Interview with Olinda Taysing Fuda
Introduction:
When I enrolled in this course I was intrigued and excited to become more educated on the topic of immigration. Although I am fairly up to date with current immigration news and policies, I was fairly uneducated on immigration policies and theories before the Trump era. Once I saw this project on the syllabus, I knew that this course was a great fit for me. Creating this project has been quite a journey between technology not being on my side and finding someone to interview. Though choosing someone to interview was difficult, I am glad that I chose my best friend’s mom. I knew that her story would tie in well with questions that I wanted to ask and with course themes. The initial interview with Olinda Taysing Fuda took place during Thanksgiving break, on November 23, 2022. Due to technological issues, we redid the interview on December 11, 2022. Unfortunately, she only had 25 minutes to spare for the second interview, we still had a great conversation. Being best friends with her daughter meant that before this interview, I knew a few surface level things about her journey, so I was very excited to hear the entirety of her story.
Analysis and Summary:
The Beginning: Olinda was born in a city located in Ecuador called Guayaguil. Her entire family lived there for 10 years until her father passed away. The death of her father caused financial trouble for her family. This caused her mother to immigrate to the United States. Once her mother left Ecuador, Olinda and her siblings moved in with their aunt. Olinda said, “My aunt, they all have a lot more money than we had. They were middle class. So in a way, it probably was good.” Moving in with their aunt made the most sense financially for Olinda and her siblings. They lived with their aunt for nine years, until they immigrated to the United States.
Arriving and adapting to living in the United States: When Olinda turned 19, she and her siblings immigrated to the United States. They were all under the impression that it was going to be this amazing place with unlimited opportunities. She said, “Well, the family, the friends, the culture, the language. So it was well, first, it was very exciting that we say you’re going to America. And everything is very exciting. And you have these huge ideas that everything is going to be so beautiful over here. So it was very exciting. Everybody was very happy. Finally, after almost over eight years of waiting at that time was nine years of waiting. We’re coming! And when we came here, it was a completely different story.” They were exciting to be here and very grateful but coming to the United States surely had its challenges. The greatest challenge for Olinda was the language barrier. Her school in Ecuador taught a very small amount of English so she knew basic phrases, but that was not enough to help her adapt to living in the United States.
When they arrived in New York, their mother and her husband picked them up from the airport. Olinda was just in awe of how big everything is. She said that it was so beautiful. It filled her with hope. When she arrived in the town that she was moving to, Patterson, New Jersey, she was disappointed. She described it as “one step up from ghetto.” Living in a town like this one made her feel like leaving Ecuador was a mistake. The first few months were an emotional time for Olinda. She didn’t feel like the United States was the best place for her, but she knew in her heart that she had to stay so she could be with her family. Integrating was challenging for Olinda and her family. Only having the ability to speak a minimal amount of English made it very difficult for Olinda to feel like she was at home.
Another challenge for Olinda and her family was finding work. It was incredibly difficult for them to integrate into this new place. Her mother worked two minimum wage jobs. She would leave early in the morning, come home for a short period of time at 4:30, and then leave again to go to another job. If Olinda had stayed in Ecuador, she and her family would have been better off financially. This was another challenge that made Olinda question living in the United States. After living here for about one month, Olinda and her sister Monica began taking classes to learn English. Once her English improved, Olinda went to work with her mother after class. She would work from 5pm to 1am. Although it was difficult, Olinda said she finally began to realize that there was a way out of their current living situation.
