Interview with Lucky and Santi
Introduction:
Lucky and Santi are an amazing couple that I have gotten the privilege to meet. Lucky is my boyfriend’s coworker and through her I have been able to meet Santi. I was struggling to find someone to do this interview with, but they were extremely excited and wanted to share their stories together. They were kind enough to allow me to come to their home in order to conduct this interview. Lucky is originally from South Korea, and came to the United States through a college exchange program. Santi has moved around his whole childhood but is originally from Peru, and also came to the United States for higher education. Their stories are truly those of perseverance and it is beautiful that people from two completely different places were able to find each other and create a life together.
Early life:
Heangun (Lucky) grew up in South Korea in the city of Daegu, “it’s like the third biggest city in Korea.” One of the core parts of her childhood was rooted in education. In Korea, a lot of kids go to hagwon. Hagwon is similar to a private after school system in which you went to school during the day, and then when school ended you would go to hagwon and continue schooling till around 10 pm. While it was not a common class, anything related to movement, such as P.E. is something that Lucky enjoyed. This played a part in her decision to pursue being a physical therapist in the United States.
Luis (Santi) grew up in Lima Peru, but his family often moved around because his mother was pursuing higher education in order to better her family’s situation. Santi explained that in Peru, “people have to find ways to keep improving themselves so they can get out of the current situation that they are in.” Santi has moved to Mexico, Spain, and even Texas for a short period of time. His mother’s drive for education had a huge impact on Santi and his sister, “she’s always been an inspiration of how much she has studied, how much she, she progressed in life.” Growing up Santi’s sister was very much a role model and because of his family’s passion for education, moving from place to place did not have a large negative impact on his education. He continued to learn and had a desire to continue his education.
Migration Process:
Lucky had originally come to the United States for an exchange program through her college. She was very independent and wanted to book all the necessary things such as housing by herself. She did note that English was a struggle for her to overcome throughout this process. She recalls the airport experience to be difficult because of the language barriers. Her end destination was Gainesville Florida but she had a connection flight out of Detroit. Lucky was adamant to talk about how kind the people in the US were, “all those nice American people helped me a lot with my little English, so that was really, the first impression was really good, really nice.” Lucky’s program was originally only 6 months, but then she got a scholarship to extend the program for a year. After that year, she returned to South Korea to finish her college degree. Once she completed her degree, she came back to the United States to go through PT school and eventually got a job and applied for permanent residency. Lucky’s migration story shows clearly a major pull factor is the American education system. The University of Florida also has a great reputation. As she mentioned in the interview, the exchange program had multiple options such as Spain, Portugal, and China, but Lucky chose to come to America. She was fascinated by some of the rumors she had heard about the United States such as, “that you have to bring every single thing from Korea. America doesn’t have A, B, C, D.”
Santi at one point had lived in the United States. He lived in Brownsville Texas which is right on the US-Mexico border. The majority of his childhood was spent in other countries. Santi originally thought of moving to the United States for his residency because of his sister doing exactly that. In Peru, after you complete medical school, you must do a year of voluntary work in the countryside. “During that year, you see a lot of stuff, especially how bad, the national system, government is, the health department and everything. And that’s when I started getting the idea of maybe I can study a master’s in public health.” His sister was relocating from Boston to Gainesville Florida and Santi began to think about doing his master’s program in the United States. His sister became a form of social network for him. Santi knew that he would not be alone if he were to move to the United States. He was originally going to apply for both The University of Florida and Washington University in St. Louis, the school that Lucky was going to for PT school. Due to COVID, he only applied to WashU, and when the Peru embassy opened, he immediately applied for his F1 student visa in order to live in the United States. F1 visas are for international full-time students with the intention of returning to your original country after your studies are completed. At the time of Santi moving, he and Lucky had been dating long distance for about a year. Lucky became a familiar network for Santi, and he moved in with her right away in St. Louis Missouri.
