her family were based around the opportunities that were available to them in America. Paula’s father being offered a better job, and the promise of better education for his children were enough to pull Paula’s family into the United States, despite having family and an established life in Chile.
When talking about the attitude of her extended family towards her immigration, she describes that they did not want them to move to America, and that none of them plan to follow them to America. This is quite the difference between what was discussed in class, which was that immigrants generally immigrate to areas where they have family, which is the opposite in Paula’s situation.
Paula explains that her extended family is very traditionally Chilean and wanted her and her immediate family to return to Chile. I think that this concept would be confusing to many people who think that all immigrants are leaving their country due to a disastrous condition that the country is in.
When talking about how other people in our city felt about immigrants and how she felt like she was perceived in the area that she immigrated to, she says that it was generally positive. However, she does acknowledge that it is not that way in many other areas.
Moving back to Chile was a decision that Paula had made in high school. Planning our futures together during high school allowed me insight to the factors that pushed Paula from American to back to Chile, a country much more unfamiliar to her.
Identity is a very significant aspect of immigration, and in regards to Paula, identity was one of the factors that brought Paula back to Chile. Growing up with American culture and customs led her to feel as though she was missing a part of her identity.
As we have learned in class, many people who are immigrants themselves or have immigrant parents but grew up completely immersed in American culture tend to feel like they exist in between cultures, which Paula seems to agree with. She herself explains how she felt as though she existed in the grey-area between American culture, the culture she grew up with, and Chilean culture, the culture that Paula was born with.
From feeling like she was in between cultures when she was residing in America, when she moved back to Chile, she describes feeling too American for Chile.
As mentioned earlier, Paula explained that she had despite having some struggles with identity, she still had little to no trouble being able to integrate into American society. This however came to be a somewhat of an issue when she moved back to Chile, as she states that she felt noticeably American in Chile.
From having an American accent in her Spanish, to the way that she dresses and carries herself, it is prominent that she comes from an American culture.
When it comes to how she in received in Chile, sticking out as someone who obviously comes from America, Paula says that it is not necessarily something that she is too concerned about. As opposed to the heated debate surrounding immigrants that exist in America, Paula explains that in Chile, American culture is idolized and admired, particularly after the fall of the dictatorship.
I am very thankful to have had this opportunity to talk with Paula about her journey, and I hope that her story can reach other immigrants who can relate to her journey, and people who are unaware of the experiences of an immigrant in the United States.
Hi, everyone, I’m Hannah, and I’m here with my friend Paula, who is an immigrant from Chile. How are you?
I’m very good. I currently find myself in Chile.
Okay, so first question, how old were you when you first came to the USA? And what was that like for you at that age?
So, I was three years old when we came to the United States. And honestly, I’m so glad that I was so young, because it made learning, learning the language much, much easier, like interacting with other other little kids at my age, like in the little in the, in the kindergarten or at the daycare. And I, I never grew up an accent because of that, I was always exposed to the language from a very young age. And, um, my, my sister came, she was like, 12, or something. And it was much harder for her, especially because of the language because there there’s many differences between Spanish and English. And the cultural differences to like, it was it was hard to get rid of old customs.
What are some examples of like old customs that you had to get rid of?
So, in many Latin American countries, Latin American countries, um, the way that we greet each other, is by a kiss on the cheek. So you just put cheek to cheek to another person, you say, “Hello, how are you? Like, how long have you been?” And obviously, that’s not, that’s not something very prominent in the United States. Not much physical contact, like it’s usually just like a “Hello,” or like, maybe a hug if you’re close. But that I definitely saw my parents, like, tripping up a few times, like going in for the that type of greeting. And then the other person would just like put up their hand or be like, “hello.”
So, who did you immigrate to the United States with? Like, did you come with your family? or?
Yeah, I came with my whole family. My mother, my father, and my, my older sister,
And what pulled you to, like push and pull factors from immigrating to us and leaving Chile?
Like, what do you mean? Could you explain a bit?
Like, what made you guys immigrate to the United States? Well, maybe what made you guys want to come to the US.
