Interview with Chantal Cato
Introduction
On December 12, 2023, I interviewed Chantal Cato, a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines. Chantal is a close friend of my personal friend and currently lives in the state of Texas in the bustling port city of Houston. This interview was conducted over Zoom due to the issue of distance. She was eager to share her story and experiences of immigrating to the US and to discuss the culture shocks she faced when moving away from her birth country.
The Story of Escape
Chantal immigrated to the US in the middle of her third-grade education in the Philippines. She and her mother sought refuge in the United States due to family circumstances that drove her mother to leave with her daughter. In the third grade, Chantal boarded a plane with her mother and took off for Houston, Texas, a town built on the backs of immigrants. Houston is one of the major cities in the United States, making it one of the best places to depart if you wish to disappear for a while. The city is home to 7.2 million people and one in four people who call the city home are foreign-born. Asians, a term that encompasses those of Filipino descent, are the third-highest population in Houston. Much of the immigrant population in Houston is undocumented. The much larger Mexican population crosses the Mexican/American border regularly, and many immigrants find themselves in the bustling city in search of employment and opportunity.
Beginning Education
Chantal and her mother were the lucky ones who acquired citizenship when she landed in the city. After her arrival, Chantal was met with many culture shocks in the city. The transportation was the biggest shock to her. In the Philippines, virtually none of the population relies on cars for transportation and instead uses public transit such as trains/subways and busses. The reliance on individual transport was a foreign concept and took much getting used to.
Another shock to Chantal was the school system. When she left her birth country Chantal was in the midst of her third-grade education. When she had to pack her things and leave she was forced to restart third grade when she arrived. Schooling in America was very different, and English was still a foreign language for her. English is amongst the hardest languages to speak fluently due to its changing pronunciations that sound the same but look different (ex. Threw vs. Through). When she started schooling in America, Chantal had to be tested on her English to ensure she could understand concepts that were being taught in public schools. When she began her education, she was slightly ahead of her peers. Schools in the Philippines were ahead of American schools in content. This made transitioning much easier for Chantal, as she now could improve her English while already having a solid grasp of the concepts being taught.
Across the Sea
The Catos are not the only family to call another country home. Much of Chantal’s family, about half of them, live outside of the Philippines in countries such as Canada, the US, and more. Family is an important constant in life, and Chantal still stays in contact with her family in the Philipines. Since her departure in the third grade, she has returned multiple times to visit family in her home country.
Her occurrence is very rare, as many who immigrate to the US are forced to never return to where they came from. Many are forced to seek asylum and can not return and others cross through less legal means in search of a way to support themselves and/or their families with opportunities in other countries.
How It’s Going
Chantal has built a successful life for herself in America. She completed her elementary, middle school, and high school education in Houston and is now enrolled in college in Houston. Currently, she has the privilege of working for The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) while she is completing her college education. Chantal has made close connections in America and has made amazing connections of friendships and other bonds.
Interviewer 00:02
Okay, could you state your name and what country you immigrated from?
Chantal 00:07
Yep, my name is Chantal and I came from the country of the Philippines
Interviewer 00:13
All right, and where are you living now?
Chantal 00:17
Houston, Texas.
Interviewer 00:19
Oh, very exciting very big city. How long did you stay in your birth country before you immirgrated?
Chantal 00:28
Um, I was there until third grade after which I moved here.
Interviewer 00:37
Um, what was it like arriving in the US?
Chantal 00:41
Um, well, first, the first thing I can think of is a hell of a culture shock. Because whenever you come whenever we came here and everything, right? The English really was like secondary to everything, but it’s more so just like the overall environment that coming to specifically like Texas as well, right? Kind of like gave us because back then the Philippines and everything are all like all of our roads, on our malls, our stores, and all of our neighbors and everything they’re very close by they’re extremely walkable. And there’s a multitude of like public transportations that a lot like everybody uses even as young as somebody who, you know, who is like in second grade that we use on everything to get to places. So coming over here, the first thing that I noticed was that while there wasn’t really any buses, so to speak over here, and that everybody drove a car to get somewhere and that wasn’t really the norm. You know, back in my country.