Settlement:
When settling down, one of the things that Lucky said came as a shock was the food. She mentioned that the sizes and the amount of salt on the food is what she found most shocking. Her first experience was a Waffle House, and she was shocked by the size of the soda. “[A] Korean large is smaller than American small.” When she first moved here, she was “definitely very lonely.” In order to survive, she worked hard to learn English because it was such a barrier to adjusting. Lucky did not have a social network to go to when she first came to the United States. At her school, she made friends and connections, but she returned to a different university for her PT program and had to start over again in a new place. One of the most prominent contexts of reception that she noted when they moved from St. Louis to Northern Virginia, is the abundance of H-Marts. Lucky was looking for jobs outside of school in Northern Virginia, “and then [she] just randomly searched H-Mart, like, oh, wow, it’s everywhere. And [they] knew, okay, this is the place.” This was a big deal for Lucky since H-Mart is an Asian supermarket and many foods and ingredients that remind her of home are sold there. Additionally, after college Lucky had to apply for the H1-B visas which is a temporary nonimmigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in speciality occupations. Physical therapy does apply as a specialty occupation, and she received a job offer in Northern Virginia. She said she loves learning about different cultures and they found Northern Virginia to be much more diverse than St. Louis.
When asked about settling and culture shocks, Santi felt as if “[he’s] always been the culture shock because [he has] a mix of accents.” Moving around throughout his childhood aligns with this feeling. Plus, living in the United States, and growing up in Mexico, close to the United States, the culture within the United States is not as shocking. English was also not as difficult as a barrier for Santi to jump over since he had grown up with American cartoons and movies. One culture shock that Santi dealt with was norms related to greetings. In Hispanic culture, kissing people on the cheek is extremely common. In the United States, this would be considered a breach of personal space. Since living in the United States, Santi says he thought, “Huh, why should I start with, why should I kiss strangers in the face every time I say hi?” When it comes to adjusting, Santi says he was very “lucky” because he had lived close to his family in Peru, and when he came to the United States, he moved straight in with Lucky, so he was never alone. Santi is able to see his family a decent amount because they will come to the United States to visit him or his sister, and he has even gone home to Peru a few times. With moving to Northern Virginia, Santi still had three years in school after Lucky, so he told her to choose a state and he will look for jobs there. He chose a research job that works with the youth and that is the job he still works at currently.
Intertwining cultures:
Lucky and Santi come from different worlds, quite literally on different sides of the globe. Both of them have a love for other cultures and have really enjoyed learning more and appreciating each other’s culture. One example that they gave was the music that they listen too. Lucky finds herself listening to hispanic music and Santi really loves korean pop music. That is just one example of how they appreciate each other’s culture. When it comes to meeting the family, Lucky has not seen her mother in almost five years due to the long travel and attempts to get permanent residency. In the interview, Santi mentioned that Lucky actually met his family the first day that they met since his family was visiting his sister in Florida. They were extremely excited when they found out that Lucky’s mother is going to come visit for the first time. All of the factors that we have learnt about immigration throughout the semester tie in deeply to Lucky and Santi’s stories.
Conclusion:
Throughout Lucky and Santi’s stories, there are many aspects that have been discussed in our class. Social networks are a huge part of the immigration process. Santi not only had experience with the United States, but also had social networks such as his sister and Lucky when he decided to move to the United States full time. Additionally, we see contexts of reception throughout Lucky’s story such as the people at the airport when she landed in the United States as well as having better access to H-Marts in Northern Virginia. These two aspects affected the way that Lucky felt about the area she was in. She mentioned that the people in the airport were extremely kind and helped her since she could not read or speak English very well. The H-Marts in Northern Virginia made her feel more connected to her Asian heritage, plus she enjoyed living in a more diverse area compared to St. Louis. Both Lucky and Santi also touched on government paperwork such as green cards and visas that citizens do not have to deal with. Both of their stories are rooted in education, but they have been able to create a life together in a new place. It was an honor to interview Lucky and Santi and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn more about them.
[0:00]
Alison:
So, just to start as a little intro, my name is Alison and I will be conducting this interview for my sociology class. And I am interviewing this amazing couple today on their immigration stories. So, how are you guys doing today?
Lucky:
Good, good. Thank you. Thanks for inviting us for an interview.
Alison:
Of course, of course. I’m happy you guys were willing to do it. Um, so if you guys could just introduce yourselves, your name, where you’re from, that would be great.