As time passed, Olinda’s sister decided that it was time to enroll into college. Although Olinda was happy for Monica, she was upset that she made this decision alone. She felt left out and was upset that she was being left behind. Eventually, Olinda was able to look past this and visited Monica. After a few visits, she decided that higher education was something that she wanted to pursue. She filled out her application and enrolled was enrolled in Rutgers University. Her time at Rutgers was filled with challenges. She said that her counselor didn’t see her potential and insisted that she pursue something other than engineering. She was told that the courses that she wanted to enroll in were too hard for her and that she wouldn’t be successful. No one would listen to her because she was an immigrant who was still learning English. Olinda insisted that she was good at math and could handle the tough courses. Although it was an uphill battle, Olinda enrolled into the engineering program. Not only did Olinda choose to study engineering because it was something that she could do successfully, but she also chose this because of the high paying salaries. She wanted to be able to support herself. Rutgers University is a very large school. Some of her classes had up to 500 students in them. Her smallest class has about 70 students. Because the classes were so large, Olinda found it difficult to make connections with her professors. She needed those connections so that they could give her the support that she needed as an English language learner. It all became too overwhelming for her and so she withdrew from Rutgers. Withdrawing from Rutgers would not be helpful with the process of integrating in this still fairly new country, so she enrolled into a smaller school, NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology). This school was more geared towards engineering than Rutgers which played a small role in the success of Olinda. NJIT is a lot smaller than Rutgers, which was beneficial to Olinda. Smaller classes meant better relationships with her professors. If she needed help, she could ask. She felt far more supported at this new school. One of her professors at NJIT told her that because she was so dedicated, she would be very successful. He was also an immigrant, so he resonated with her situation and was very inclined to help her.
After she graduated from NJIT, she was able to find work with her engineering degree. Like many college students, her first job wasn’t ideal. Although it wasn’t the greatest job, she was able to support herself and help her family. She worked in quality control at a company that made perfume bottles. She did not want to work there for too long because it was very dirty and dusty. She knew she could so better than this. Olinda found a job at L’Oreal. She was very content there. She worked as a facilities engineer. She oversaw inventory control. This job required a lot of computer work which was a perfect fit for her.
While she was working, she got married. She wanted to continue to work, but when she had her first child, her mother got sick and passed away. Her mother was going to take care of her son, Antonio, while she went to work. Olinda and her husband made the decision for her to stop working and raise their son. This led her to the life she lives today. Olinda eventually had her second child, Alexis. They live in a beautiful beach town in New Jersey. Although she does miss the authentic Spanish food, she is happy with the decision that her and her family made to move to the United States. She does hope to return to Ecuador soon, since she hasn’t been there in 20 years. She has been able to share her culture with her children. She loves to dance and listen to Spanish music. She also takes great pride in cooking her family authentic Ecuadorian dishes.
Conclusion: Olinda said, “My life is here. I truly at this moment, I don’t miss anything from there. Yeah, I don’t. I have two children. And I’m very happy here.” There are of course some things that she misses about the culture. Although her journey was not an easy one, she is happy, content, and grateful for the life she built here. Learning about Olinda and her journey was truly an honor.
Emma Edwards: Okay, so this is Emma Edwards and I am here to start the interview. Could you please state your name where you are from and where you were born?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Um, my name is Olinda Taysing Fuda. I came from Ecuador from the city of Guayaguil.
Emma Edwards: And could you please describe that place?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Um. It’s a very busy city. It is. It reminds me of New York. It is a port but it’s tiny compared to New York. It is always warm. The lowest temperature might be at night could be maybe 65 a couple months of the year, so it’s always warm. It is a nice place. Yes.
Emma Edwards: And how long did you live there?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: For 19 years
Emma Edwards: Oh, wow. Okay, so it was life live for you there? School, family, friends, anything you would like to share.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Ok uh, I have a large family but my father died when we were very young, so we didn’t have too much economically. So my mother left for this country. When I was 10.
Emma Edwards: Wow, I really didn’t know that.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Oh my God, just that thought came back to me.
Emma Edwards: It’s ok.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: But anyway, we stayed with my aunt. My aunt, they all have a lot more money than we had. They were middle class. So in a way, it probably was good. I stayed with her for uh, well until I come here.
Emma Edwards: Alright. And then who did you come over here with? Was it just you? Did you come over with any siblings?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Oh, yeah. No, no, we came my sister Monica, my brothers and so on. And me. And my sister Monica son. He was two years old.
Emma Edwards: Oh, wow. So how old were you when you moved to the US? You were 19?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Yes.
Emma Edwards: Right. Gotcha. Alright. And how old were your siblings? Were they around your age? Or?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Yes. My sister Monica is a year older. But my brother? He was? I think twelve, when we came here.
