Interview with Ana Scher
Interview Analysis
Introduction
I decided to enroll in this class because learning about immigration piqued my interest due to my lack of knowledge in the subject. Neither side of my family have relatives that immigrated to the United States that are still alive, so when assigned this project, I knew I would need to think of someone outside of my family that I knew of. For this project, I had the opportunity to conduct an interview over zoom with one of my friends’ moms, Ana Scher, who currently lives in Northern Virginia. She was born in Portugal and when she was 10 years old, moved to Newark, New Jersey. After coming to the United States, she later on met her husband in New Jersey, and after marriage had a first-generation son and daughter. The discussion we had together described and visualized her Journey to America at such a young age and the experiences and struggles she faced. Throughout this interview, I was able to explore the realms of travel, integration, assimilation, and membership, all presented from her unique perspective. With the knowledge gained from the material in this course, it allowed for a better insight into understanding some of the topics brought up in this interview.
Summary
Ana with her parents and sister
Ana was born in Aveiro, Portugal, which she described as Central Coastal Portugal. Her parents and older sister and the rest of her relatives were also all born and raised in Portugal and most of her family is still there. Her mother had been wanting to come to the United States while her father wanted to stay, after her father passed away when she was 6, a few years later her mom took this as an opportunity to take a chance to take her two daughters with her to the U.S.. Despite having no family there and only knowing one Portuguese friend to stay with, the opportunities that awaited them in a new country were a “push” factor. Before starting the fifth grade, she left her friends and family with her sister who was 15 at the time, to meet their mom in America who had left to be there a couple weeks prior to their arrival. She quickly started school, but instead of starting fifth grade, they put her in sixth grade when she knew no English yet. There were many accommodations and helpful peers in class for her to learn the language quickly and she was able to do so at a young age. Although having the language barrier that was very hard for her, she was able to assimilate fast. As it was just the three of them in the family, Ana, her mom, and her sister, the living situation was tough at first. Her mom worked long hours every day to make sure that they could pay for rent and food, and as a result, most times she felt as if she and her sister were raising themselves. Nonetheless, they were always appreciative of the opportunities their mom gave them and the sacrifices it took. The three of them moved around multiple times as their mom was always looking to put them in a better living situation. They started off in Newark in a top, one bedroom floor they all shared, and by all of high school till she graduated lived in Lyndhurst, New Jersey which was a safer and nicer area where she would no longer have to share a room. When Ana was old enough to work, she would contribute in any way she could. Then, by the time she graduated college, she married her husband she had met in high school. After starting a family of her own, Ana remains dedicated to preserving and upholding Portuguese traditions. She is currently a dual citizen for Portugal and the U.S. and is currently going through the process with her husband and kids to obtain dual citizenship as well. One of the perks of dual citizenship is involving her family in the culture and as a reminder of where their mom and wife came from.
Integration
Ana in 4th grade
Only being 10 years old, one of Ana’s first experiences integrating into the United States was attending school. She highlighted distinction by contrasting the school environment in Portugal with her experiences in the United States. She emphasized the substantially larger scale of schools in America. After two or three months of attending this school, they moved to a different area in Newark, New Jersey, where many people spoke Portuguese. The first school she went to, no one really spoke her language, but this other school had students, adults, and teachers speaking Portuguese. So, while leaving her country, with so many surrounding her sharing her language and culture, she felt a piece of home and comfortability had re-entered her life. Additionally, with having teachers and peers speaking the same language, she was able to have more direct lessons to help her learn English as fast as she could and assimilate. Her fellow classmates were nice and accepting of her, so as she started to make friends, this also benefited towards learning faster as well. When she was old enough to have a job, she had already felt assimilated, so even being in a new community without as many Portuguese people as the last, she did not experience any issues obtaining a job.