Lucky:
Alright, so I will go first. My name is Heangun Yoon, but I go by Lucky because it means luck or lucky in Korean. And when I moved here I just thought, oh, maybe I can translate it to English. So I go by Lucky here. And I’m from South Korea. I was born in Daegu, which is South Korea. It’s like the third biggest city in Korea, a little bit of south, and I grew up all my life there until I moved to college in Seoul, which is the capital city, and until then I thought I’ll never really learn English because [1:00] why should I? They can just learn Korean and they come to me if they want to, but here I am now in America working as a physical therapist.
Santi:
Hello, my name is Luis Santiago Obregon Jurga. I’m originally from Lima, Peru. I go by Santi, mostly because Luis is one of the most common Hispanic names. Uh, so, yes.
Alison:
Amazing, thank you. So if we want to start with you, Lucky, if you could tell us maybe a little bit more about exactly where you grew up, if it was more city, if it was more rural, what your home life looked like.
Lucky:
Okay, definitely I grew up in the city. So in Korea, it is mostly a lot of cities there, and a lot of my generation grew up in cities, a little bit of countryside, but it’s not that common to find somebody from countryside, not anymore, sadly. So, grew up in city, and I, [2:00] like, if you think, imagine Asian education culture, it was a lot of studying. A lot of going to hagwon, which is a private academy after school system, where you go after maybe 4, 5 p. m. from, uh, middle school, and then you maybe stay up until, stay there until 9 p. m. And high school, you basically go to school 7 a.m. until maybe 10 p. m, yeah, and then you come home and you do your homework, and maybe go to sleep at 1, and then go back to school at 7. So I kind of did that all throughout my life. Yeah, and that’s how I grew up.
Alison:
Wow, that is a lot of school.
Lucky:
Yeah, a lot of school.
Alison:
Was there any certain subjects or anything that you really loved?
Lucky:
So, I almost, I always liked, you know, physical stuff like sports and PE class. But in Korea, it’s not common to play, like, in, like, sports club like lacrosse? Nothing. Volleyball? Nothing. [3:00] Running? No, not really. There’s two different school system in Korea. One is made to go to college. And if you attend to that school, don’t forget about any sports or physical motion. But, maybe an hour a week? We had a PE class. I really loved that. And we also had English class, but of course I wasn’t that interested in it. I was, yeah, maybe D minus.
Alison:
Yeah, that is crazy. And then what about home life? Home life. Do you have siblings or anything like that?
Lucky:
Oh, I have sisters. Uh, I have two sisters, I guess. And they’re older than me, like 18 years older. They’re 12 years older than me. So sort of I grew up like a single, like alone, like only child. And my parents never really pushed me too much, anything. They just, alright, be a nice kid and [4:00] be a nice person. It’s okay not to be excel in school system. Like, most of the parents, maybe in Korea, will push them to push the kid to study a lot. But at least my parents were not like that. So, but then school system, you are still in the system. So you still have to go to school 7 to 10, 11. So, yeah.
Alison:
Gotcha, gotcha. So, why did you originally decide that you wanted to come to the United States?
Lucky:
So, originally, it was kind of a funny story. So, when I went to college in Korea, right? And I had, at that time, I had my boyfriend who was Korean, too. And we were young and immature and we were like, Looking through school webpage, and we found this exchange program thingy that you can apply anywhere like Spain, Portugal, or America, or like China, Japan, you can apply all those. So we were thinking, huh, maybe we can move to, I don’t know, maybe America, maybe [5:00] Florida, and we can just apply. So we applied, we both applied, and then I got in. He got in, I believe, it was a long time ago. But he got in, but he decided to go to military. Cause in Korea, guys has to go to military, I believe, one year and nine months or so. It is mandatory. So he decided to go to military. And I moved here alone. Yeah.
Alison:
What did, like, was that a difficult process to kind of start the whole application process?