Emma Edwards: Wow. So what caused you to come to the US with your family? What was the reason?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Economical reasons.
Emma Edwards: And what was the most difficult thing about leaving your country?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Well, the family, the friends, the culture, the language. So it was well, first, it was very exciting that we say you’re going to America. And everything is very exciting. And you have these huge ideas that everything is going to be so beautiful over here. So it was very exciting. Everybody was very happy. Finally, after almost over eight years of waiting at that time was nine years of waiting. We’re coming! And when we came here, it was a completely different story.
Emma Edwards: What was it like? What sort of challenges did you face when you got here?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Well the first challenge was the language because over there in Ecuador, they do teach you a little bit of English. Um, you take like sometimes once or twice during the week during the school year, but it’s very minimal. So you think you know something when you come here and you can’t even say a word. So the language was the biggest barrier.
Emma Edwards: I’m sure. Um, was there anything else or was language the biggest obstacle? Were there any other challenges that you faced when you got here?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Yeah, well, my mother was working two jobs at the time. So she will be leaving home very early. And coming home about 4:30 for a little bit and go on to another job. And my mother didn’t drive She was working minimum salary jobs. So economically she wasn’t better off than my family in Ecuador, because I went to stay with my aunt. So, at least to me, it felt like actually, I was better off in Ecuador rather than coming here. But my mother was here, my family, my immediate family, my brothers, my mother, my sister was here. So this was my place.
Emma Edwards: So were you able to adapt easily living in a new place? Or were you able to find work? Were you able to study? What did you do?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Okay. After a couple of months of really emotionally very difficult. My sister Monica and I went to learn English. And then my mother took me to work to her job, which is was a factory that we used to work, I think it was 5 to 1 o’clock in the morning. And in the morning, we will go to the learning center. So after that, it was easier because it kind of I kind of understood there was a way to get out the situation.
Emma Edwards: Well, that’s that does sound like a lot, but I’m glad you’re able to figure figure things out. So where did you end up?Did you go right to New Jersey? Or was there somewhere else that you went before you moved there?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: No. My mother picked us up at Kennedy Airport.
Emma Edwards: Oh, wow.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: The ride was beautiful because we were looking at this amazing and huge highways and a huge city from Kennedy Airport and going all through that area. And we went to so things happen in here. I don’t know why. Okay. I’m sorry. That’s okay. I don’t know what happened. What is it? Let me put my glasses because I can’t see, why let’s see.
Emma Edwards: I can still see you everything is good on my end.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: I don’t know where I’m supposed to be. Okay, nevermind.
Emma Edwards: All good?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Okay. You know, the computer sending me a message. So when we go to our home, was actually in Patterson. It was in a city. Not a pretty area. So is to me at that time, it was like a step above ghetto. So that was one of the reasons. I felt that I was better off in Ecuador, rather than coming here to live in, you know, in a not in an area that it wasn’t very nice.
Emma Edwards: Okay, well, when you arrived, what were you feeling? I’m sure it was a very, very emotional time. What were you thinking? What was your family thinking?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Well, it was just my mother. And her husband that picked us up and brought us to their home. So it was very emotional because we were here. We haven’t seen while my mother. We didn’t see her for about a years. And then she came back here and we stay over there. So we didn’t see my mother for like about a year at that time. So it was very emotional. And my expectations were were much higher. So it was a shock that this is where I’m going to live this is okay. Why did I come here? But I wouldn’t say any of those things because, but in inside me and I say I should just stay in Ecuador. It was it was hard.
Emma Edwards: Yes, I’m sure it was hard. What was the most surprising thing that you got here? Because I know you said it wasn’t really what you expected. Was there anything that surprised you anything that like brought hope?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Well, when I landed the airport was so enormous. It was it was a city in itself. So there were many things that were good because too that, I will see these huge buildings that we’re driving, you know, from Kennedy to my uh, to Patterson it’s a long time. So you could see things that I say, Oh, my God, amazing, huge, beautiful. So there were good things, but living in Patterson, and it was the difficult part.