Membership
Ana felt after she got her green card, becoming a U.S. citizen was very important to her, regardless of how long the legal process was, she made sure it happened. She expresses gratitude for the dual citizenship option provided by both Portugal and the U.S., recognizing the unique opportunity it gives. As previously said, she is currently in the legal process for her husband and kids to have dual citizenship to both countries. Another way she connects herself and kids to the country still is through traditions. Ana explained how significant Christmas Eve is in Portugal, even more so than actual Christmas day. On Christmas Eve, one of the Portuguese traditions is to incorporate traditional foods for dinner. Some of these foods include seafood which is abundant in Portugal, potatoes, and Natas, a custard dessert. She talked about how her parents would make her and her sister wait till midnight to open all their gifts, but instead of having her kids stay up late, she still incorporates parts of this tradition by having the kids open a few gifts on Christmas Eve before going to bed. She holds deep appreciation for her journey to the U.S., recognizing that without her mother’s decision to bring her, she wouldn’t have met her husband, started a family with her children, and wouldn’t have had access to several different opportunities. Her mom travels back to Portugal more, but Ana still goes back to visit and shows her husband and kids around when the chance arises. She wishes she could visit more, as she misses relatives deeply, but is thankful she can still stay in contact with technology. Even with everyone’s different busy schedules, they are still at least able to be updated about each other’s lives through shared photos and videos. After becoming a citizen and having her own family, she continues to give back to communities in need. Her compassion for others and living through similar experiences as others in current need can be considered as a “pull“ factor. Ana has no regrets about coming to the United States and obtaining U.S. citizenship.
Conclusion
Through this interview, I was able to include many things I learned from this class, which not only helped me better understand her journey, but to ask better questions to learn more about it. Key insights reveal the pivotal role that the reception context plays in the process of integration. Thriving and achieving many milestones in the U.S. were made possible for her due to the support and welcoming environment she encountered. Embracing American society and establishing her life in this country, she strongly believes that she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ana visiting with her mom, husband, and kids
Carissa: [00:06] All right. So today I will be interviewing my friend’s mom, Anna Scher, who was born in Portugal
Ana: Hi.
Carissa: Um, so starting off, where specifically in Portugal are you from?
Ana: [00:20] Um, I’m from Aveiro, Portugal, which, um, is considered Central Coastal Portugal, about, um, two and a half to three hours north of Lisbon.
Carissa: And were your parents also born in Portugal or other relatives?
Ana: Yes, my whole family was born in Portugal.
Carissa: And then do you remember what your childhood was like in Portugal?
Ana: [00:44] Yes. So, um, I was in Portugal until I was about 10 years old. So, I did go to school there, um, up until the fourth grade. And, um, I had a lot of cousins there, and, um, all my whole family is still there. So, um, I do have quite a few memories from, um, my younger years in Portugal.
Carissa: And how old did you say you were when you moved?
Ana: Um, I was 10, shortly before my 11th birthday.
Carissa: And when you found out you were moving, do you remember your, like, initial thoughts or feelings you had?
Ana: Well, yeah, at that point I was devastated because I was leaving all my friends. Um, I was just, um, about to start fifth grade. Um, and so to me at that point in time, that was what was important was just all my friends. So, it was scary to leave all that behind and going to a country where I didn’t know anyone.
Carissa: So would you say that was, like, the most difficult part about leaving, or did you have, like, one most difficult part about leaving?
Ana: It was also hard leaving my cousins because we were all very close, um, and we spent a lot of time together. And when we moved here, um, it was just my mom and my sister and I, so that was hard.
Carissa: So if it was just you three, did you not have any family that was here previously?
Ana: No, we did not. Um, our families are, were and still are in Portugal. And it was just the three of us.
Carissa: [2:18] Did You have like any specific reasons on why your family decided to come to the United States?
Ana: So, um, my mom did have a friend here, um, who was also Portuguese, but she, um, they kind of, her family went back and forth a lot, um, and earlier on, um, when we were even younger, my mom wanted to come, but at the time my dad really didn’t want to move here. Uh, but then my dad passed away when I was about, um, six. So after a while, my mom just decided, why not? And she decided to kind of take a chance and. Picked us up and we came.
Carissa: So when coming to the U. S., after you got over maybe like some of the initial fears, did you have any like dreams or like hopes that you had that were like positive?