Lucky:
The application process school helped me. But one thing that I had in my mind after college, uh, was, well, English was never my favorite subject. I never conquered. So this time not just hanging out in America. I also wanted to learn English too, and I somehow wanted to do everything by myself. So, [6:00] after school helped me to apply to the exchange program, and I tried to book everything myself. I tried to book my apartment complex by myself, although I failed it. So first little bit when I moved here, I was basically homeless. Yeah, so it was pretty hard, I believe, and at the time I had a little kitty with me and My parents doesn’t really like having a pet so I thought when I leave the kitty there My probably my mom will send her off somewhere So I brought her with me and there’s this rumor that you have to bring every single thing from korea America doesn’t have A, B, C, D. So you have to bring everything. So I was bringing everything, even like paper towel, because they, there’s this rumor, like America, they don’t have it. Or like the different qualities. So I was bringing everything, like two giant luggage, and with my kitty cat. And I didn’t speak really much English, since I wasn’t really [7:00] interested in English at the time, right? At, before, uh, joining to college. So, I probably knew, hello, how are you, barely can count one to ten, kind of that level. So, then I, I don’t know, is this too long?
Alison:
No, no, this is great.
Lucky:
So, I got on the plane from Incheon Airport, the international, biggest international airport in Korea. And it was my first time traveling abroad alone. Maybe I was 19 years old. And I didn’t know, I didn’t really like know how to read or speak English at the time and of course with my boyfriend at the time, right? We were thinking they were gonna go together. Now, we’re gonna be separated for several months. So we’re like heartbroken. He sent me off at the airport. We cry and I was on the airplane crying for six hours and those Korean ajumma, which means senorita, I mean Senora[8:00] like older lady. Okay. Yeah. Uh huh. So Korean older ladies like hey like, kid, are you okay? Why are you crying? And I was like, yeah, it’s gonna be okay, just like heartbroken with my boyfriend and stuff. And then, I got, I landed in Detroit, I believe. And because I had to have connecting flight to Gainesville, Florida. And I had no idea what to do there cause I never done it, right? And then I didn’t know I have to pick my luggage. And then go to different like, Yeah, check out, check in, and check out again, and then all those nice American people helped me a lot with my little English, so that was really, the first impression was really good, really nice. And they even pulled my heavy luggage with the heavy sticker on, like they pulled all the luggage for me. That was really nice, and finally I landed on Gainesville. It’s a very small college town in Florida. And when I landed there[9:00], I didn’t have anywhere to go, so, and because I grew up in the city, I thought yeah, maybe you can imagine like New York, right? You can just get the cab, like taxi, buses everywhere, metro system. So I thought maybe I can just take taxi and go to nearest hotel. And also Korea is very safe too. So I didn’t know like crime level. So in Korea, you can like just take a taxi go to anywhere and it’s safe. So I didn’t know about, like, crime level is a little different here, so I landed there, didn’t know where to go, and there was no taxi, and college town, and it was right after Christmas, so everything was like everybody was gone basically for the holiday so and they said no taxi No, no, I didn’t know uber or anything and one of the lady who sat next to me offered me a ride. So they took me to the[10:00] Motel 6 and I spent the day there. Yeah, and I started my journey, my American journey.
Alison:
Wow, I didn’t know any of that. I mean, don’t feel bad about the airport, of course. Those are confusing for anybody. No, thank you for sharing all of that. Um, Santi, what about you? Um, yeah, tell me about your hometown, what it was like growing up.