Emma Edwards: Yeah I’m sure. When did you move from that area? When did you move?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Well, I was uh, I have left the factory because I knew a little bit more English. And I worked in a place that it was called innovations, is a store that used to sell luggage, purses. And it was in Willowbrook mall in New Jersey. By that time I would, I already have my license. And I was driving a huge car, that I paid $200. It was the fury three, it was huge. And it was so old, but it took me wherever I needed to go. So I was over there. I know a little English enough to get a job and talk to people. And my sister Monica said one time “I’m leaving and going to the university.” And I was another in shock. I said, How can she didn’t tell me? I wouldn’t say that to her. At that time, how come she didn’t tell me she made her plans all by herself. And I’m now be left at feel left out. So she left. I went to visit her a few times. So then I say she went, I’m going too. So the next year I did all the papers and I went to Rutgers. Oh, that was so difficult.
Emma Edwards: I’m sure. What was it like there? What did you study? What did
Olinda Taysing Fuda: I was one thing that I found that he was very discouraging when I was applying; the people, the counselor over there, didn’t see my potential. She said those courses are too hard for you. You’re they’re not you’re, you’re not going to make and what we’re trying to do is that you will be successful. But I said, I used to say, but I’m good at math. I know I’m good at math, I could do that. I don’t I’m not good in languages. You know, I had a hard time learning the language. I’m still learning. And so they push me to other areas. And I say I can’t do that. I know, I know, I have to go and say I’m engineering. I know I could do it. I know. It was such a fight with the counselor to let me go to register my major to be engineering. And so that was discouraging. But finally, I persevere and I went for engineering.
Emma Edwards: That’s awesome. That’s really great, I’m glad you stood your ground and went for that.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Well, because I researched the salaries. The place that many years that she was sending me, I wouldn’t be able to survive, you still would need help. And I wanted to at least when I finished school, to be able to support myself. That was one of the reasons another reason I was so petrified of the English. So how could I write a paper, how could I do these things? Anyway, so it was good. When I went to school, it was good. There were many people that helped over there, but it was overwhelming.
The classes some of the classes in Rutgers were 500 students. And then the smaller classes that recitation are 70. That’s the that small and it was hard. It’s I feel isolated. I uh, but there were good things too. There were people that It really, truly tried to help you know. So I, I ended up withdrawing, because it was just overwhelming. It was overwhelming. And I don’t know, I wasn’t doing good in some courses. And I talked to the counselor, and I said, and she said, maybe you have to, and I didn’t have enough money, and all of the things and all that. And so I withdrew for a while.
Emma Edwards: Okay.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: And then I went to NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology). After a couple years, I worked, I saved some money, and I went to NJIT. It was different over there. This this class is very small, the professor get to know you. So if I needed help, I went and asked for help. So it was different. And that’s where I got my degree.
Emma Edwards: That’s awesome. That’s, that’s really great. That is, um, it definitely helps as someone that’s in college. Now it definitely helps to have a connection with a professor, and they’re definitely more willing to help you if they don’t have too many students. That’s awesome. So after you got your degree, where did you end up? What did you do?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: First, well, there were many things that happened between there were ups and downs, you know, you know how life is up and down, but I guess I want to be positive. So I got my degree. And then I went to work in in a place as a supervisor, the in Passaic. I can’t even remember the name. I worked there for six months, nine months. It was making perfume bottles. And I was supposed to keep the quality control. But it was, it was a little dirty in the place. It was a lot of dust. And I had a lot of allergy. So little by little, I continue looking for a job. And after a while, I don’t know, maybe two years or so. I um, I went to work at L’Oreal.
Emma Edwards: My dad worked at L’Oreal.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: L’Oreal it was in Dayton. Then they were building a distribution center in Cranbury. So then we moved to Cranbury. It was good. It’s a good job. So first, I was a supervisor. And then I was facilities engineer. It was good.