So my dad is an electrical engineer. And he he had been working in Chile for a few years. And he got offered a job by a company in the United States. This was probably before I was born. So he went, for the first time to the United States to try out this job. See what it was like, ‘cause it wasn’t the the salary that mattered most of him. It was the new experience. My dad came from the farm land, basically. And yeah, went to a big major city to study. And then he went to the United States to work. So um, once he realized that it was stable, he really liked it, And he liked being in the United States more than in Chile, especially for for us. For us, like his daughters that were growing up. Um, oh, he did a few years back and forth between Chile and the United States. And but after I was born, it became pretty hard for him to maintain that and my mom to be alone in Chile. I mean, she had her family and everything who would help help her with taking care of us and stuff. But obviously, being separated from your husband is important. So ultimately, my mom agreed with my dad to move to the United States because it was 100% for me and my sister’s future. And the education in the United States is much more thorough, I guess, and there’s no wall. It’s also public in there that you have to pay for everything. Everything is private. You have to pay for uniforms to school, school fees. And the education here is is pretty subpar. I mean, comparing like what I know compared to what my my my school friends know, I guess. I feel like I have more a better base than them.
And when you lived in America, I know you came from a really young age but did you feel American when you lived in America?
So it was actually really weird because I would speak English at school and everything and I taught English with my friends and then my parents barely spoke English, they and they had a very thick accent. So they would they would always speak to me in Spanish. And sometimes I would respond in Spanish, but I got used to responding to them in English. So, um what was the question again? Sorry.
Did you feel like you were an American when you lived in America?
I definitely felt the in between. Because I would I would have like my English, English speaking personality at school, I want to talk with all my classmates and my teachers. And then I would have to turn it around or switch it off when I would go home and speak to my parents. Or if my if no, I don’t know, if a friend came over. It would be hard I would have to translate for my parents. Like they like if they wanted to offer juice or something or if they wanted to offer a meal. I’d be the one telling my friends like hey my mom wants to make you this. Do you want any? And so I definitely felt that I was both Chilean, but I was mostly American red because I my parents didn’t, they really wanted me to assimilate really well, because my sister had a lot of trouble with bullying because of her accent, and things like that. So they never really taught me any, any cultural customs from Chile. Like we never really celebrated the Independence Day. Or we didn’t really eat that much traditional food. It would, it would be like, once in a while my mom would make like empanadas or something. But it wasn’t like, forced onto me like you are Chilean in America. It was like you should be an American in America.
Right. So you didn’t have any or you didn’t have like much trouble feeling American?
Yeah.
Do you think that affected you when you move back to Chile? Like Did you feel too American to be in Chile?
Oh, for sure. For sure. Just like, even if, even if I don’t have an accent people tell me I don’t have an accent in Spanish. Um, so they can’t really like pinpoint that I’m American. But like, the way I dress, the way I walk the way I carry myself. It’s very American and being loud. Very loud spoken. Yeah, it is sometimes a characteristic of Latin Americans. But Americans just do it differently.
Right.
And people who aren’t American kind of notice it.
Yeah.
Do you have any like stories where you were acting to American or like you didn’t you weren’t aware of like a Chilean custom and people noticed?
So, the probably the biggest thing is that I would always always always be asking everybody for like toilet paper or for like 100 peso coins, because here, the public bathrooms. And even in schools they don’t like, in universities, they don’t have toilet paper you really they’re purchasing before you go in if there’s somebody that’s like regulating it, or you just have to remember to bring your own. And many times I would just go straight into the bathroom not thinking. And then there was nothing. There was no paper there was nothing and I’d be like, Oh, no. So that was definitely like a big problem for me. And yeah, would be like, Oh, yeah, that’s just a, I got the nickname at the university “gringa,” I’m ‘cause there’s lot of Paula’s. So it was just easier. But like, I’d be like, Oh, please, can you give me come forward? I’m being too gringa. Like, the toilet paper. Would you?
Do you think that, um, people the attitude towards you being too American and Chile is nicer than what it would have been in America if you were to Chilean in America?
Yeah, the thing about Chila is that, um, they idolize American culture, they may they love their Coca Cola, they love their, their, their potato chips. And they just they want they want to do like, everything that America does. They like look up to them. Especially after the fall of the dictatorship. And it was very, it became very, we became very westernized.
Um, so, how does I know you didn’t go to- did you go to school in Chile?
I did not. I was only taking care of my my grandmother at home. And I didn’t reach the age for like a daycare or anything.
So would you say that going to school in America your experience was similar to everyone else’s life like everyone else in America and yeah, in America?
Yeah, I definitely am. Because I went from I even went to like some I wouldn’t call it daycare. When I would go to like the recreational centers, like in the community, and my mom would drop me off, and we would do activities and stuff. And then I would I then I went smoothly into kindergarten past middle school, high school, and then I graduated.
Right. And was it different for your sister?