Santi:
My hometown, my family. Okay, let’s go down through memory lane. Yes, yes. So I think to understand my story, first, uh, I have to give a little bit of information about my parents. Uh, so, specifically my mom. Uh, she came from a humble family in Peru. Uh, she was, uh, the first one to actually go to college and have, uh, higher education. Um, however, through this, she went through many sacrifices, uh, [11:00]She, she, she was, she, she actually was part of the first promotion of, of her career in, back in Peru. And through different, having multiple jobs, she was able to pay and eventually she, she got scholarships and, and everything. She’s always been very hardworking and, and everything. And then she met my, my dad. Um, Um, and they, they had my sister, they had me, uh, not just after they had me, she had an opportunity to go to Mexico, uh, to keep her studies. So being a, being from, uh, a low income country, uh, people have to find ways to, to, to keep improving themselves so they can get out of the current situation that they are in. So she took that, that, that opportunity. And I think I, I was, I was, I was like one year, so then she left [12:00] to Mexico, uh, she left me and my sister with my dad and my grandparents, her mom. So after a couple years after, and she left to Mexico to study. No, not the Master’s yet. Not the Master’s yet. She was studying, um, she was studying Bardo for a degree, like a, like an exchange program or something. But it was going to take a lot of years, so eventually a couple of, a little while later she called us and my dad had to make the decision. Does he stay in Peru with his family or does he come to Mexico with his new family? So he decided to come, uh, he left everything behind to, to support my mom and her dreams. Um, eventually we, my memories started in Mexico. Uh, I don’t have memories back in Peru. Um, besides the, the, the trips and the holidays that we would go there, um, all my childhood was [13:00] in Mexico. We were, we stayed there until I was like 11 years old, 10, 11 years old. And we actually all became Mexican citizens. And at that time, my mom already finished all her, her study program and, and everything. And, uh, she was deciding what to do next when she decided to do her master’s. And that’s when everything was on through, through, through the university. Uh, she moved to, we moved to Texas. We went to Texas, Brownsville. She, she, their study, her master’s, we. I studied six, seven grades, I think, here. And, and after that we, we, she finished and then what’s next? So, uh, we all relocated to Spain where she was able to do her, uh, her [14:00] PhD program. So, we went to Spain until I was 13, 14 years. So, I’ve been, in total I’ve been around like, six, eight different schools. Elementary schools, middle schools, high schools. I actually arrived to Peru when I was, um, Around 14, 15 years old. I came from summer vacation in Spain, and when I arrived to Peru, it was a north summer vacation. So I kind of fell, fell, fell back. That’s, that’s how stuff are. I arrived three years before finishing high school. So I did my, my last three years of high school in, in Peru, and Um, and that’s where, where I finally found, like, friends that I still talk until now. Um, and even, even though I’ve been to so many places, uh, that’s where I felt, like, home because finally we were, like, [15:00] with more family. Um, my parents were able to purchase a house. After all the work and traveling we’ve done, we were finally able to, to settle. And, and everything, everything changed, uh, after that. Gee, gee. She’s always been an inspiration of how much she has studied, how much she, she progressed in life. So she always, always also tried to teach us that. Like, uh, for example, if we wanted, uh, a stipend, like, for the week, we would have to read books as a kid. So, if you will read like a bad book, like a comic or something, we will get, let’s say, a dollar. But if the book gets better, like more, more context, less pictures, more stories, more click, you will get like 50 cents and 10 dollars. So, if you wanted more, you would need to read more. So, we actually grew up reading a lot. And, um, seeing her like preparing so much for all the studies, [16:00] we were also like, everybody would sit down with mom to do the homework or something. So, it was, uh, and it was only the four of us, so it was a really, it’s a really close relationship that we all have together. We moved through so many houses, countries, pets, and everything, um, uh, together that we have a real, really solid, uh, relationship, uh, between the four of us.
Alison:
That’s amazing. Did, when you were moving so much, was that kind of difficult to stay up with education? Or since education seemed very important to you and your family, was it easier to kind of keep up?
Santi:
Uh, uh, well, you know, I have an older sister. Um, she’s, uh, two years older than me. Um, well, what they say about the older, older siblings being, uh, more, uh, like structure and this have been the example that completely applies to my sister. She’s always been like the honor roll [17:00], student of the year, awards, meds, everything. So, it was really high expectations. Oh, he’s the, he’s the brother of Evelyn. So, I didn’t have bad grades, but my, I was a more, uh, ADHD, I guess. I just couldn’t stay back in my seat. I couldn’t stay sitting down. But, um, I think we never really struggled during school, high school, middle school. We would just adapt. Some places were more difficult. Some places were easier. I believe, uh, when we came to, um, to America probably, well, we also been always, since I have memory, we’ve been learning English in academies. So it wasn’t that big of a, of a cultural difference, education difference, because we kind of knew what we were doing. [18:00] Probably there was a little bit of struggle that I don’t, I don’t really recall, but I spent a lot of days in the library, um, in the elementary school. So it was, it was pretty easy. I think the hardest part was actually when we went back to Spain cause those, last year of elementary school and first year of middle school, I was doing everything in English. So I came back to Spain and then I was still reading books in English. And I even had to get a Spanish tutor. Because they’re really strict with their grammar because Spanish comes from Spain. So that, that, that was, I think that was one of the most difficult parts. And in Peru, I think, uh, the years before the last ones were intense. And I think the last one, the teachers just laid back and said, Yeah, they’re about to finish. So it was, it was easier. So, okay.