Ana: Yeah, I mean it’s certainly, um, I assimilated pretty quickly. It was very hard because, um, I didn’t speak the language. Uh, we did move initially to Newark, New Jersey, which is a pretty, um, heavily. Populated area of Portuguese people. So, I mean, um, I had a lot of kids in school that I could speak with, but the very 1st school I moved to, which was a very short period of time, because, um, basically we moved in with my mom’s friend. So, I only went to that school for maybe, like, 2 months until we got our own place and. Then I moved into the more Portuguese community, but the very first school, no one spoke Portuguese. So that was really hard. And for some reason that I honestly still don’t understand to this day, they also skip me a grade. Um, I have like a November birthday, so I’m a little older at the time. So they just decided and this is the 1980s, it was a very different process. Then they decided that I should really be in 6th grade, not 5th grade. So they skip me a grade and. I didn’t speak the language, so that’s really hard. But I will say that even though the language barrier was an issue, kids are surprisingly nice and made sure that, like, I kind of assimilated and, um, the teachers were very nice. Um, they did have to have, like, 1 on 1 time with me because I didn’t speak the language. So we would do a lot of, like, um, almost, I would say, like, remedial reading kind of thing just to learn the language. And I did go to get pulled out to, like, an ESOL class. Uh, for different kids of different languages that were just learning English. So, that all helped to make things a little bit easier. And I did start making friends quickly, and I learned the language quickly, so that helped
Carissa: Do you remember, like, the process of you actually, like, traveling here?
Ana: [5:04] Yes. So, that was an interesting process, too. My mom came, um, a couple weeks ahead of us. Um, and we stayed, like, with my aunts. So, like, it’s at all my age. Family, it was important. We’re all very close. We all lived. Um, some of us even lived in the same, like, um, community different buildings was in community. So we stayed with my aunts, my sister and I, and my mom came and kind of, like, got things ready for us. And, um, so then my sister and I, so my sister was, she just turned 15 and I was 10. Um, we traveled by ourselves, which was also, we flew over by ourselves, which was also a kind of an interesting, um, adventure. You get assigned like a person that, you know, takes care of you on the plane and everything. So, but so, I mean, it was equal parts scary and kind of exciting and we were excited to see our mom because we hadn’t seen her in a few weeks. So that was interesting.
Carissa: So I’m assuming, were there any like problems when you first Got to the US like I’m sure like the airplane ride like by yourself was maybe like a little bit of an issue or a problem but like when you got here, did you have any initial issues.
Ana: So again, I mean just not knowing anyone really, except the one friend my mom’s friend, her family that was about it but so that was just, that was hard. Renting an apartment was hard because, you know, there was a 3 of us. My mom was just starting to get a job here and. Um, you know, she worked a lot of hours. So my sister and I were, you know, kind of raising ourselves in some ways because she was working a lot. Um, so that was tough for sure. Um, but I think we assimilated pretty fast and, you know, the usual, uh, kind of, you know, growing up kind of things. You get mad, you get, because your mom didn’t do this or whatever. But like, I think we kind of assimilated and just kind of adjusted.
Carissa: Okay, so you said that your mom came a couple weeks before, but how long did it take, like, for you three to, like, settle into, like, your new place? And, like, did you go to school, like, immediately?
Ana: Yes, so we went, I went to school immediately and I was only at that school for, like I said, maybe 2 or 3 months where, um, you know, no one really spoke my language and I was trying to just, uh, learn English and they decided what grade I was in and whatnot. Um, my sister also started her schooling and then it was probably 2 to 3 months later. We, uh, my mom got our own apartment. And that was in a still in Newark, New Jersey, but it was in a different area where, um. You we had a lot of Portuguese speaking people, both kids and adults, even the teachers mostly spoke Portuguese. Um, so that was kind of interesting because, you know, we left Portugal, but now we were like in this little Portugal. Yeah, so that was, um, that was the, uh, it helped too, you know, kind of like get used to everything. And then. Um, yeah, we had, we had this little apartment, um, it was like a, not an attic, but like the top floor of a, of a, of a building and, um, it was like a one bedroom apartment that the three of us shared, uh, because like I said, my mom had just gotten her first job here and she was just trying to make everything work.
Carissa: [8:31] So did you guys move any other times other than those two times?
Ana: Yes, we actually moved a lot because my mom just kept trying to like, Put us in a better place and in a better area, to be honest, because the area where we lived, um, wasn’t necessarily the safest 1. so whenever so probably, like, every year for the 1st, 3 or 4 years, we would move, um, because as she became more familiar with the country and as, um, her. You know, financial situation improved, she would try to just move us into a better place and what place where we would have our own room instead of having to share a room with her. And, um, so little by little, we did move, we moved to different parts of Newark and then eventually we moved to, um, Elizabeth, New Jersey, which is also kind of a heavy Portuguese uh, community, and then eventually, by the time I started high school, we had moved to, um, Lyndhurst, New Jersey, which was a really nice, um, little small town where I ended up that we stay in and I graduate high school from there.