For sure she had already. I’m pretty sure she was up to about Middle School in Chile. And then she went to the United States. And she had to, she was like, finishing Middle School, I’m not sure. But she was she also was held back a year because of the language difficulties and because the school system can’t really like translate what she learned in Spanish to English. So she definitely, she would she was part of the like a English as a second language program, they will have their own special classes and stuff. So it was it was a lot different for her.
Mm hmm. Did you end up having to like help her out a lot with language stuff or school stuff?
Surprisingly, I really didn’t. She she got the hang of it like super quick, super fast. And even then she she still focused more on artistic, her artistic abilities. So she would take our classes, pottery classes, drawing, etc. and not really focus too much on like, theoretical material.
Okay, interesting. And so we both grew up in Centreville, do you think that Centreville had enough resources for immigrants? Because I know it’s really it’s really diverse there. But would you say there’s enough resources like say health care wise, churches, like communities for immigrants there?
Yeah, I think it’s one of like, the best places that somebody could immigrate to, because they’re, like you said, like, there’s so many different populations of people like and they all have their own their own thing, you know, they go to the their own their own church, or they can meet up in some place. But like the public transportation, because in case it because it’s very common that an immigrant can’t get their driver’s license, if they’re just under a visa or something. But there was there was public transportation, and it wasn’t that good. Like, it only ran every hour, and after a certain hour, it would just stop. So it’d be like, inconvenient if you got stuck in some place. And you would have to wait until I don’t know the night for the bus to pass again. Um, but there were there were definitely a lot of resources. There were, I remember at the Public Library they had like, either they were teaching English, or they were practicing speaking English. So my dad would go to those to practice because he would he would work with, he would work my mom usually just my mom would stay at home, so she didn’t really have the need to practice. But yeah, I feel like there’s a lot of resources. And it’s fairly easy to be an immigrant in Centreville. It’s not like something that you can feel a disparity between you and an American.
Mm hmm. So do you think being integrated into American culture in Centreville is different than as if you were in Harrisonburg or somewhere else that didn’t have as much immigrants? Or did you did you feel like the integration could be improved a little bit in Centreville?
I do think that the integration could be improved a bit because, like the community, like, um, some communities come up, they’re just like, very closed, like, they don’t really let anybody else go in. Like, if you if you went to the same elementary school as, as a as another little kid whose parents were like that, who were very close and stuff, and they tried to keep to their own circle, it was, it was kind of like, going under the radar and stuff. Right. But it’s definitely It was definitely beneficial to be in Centerville compared to like, more rural places or more, with with less diversity, I should say.
So do you feel like you had a lot of opportunities for education, for your career, in Centreville? Or do you think that now that you’re in Chile, you have more opportunities now?
In Centreville I do think there are a lot of opportunities, the the amount of like extracurricular classes that you take, or like the AP program, AP program was very extensive, and especially in like Fairfax High School and stuff, when you start going a little bit more outside Centreville. They, they had a lot of programs and they had there were like, um, like the after school programs that they had, I remember that there would be just a lot of a lot of kids from a lot of different places. And like, um, they it wouldn’t ever be like a determining factor, like where you were from, like, everybody would still do the same thing eat the same snacks, we would still all watch the same movies and stuff. It wasn’t like okay, these, you you don’t understand English so well. So we’re gonna push you over here.
And do you think that how are people’s attitudes towards you being an immigrant? Were people welcoming? Where people hostile? And not just in Centreville? I think that we have like, a unique plane of existence on the internet. Do you think that people were hostile on the internet? Do you think that when you like, would walk around in public do you think that people what are people’s attitudes towards you, though, to you?
So when we first got to when we first got to the US, there was the you could feel like a sense of hostility from from, like, people who are already living there, one of my neighbors, like, almost next door neighbor, like he, he was very rude with us, and would always be like, very, very, just very rude. I blank on the words in English, so. And for no reason at all. Like we never, we never made any noise. We didn’t have a pet for years before we got before we were settled in. So it was just it was just like, bias tape for for no reason. And, and he would even prevent his daughter’s from playing with me sometimes. Because he knew that I was an immigrant. And it did bother me. But I would always go and find other other people to play with. Or my mom would always take me Take me walking, or we would go to the park somewhere else where I just didn’t have to be in the presence of something like that, because I was still young.
Right. And did you experience that a lot? Or was that just like that one incident?
No, no, it was it was probably just like that one incident most people in in Centreville are very welcoming. They’re very open minded. They don’t they don’t just close people off.