Emma Edwards: What did? What did the facilities engineer job entail? What does that mean? What did you do?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Okay, so it was mostly is the inventory, inventory control? And how much inventory? Do we need to keep here? Where do we need to keep the inventory because they are other warehouses in the Midwest? So it’s mostly that I, I did not deal with the electric part, the maintenance of the building. I was the leader and it was a lot of computers, you know, and observing processes from serving processes and streamline them. If there was a process that wasn’t working, what is the bottom line? What is the problem? and the come up with ideas to fix it.
Emma Edwards: Right, and then where did that lead you to? Where did this job lead you to?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: In that process, I got married. And I have my first child. And my mother was supposed to take care of my, my son, so I continued to work and because I didn’t want to put him in daycare, but my mother got sick and she couldn’t so my son was like about 18 months old and I decided that I was going to stay home.
Emma Edwards: Alright. Um, and then what is life like for you now? Do you, are you ever able to go? Have you been back to Ecuador?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Okay, I have been back to Ecuador at the beginning when I came to this country. I used to go back more often. But as I made my life here, the last time I went back is I don’t know… When my mother died. Yeah, that’s a long time ago. Wow. Yeah, this has been almost 20 years.
Emma Edwards: Wow. Is there anything specific that you miss about being there? Or even just when you visit? Is there anything that you miss?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: You know what my life is here. When I go over there, what I like to go is I like to have the very authentic dishes. I like to eat. My life is here. I truly at this moment, I don’t miss anything from there. Yeah, I don’t. I have two children. And I’m very happy here. So then I do have a sister and have a brother. I haven’t seen them a lot. I saw my sister when she came to visit here, like about six years ago. But I have literally I.. I wanted to take my children to visit the first we’re going to Italy.
Emma Edwards: And then, then you’ll make your way over.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Yeah, I marry somebody that is 100% Italian. He was born here. The mother and father are Italian.
Emma Edwards: Yeah. So is there anything about your culture that you have introduced to your family? Is there anything in particular, that is special to you that you’ve shared with them?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Well, the food. I make Ecuadorian dishes, they know you know, when I cook Spanish, they love it. I love to dance, so they know Spanish music. And they do know a little, not a lot the my language. My husband and I do not speak Spanish at home because he doesn’t know what you know, we spoke English and somehow my language just, they know a little but not fluently.
Emma Edwards: Okay. Is that something? Would you like for them to learn at all?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Now yes. It will have been very nice. Yeah. I try, but it just didn’t work out.
Emma Edwards: Okay. Alright. Well, is there anything else that you would like to share?
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Uh, well, is that I’m so grateful to be here.
Emma Edwards: What you’ve built is incredible. It really is. What you’ve done is incredible.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: Oh, thank you. I’m so so grateful to be here. I don’t think if I would have stayed in Ecuador, my life would have been so so different. There were opportunities for me, here. A lot of work. I mean, the the amount of sometimes that I guess I don’t even know how I did it, but I did it. You know, I was very motivated. I guess it’s hard work and dedication and be resilient, that’s it. That this country provides a lot of opportunity. And I’m just so so grateful. Every time sometimes I go out and breathe the air. And I say, Wow, I’m really very, very lucky.
Emma Edwards: Yes, and that’s it’s all because of everything that you’ve done. You were just awesome. It really is.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: There were many people that I do have to say that there were many people that help. I remember this lady, a teacher, an English teacher. Her name was me. She had an English accent. And that’s when I wonder when to learn English and she really show us the possibility that you could how you could live your life in this country. She even used to invite us to her home in Connecticut. That was gorgeous. She had a pool, she made us lunch and she used to say the possibilities are endless. You learn the language and educate yourself and you could do whatever you want. So that was one person that I always remember I say oh my god. And then another professor in NJIT, he was also an immigrant and he really helped me if I had any problem in in the class, he really, he said you’re dedicated. It’s a pleasure to help you because you’re dedicated. It was so good. There were the there have been many people along the way that do the when I need to help they provided.
Emma Edwards: That’s awesome.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: That’s all!
Emma Edwards: Thank you so much for sharing. I appreciate your time and I really enjoyed hearing about your story and your journey.
Olinda Taysing Fuda: I hope I was of a little help.
Emma Edwards: Absolutely. Thank you!
Recent Comments