Carissa: So what were some of the biggest differences that you noticed when you came here? Even, related to, like school
Ana: So that’s, that was a huge difference for me because the school that I went to in Portugal, um, it was this tiny little school and, um, it was 1 classroom per grade. So there was maybe, and it only went from, um, kindergarten to 4th grade. So there was maybe, I don’t know, like, 20 kids in each class. So it was a really tiny school. So for, from kindergarten to 4th grade. I went to school with 20 kids, basically, and then, you know, the other grades were there as well. Um, and then once I moved here, the classrooms, the schools were way bigger than that. Um, so that was a big change.
Carissa: [10:31] So you talked about, um, your mom struggling financially, and I know you only came when you were 10. But once you started to get older, did you feel a need to contribute? Um, and what about like your first job?
Ana: Yeah, for sure. Both my sister and I once we were old enough to work, we would, and we would definitely. Work and give my mom the money to help, you know, with groceries and rent and all of that stuff. So my 1st job was actually just kind of helping out at a, um, wallpaper store. I’m not sure they even have those anymore. But, um, so I kind of just like, did whatever they needed me to whether it was like, you know, help people. Whole books, because at the time you just pulled books, literally a wallpaper and, um, so I did that kind of stuff on Saturdays when I wasn’t in school from there. Once I got a little older, um, I did start working like, um. The cashier at a pharmacy, it was like a little pharmacy back in the day. Um, so I did that kind of stuff. And eventually, by the time I was in high school, um, we used to have 1 hour, uh, photo place where you would actually take real pictures and have to develop them. I used to work there. So I, I did whatever little jobs around town. I could find to help with the bills for sure.
Carissa: So you said that there’s a lot of other Portuguese people around you when you were ever getting a job. Did that ever like hold you back or did that make the process harder at all? Or were people very like welcoming to like you getting, um, a job?
Ana: Yeah, so, by the time that, um, I learned English really fast and I didn’t really have an accent, the accent you hear is the Jersey accent more than the Portuguese accent, so, um, I don’t know that it ever really affected me personally as far as, like, people um, And once I could communicate properly, like it was fine. Um, and once I started working, I was, we were kind of already removed from that Portuguese community because once we moved, um, out of really Newark and Elizabeth, then it wasn’t as, um, we weren’t as embedded in that community anymore. So yeah, I mean, it was fine. Um, I think it was probably harder for my mom Yeah, Than it would’ve been for me. Yeah.
Carissa: [12:54] So you went to college. Did you ever Think you would have went to college. Was it like a last minute decision for you? How was that?
Ana: Um, no, definitely I wanted to go to college since we were. I guess in high school, I would say, um, I would say that had we not moved here, I don’t know if that would have still been the same path for me, um, it is, there’s plenty of universities in Portugal, but it’s a, it’s a very hard. Process to get into, um, I can even give you an example. My one of my cousins repeated her 12th grade. Not because she didn’t have good grades, but because they weren’t good enough to get into. Yeah. And so, she was very smart and she is very smart and she had good grades, but In order to have a better chance of getting into college, she repeated that 12th grade to, like, up her GPA. So it’s just very competitive. Um, there’s. There’s universities, but there’s not enough, I guess, to, you know, take everyone. So being here definitely gave me a much better chance. Education wise for sure, especially back then.
Carissa: So do you think the academics in Portugal were more strict and like competitive than here in the US?
Ana: Yes. And I will say, I mean, so as I said before, I did skip fifth grade, and I didn’t. Outside of the language barrier, it didn’t really affect me too much. I didn’t feel like, oh, my gosh, how am I going to do this? So, I guess that, you know, tells you that. Yes, we, we still kept up. Had I not moved here, I would have actually already been learning English because in Portugal, once you get to the 5th grade, um, English is a mandatory language. And then you have to take an additional foreign language. Um, so once you enter middle school, basically throughout middle school and high school, you would have to take English and another language. So, um, but because I moved when I was in 4th at the end of 4th grade, I never got to that point. Yeah. So, and that was, I had to learn English here, but I would have, um, the education system there is definitely, um. I would say advanced and, you know, it prepared me for what I had to deal with when I moved here and had to skip a grade.
Carissa: [15:04] So did your sister already know English when she came?