Lucky:
Completely different childhood.
Alison
[19:00] Let’s see. Yeah. So why did you originally decide to come to the United States to stay?
Santi:
So everything goes combined with what my parents always thought my sister and I, and as you heard, my sister is always like the structure. She’s the, the role student, uh, she’s, she’s a role model. Uh, we were always since the beginning given the idea of that we should study medicine. So actually it was my sister, the first one that got into medical school, and, and she finished high school in Spain and then came back to, to Peru, and she started, uh, medicine after, after getting accepted, and, We never talk about anything else, another option, like architecture, engineering, nothing. We never close our minds, so I also applied during the last [20:00] year of my high school. There are several ways to get into medical school and it’s not like here where you have to do like volunteering and prepare like a huge CV. So I was between the first one of my promotion. So there was like a national exam for they do call from all the schools like the top students and they were able to compete just the top students in in an exam to go to the to enter like pre-entry so I applied to that, and I got in that that way it was it was it was really easy. It was really easy entering medical school for me at least uh um, we just kept studying, uh, I always saw my sister sacrificing, but she always had the idea of coming here to, to America to do her residency here, the medical residency. Uh, for me, I was more like laid back, [21:00] like I said, the same, same, same, same structure as the middle school, high school, Oh, if he’s the brother, and then I came here and it was completely opposite to my sister’s. That’s what I always keep saying, me and my sister, we are the same coin, but we are the opposite sides. Uh, we, we choose same singular path, but how we control our personal life was completely different. So we have different priorities, but I always look up to her and she always looks, looks to me, to support me. And I did, I finished medical school and they all, they were always also encouraging me, like go study for it, the residency there. Okay. And that study for the exam is something that I’ve been dreaming since years, years ago. Uh, but, after finishing medical school, you have to do one year of voluntary service in Peru. Uh, where you work [22:00] one year in the, uh, countryside. And during that year, you see a lot of stuff, especially how bad, the national system, government is, the health department and everything. And that’s when I started getting the idea of maybe I can study a master’s in public health. I used to do a lot of health, uh, community health programs, mostly, um, for the adolescence and I always like working with young population, but, that’s when the idea came. Uh, so my sister got accepted into the residency of pediatrics. So it was just the perfect timing. So I came here to America to help my sister move out, move, she was living in Boston and then she, she relocated to Gainesville, Florida. And I was looking for, uh, programs in master’s in public health, and I was checking [23:00] like, because we have some family in Florida, so we always like, yeah, is it Miami, is it Gainesville, is it UF? And then in that trip that I did to, to visit my sister and just after finishing my, my year of “voluntarily”(he did air quotes) volunteering work, um, I met Lucky. It was right there. Uh, that I, that I met. Lucky, uh, it just, it just happened. We, we had a, a connection and she, I told her, oh, I, I’m planning, actually, I’m planning to come to America. She was, actually just finishing, she was about to start her PT, her physical therapy program in St. Louis, Missouri, at Washington University in St. Louis. And so we spent her last month in Florida together, just going out to the movies, eating, drinking, drinking sodas, just like hanging out. And she told me, [24:00] Hey, well, what about, uh, Washington University in St. Louis, they also have a, a program in, in, in public health. So I looked at it and actually was a rank higher than all the other programs that I was looking and my parents, my, my, my family’s always been like, Oh no, you have to, they always think like, Oh, this is what you have to do, like, because this is the best, but they actually, when I told them, Oh, this, uh, that there’s a program that is actually better to all the ones that I’ve been looking at, then that’s when I started looking to their applications and their applications were actually the, the most demanding ones. So I start preparing for those ones and then the rest will just well, um, lucky invited me to St. Louis to, to visit the school. I actually was, I, I went there like three times in three, four times in one year, um, to visit Lucky, to talk with the people at the program. It was a really good program that had