Interviewer 01:52
Yeah, sounds a lot different. Did you arrive here? Did you fly over here or take a boat
Chantal 02:01
I flew over here using an airplane.
Interviewer 02:08
Where did you first arrive? Did you arrive in Houston?
Chantal 02:12
Yeah, I arrived in Houston.
Interviewer 02:16
Have you since moved? Or are you still in the same like, county and location?
Chantal 02:21
I am still in the same county and location.
Interviewer 02:25
Have you liked it so far? And Houston decided despite like the culture shocks and everything?
Chantal 02:31
I mean, yeah, it’s chill. I don’t know. I can’t really complain too much.
Interviewer 02:37
What was the schools like here? Was it hard to connect with anyone?
Chantal 02:42
Um well, at first, it was kind of hard to connect with everyone. Um, because what happened was that when I first came into elementary, they pulled me out to like, test my English speaking schools and everything right. Um, and so there was a lot of like that, and I kind of didn’t know too much was happening since I already started the third grade when I was still in the Philippines. So whenever I came back here, I had to restart my grade all over again, because it wasn’t like, the education wasn’t finished. So I had started grade all over again. And it’s just, like, kind of weird being in an elementary school where they’re like, whoa, I’ve never heard of your country ever in my life. I’m like, that’s crazy. I’m from there. So, you know.
Interviewer 03:41
Was the like- Was the academic curriculum different than in the Philippines?
Chantal 03:47
Um, well, not particularly. Well, the academics in the Philippines was just like, ahead of it. So a lot of the things that when I came to a lot of the things that we were learning, I already learned, like in my prior years.
Interviewer 04:07
So it was like kind of an easier transition, would you say? Like, academically?
Chantal 04:11
Yeah. Academically, it was an easier transition when I first moved here.
Interviewer 04:19
Are you still connected with anyone in your home country?
Chantal 04:24
Um, for sure. Yeah. I mean, I still visit them like every other year as best as we can.
Interviewer 04:32
Is all of your family still in the Philippines or some of them in the United States?
Chantal 04:40
They’re scattered everywhere. Some of some of them are in Canada. Some of them went to Japan. Half of them are here in the US but just not in Texas. Half of them are still in the Philippines, so.
Interviewer 04:54
Do you would, you say you have like a big family? You said like you’re all spread out and everything.
Chantal 05:00
Um, yeah, I would say I have a pretty big family. But I guess it kind of depends on what your definition of family is.
Interviewer 05:09
I would say anyone that you’re related to like any blood relation to like cousin.
Chantal 05:14
Oh blood relation? Oh, yeah, I have a pretty big family then.
Interviewer 05:24
And did you finish all your schooling in the in the US? Did you go through middle and high school?
Chantal 05:31
I went through Middle High School, and I’m now currently in college.
Interviewer 05:35
Okay, that’s nice. Are you in college in Houston?
Chantal 05:40
College in Houston, you UHCL.
Unknown Speaker 05:45
Have you found like a career path for yourself?
Unknown Speaker 05:49
Yes, ma’am. Healthcare Administration
Unknown Speaker 05:53
Yeah?Are you currently working anywhere in that field? Or are you working anywhere else?
Chantal 05:59
No, I’m not working in that field. I am working at Space Center, Houston. So I guess that’s sort of the field of like, tourism, and I guess like, customer service realm. And my other job, I was just a work study. You know, nothing really much to say about that.
Interviewer 06:22
Are you finishing your schooling soon?
Chantal 06:26
Um, yeah, in two years time soon.
Interviewer 06:30
Okay. Well, that’s exciting. Okay, and I think that’s all the questions I have for you. Thank you for your time.
Chantal 06:38
Yeah, no problem. Thank you for asking you them.
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