Do you think that, do you think Centreville is more open minded than the rest of America? Because did you did you experience any hostility on the internet?
I think it’s I think it’s one of the most one of the more accepting places on and in America the really like on the internet. Like I never really experienced people being like, why? Like, I can’t believe that. Um, it would usually not really be that big of a deal. But like in person, I don’t know. Sometimes, like people would say the wrong thing. Or they would say something. That was just like blatantly racist. Well, they didn’t know. They didn’t know, because their parents didn’t teach them I guess.
Mm hmm. And did you ever experienced that in school like with other students, or teachers that would say the wrong thing, but wouldn’t know?
Yeah, for sure. I wasn’t directly at me most of the time, like with teachers, nothing really happened. But I had heard of experiences that other students, other immigrant students had with teachers where they would question their legality, or they would they would be too personal on that thing in that theme, but for the most part, the teachers were very respectful. They were very open. Um, the students I mean, teenagers are teenagers are gonna say mean things. And sometimes those things are racist, and they, and they hurt you a bit, but, um, I just kind of accepted. I’ve accepted that. They were just teenagers. I didn’t know any better. And if they still do those things now then yeah, they’re they’re races and things. But everybody was making mistakes in high school. Like, there’s no way you can be perfect as a teenager.
Mm hmm. And how was your experience in America regarding politics? Did you feel like it was a really heated thing like immigration? How did you feel about it all?
For sure, I immigration was one of like, it was when I started getting into politics and understanding it. Immigration was definitely my primary focus for everything for for like, if we had to write essays or things like that, I would always focus on immigration and it got very hostile like before, before 2016 It was kind of like man, like, you know, undocumented, illegal immigrants exist. And then once Trump started his his campaign, it started getting a lot more heated a lot more hostile sometimes. Like in I remember in, in a government class, one of the kids started talking about how there shouldn’t the like, there’s too many Hispanic kids here, like, they should go somewhere else. And not like taint the reputation of the school and things like that. And I was like, Whoa, what happened? what happened to the right, the freedom of rights?
And so while you were in the US, did you do you have any family that was in Chile that you kept in contact with? Did they visit or did you visit them?
So all of my extended family, like, lives in Chile, my, my parents and my sister were the only people that we knew basically, from that lived in the United States. And besides, like, my dad’s work friends, like one of one of my dad’s friends from university actually also made it to the United States. So that was like, um, like a very like, Uncle Uncle aunt relationship that we had when we were going over to that houses, but I only visited Chile once with my mom. And when I went, it was, it was like a, it was definitely a culture shock. Because I was, I was so American at that point. Mm. That like, being thrust into this other culture, I was like, What and I, I didn’t speak very good Spanish, I did not speak Spanish, like, basically at all until I took formal classes in high school. So it was pretty difficult whenever when I went. And then when I got older, like, in middle school ish, members of my extended family, like my mom, sister, her husband, uncle, they would they would visit like one by one and, and there would be a bit easier because my mom would be like, the main person in charge of taking them around or speaking to them. So like, if I had anything to say out, and I didn’t know how to say it, I would ask my mom, like, how do I say this, and then I’d be able to communicate with them. And it was easier when they came to visit because I I was in my I was in my environment. I wasn’t right. Or I felt the most comfortable. So I could show them around or I could help them do it called errands if they needed it. Small Things like that.
And how did they feel about you when your family immigrated to the United States? Did they want to come with you? Do they want you to come back to Chile? or How did they feel?
So my my mom’s side of the family definitely, definitely wanted her and us to come back. They’re very, very traditional Latin Americans where family is the most important thing. So like being so far apart, and since we can’t we got to the US in like, 2003. So there was barely any technology, like there is now right. Um, so it was a lot harder for them to accept it. Um, but, I mean, since my dad was my dad was working here. And there was no reason to not let us go. Right. My dad, my dad’s side of the family has always been like very, they they travel a lot. They’re there. They’re all around the place. So they they have no problem with they’re actually excited that he went to the United States like, Oh, my gosh, you went further than me. I’ve only been to like Panama or something. Yeah.
Did your mom’s of the family? Do they just want you to come back to Chile? Or were they considering also coming to the United States?
No, they they definitely would just tell us to come back or like visit often. Mm hmm. But it’s in in Latin American countries. It’s very hard to get out of that. And without like, somebody from another country coming to you and taking you there. Very hard to just go on your own.
Right. And so did your sister does she stay in America? Does she go back to Chile after high school?