Ana: Yes, so she was, my sister was a, she had just finished, I believe, her freshman year of high school. So she already had been learning English for a few years. But I will say, you know, it’s like, When you take a language here, right? You remember and you learn what you learn in that class. So she wasn’t a fluent speaker, but she at least had some tools as the names.
Carissa: So now that you have your own family, um, do you try to continue to teach some of your own Portuguese traditions, to them? And what might those be?
Ana: Yeah, a little bit. I do regret that I never taught them the language. So they don’t really speak Portuguese. But I will say whenever they go to Portugal, they kind of can pick up context and things like that. Um, some of the traditions, we do for us, Christmas Eve is probably more important than Christmas day. It’s always like our big holiday. So that I do try to continue. Now, we always do a huge dinner for Christmas Eve and we try to incorporate some of the traditional foods because in Portugal, you definitely have, like, cod. Cod is our big thing, and, um, especially on Christmas Eve, you’re supposed to have a cod meal, and, um, potatoes, that’s a big thing. Um, so we do try to keep up those kinds of traditions. We don’t go back to Portugal as often as I’d like, but we do try to go, you know, once every few years.
Carissa: So some of these traditions, like Christmas Eve, Did you always do that even growing up when you moved to the United States or is it more of like a recent thing with your family?
Ana: Yes. No, we always did. Um, we always made a big deal of, and again, we still have a nice Christmas day, but Christmas Eve is our bigger deal because we, I mean, when we were younger, we would stay up till midnight. Our parents wouldn’t let us open our gifts until exactly midnight. And that’s, you know, so we’d be very, um, tired and opening gifts at midnight. I did change that part of our tradition. I didn’t make my kids stay up till midnight, but we would usually do after dinner, we would open some gifts, um, to keep that tradition going and then save some for the day of, um,
Carissa: So you have visited Portugal since, and then your mom, she goes and visits more.
Ana: She does. She has her sisters there. Um, her parents have since passed away, but she does have still, um, two sisters and, um, nieces and nephews, my cousin, um, or nieces, they’re all girls. And she does go back a little bit more often than I do to visit with them. Um, but I have taken my husband and my kids, um, a couple of times as well.
Carissa: [17:59] So do you also just keep in contact with all of your relatives back, um, in Portugal too?
Ana: Yes, we have a, um, a group family, um, a group chat and on WhatsApp for our family. So we do keep up that way. Um, we used to zoom a lot more, um, often. I know my mom still does with her sisters, but now that. Me and my cousins all have kids. It’s just everybody is kind of busy and um, some have moved and to other areas of the world too. So it’s just become a little harder to do, but we definitely keep in touch at the very minimum through the WhatsApp, you know, little group chat and we video and we, you know, send pictures and keep in touch that way.
Carissa: Okay, and since moving to the U. S., what are your feelings on your membership in the U. S. society, and like, would you consider yourself that you feel American?
Ana: Yeah, definitely. Um, I made sure that, you know, once, you know, obviously there’s a long legal process, you get your green card and whatnot, and then once I got my green card, I made sure that I became a U.S. citizen. That was important to me. Um, thankfully, Portugal and the U. S., they allow for dual citizenship, so that’s what I am. I’m a dual citizen. Citizen, um, I’m in the process of actually, um, obtaining citizenship for to Portugal for my kids and my husband. Because again, you’re allowed to have dual citizenship and, um, you know, it’s great to be able to be a citizen of Portugal because then you have access to all of Europe, um, with your passport very easily and. That’s another way for me to, I guess, keep my kids involved in the culture and, you know, to remind them that it’s important. But yeah, I, I definitely have, you know, if my mom didn’t bring us here, I wouldn’t have met my husband. I wouldn’t have my kids. Um, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunities that I’ve had. So that’s definitely something I’m grateful for.
Carissa: And then lastly, do you have any regrets on anything? Like related to these questions.
Ana: Yeah, um, regrets. I wouldn’t say regrets now, but, you know, obviously we miss our family. When I was little, like, we used to just do a lot of vacations together and, like, do a lot of, um. Like, different, like, weekend stuff together, so I wish I could do that with my kids and, like, their cousins, but they’re there. So I would say that’s, like, the only thing that I would miss, but no, I don’t have any regrets.
Carissa: [20:32] Okay, well, thank you so much for answering my questions and giving us an insight on your journey.
Ana: Happy to participate in this project. It’s a great project.
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