So she she took a two year break in the United States. She stayed in the United States. But ultimately she did. She did go back to Chile to study for university. Um, and she and it’s because she had she was more connected to Chilean culture than she was American culture. And because of university, it’s harder it was harder for her Um, to apply to universities in the United States and, and take, like, get a good score on the LSAT and things like that. Right. Um, so she found it just easier to come to Chile.
Right? And did that inspire you to also go back to Chile.
So I think I think it was like a similar case where, like, it’s hard to get into colleges in the United States if you’re not like explicitly an American citizen, right, or even have permanent residency, which was rejected to us, for many for, for legal reasons, and lawyer problems and stuff like that. So I found it was much easier to just skip all the headache of trying to apply to a college in the US and then seeing what the tuition would be like, because I would have to apply to out of state tuition right away, even if it was a college in Virginia. Mm hmm. And so I ultimately decided to go to come to Chile to for university after well for life after high school, because of the fact that I was I was born here, and there’s certain rights that are given to citizens of each country, and it just makes it a lot easier.
Mm hmm. So are there any other factors that pushed you back to move back to Chile after high school besides education?
Um, I also, I felt, I started to feel like I was missing a part of myself, because I’ve never really, like embraced the Chilean side of me. And I didn’t really know what being Chilean meant, I didn’t even know what day was Independence Day for Chila celebrate on July 4. So I felt a longing to, to get to know where I was from. And, um, get to know my family, too. I barely ever saw them. And I have a lot of cousins. So like, having them grow throughout the years. And like, I only saw them when they were like little kids. And like, we would play with like the sandbox and things like that. But they were also there now finishing high school and university, and they’re entering jobs and stuff like that. And I was like, I don’t even know who they are. They don’t know who I am. I felt like it was it was it was a integral part of my identity that I needed to define.
Mm hmm. And do you think you’ll ever come back to the United States? Do you think that you found your home and Chile?
I definitely will leave Chile and go back to the United States. I’m not sure. But Chile right now and how it’s going to be for like a few more years. And is not not the best. There’s a lot of corruption, government corruption, there’s a lot of like inequality, let’s say socio economic inequality, like it’s very dividing here. Mm hmm. And there’s just a lot less opportunities in Chile, and also in Latin American countries in general. So I would definitely leave. Um, I’ve been thinking about like pursuing, like, maybe a master’s degree or something in the United States from the United States college. Because that it helps. It gives more importance.
Right.
But I don’t think I would stay 100% in the United States after I finish university, because the United States also isn’t isn’t the best place. Right? And I, if, if, if when I graduate, when I yeah, when I graduate, I have enough resources, to be able to choose where I can, where I can go and where I can continue living, I’ll definitely I’ll definitely take up on those opportunities and not just stay in one place.
Right. So you mentioned the socio economic problems and Chile and I know there’s a lot of debate right now about like socioeconomic status in America. Would you say that it’s worse than Chile? Or would you do you think that it’s more prominent and Chile or in America it’s,
I would say it’s worse in Chile, rather than it being more prominent because there’s a lot of systems that have been put in place by the government that require like I’m required taking out a certain amount of your salary every month and like for for Social Security here, I’m the you the money that gets taken out of your paycheck, like the obligatory obligatorily. You like that, that stays in a fund and you can’t touch it. In America, but here, it’s put into the hands of investors, okay? And those investors do whatever you whatever they want with the money that they have with that being given to them. So whether that means a loss, that means that people just lose their money that they have for for retirement. Mm hmm. They just lose it. And so, there’s not, there’s a lot of, like, control that the government has over the people and the people’s resources. Right.
So, okay, lastly, do you have anything else you want to share about your experience, um, with immigration to America to Chile, um, any last thoughts?
So I would just say that I’m very thankful that I immigrated at a young age and I was able to assimilate into American culture. I wasn’t bullied because I wasn’t heavily bullied, because I was from another country because my parents didn’t speak English. And because I didn’t speak English. That luckily did not happen. And I’m thankful that I have an American education, the standards of education here are a bit higher. And then then Chile is she lives specifically. So it was definitely it’s definitely an advantage for me to be from the United States here in Chile. Right. Um, and but the probably the worst part of immigrating is just just being in the in between not feeling like you’re American, not feeling like you’re like you’re like you’re to land in my case. And just always like going between those two spaces like celebrate celebrating Chilean traditions, but still still having to, to eat American foods or adapt American foods. American customs.
Well, thank you so much for doing this interview with me.
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