everything that, that caught my interest. [25:00] And so I applied to the program. Uh, it was just about before COVID started. I actually prepared everything for, for the application for, for WashU. And I sent my application. I was preparing to do the one for Florida because I also had opportunity to stay with my sister. Mm-Hmm. And just when I sent the application to WashU and I was preparing my transcript and everything Covid started and everything closed. So actually was, that was the only, the only program that I, that I applied to. I was, I was given a scholarship by WashU, uh, through my performance with the interview and everything. So that, that combined with being a bit of program, the scholarship was Lucky. It was, it was a no brainer. So, but we still have to face the COVID, the COVID. So I did one semester online. But I knew if I wanted [26:00] to, to take benefit of the F1 student program, that the government gives, uh, for OPT for the optical, uh, practical training, you have to do at least one, one full semester here in America. The embassy was closed in Peru. Everything was closed. And so I started, I started working as a COVID physician in Peru. Um, that was, that was, that was really hard. I think after that I decided I need a break from all this. But, um, it was, it was like one year, almost eight, eight months later, after everything started, the pandemic, the, the, the, the, the closure of the country that the embassy of the U.S. embassy decided to open, they said, Oh, we’re going to open. So I submitted really fast, like an [27:00] interview to get my, my, my F1, my visa stamped. And I was lucky to get a spot. Went to the interview and two weeks I had everything ready to come to America. And that’s how I, I came for the program. And also I came straight to, to live with Lucky. We’ve been like one year of long distance relationship at that time. And I, that’s, that’s how I January 2021 I came to America to do my master’s in public health program.
Alison:
Oh, thank you. That’s just so crazy. Like how COVID affected everything. It’s just nuts. Let’s see, going back to Lucky.
Lucky:
Okay.
Alison:
Sounds like you already talked about this a little bit, but were there any large culture shocks when you first came over here? I mean, the rumor that Americans don’t have anything. That’s one of them. But anything else that comes to mind?
Lucky:
Alright, so the first one was the food. And when I went to the [28:00] Motel 6 in front of the school, college, and I was super hungry. It was over 30 hours of journey, right? Because of the connecting flight. And I was really hungry, and the only restaurant that was walkable, and it was only open was Waffle House! Oh, nice! And I didn’t, I don’t really like waffles, so I wanted to get something else, and it was like a toast. I got this toast, and I ordered like a soda, and my question was, soda was so huge. Korean large is smaller than American small, so it was like large and they was like got this toast. It doesn’t have any veggies in it. It was just, I don’t know, maybe French toast looking with a lot of salt. And I, one bite, probably like ham and stuff, the ham and cheese and salt. One bite, it was too salty, I couldn’t eat. It was like 13 dollar [29:00] and like sadly I couldn’t eat. Maybe half of it threw it away. That was one thing the food was at the time. I felt like really big and very strong flavor. Then after that, the next day I found chip chick fil a? No, chip chipotle. Oh my god, it was so good. I really, I literally cried. I’m like, this is so good. And I only could eat half of it because it was big. And now, I don’t know, like I can easily finish the whole bowl. But at the time, I could only eat half. So that was one night. The little bit of culture shock in the food, and the other one was in Korea, we always like taught to, you have to recycle, you have to recycle, recycle is big, huge thing. And if you don’t do it, you get fined and you get in trouble. And here, like, oh, where do I put this one? Oh, it’s just in the bin. Which one? Oh, just here. Okay, what about this, like, [30:00] food? Oh, just throw it here or there. Like, oh, wow, everything goes in one. I don’t like this. One giant one. And then in Korea, oh, we have to save energy. Like, you cannot really turn AC really high, like, really, like, cold. And then, wow, I went to the bus, because, like, bus to go to school, I was freezing. Like, Florida weather is like 100 outside, but bus maybe like, I don’t know, 60, it’s so cold, you have to bring all the jacket. That was another one. And, like, really nice culture. Everybody was so friendly in Florida. Like, in Korea, we don’t really do any physical touch. And here, when I went there in Florida, like, it was so warm and they, their, like, greeting was hugging. And in the beginning I was like, whoa. But then I learned to like it a lot, so, yeah, it was really cool.
Alison:
That’s so funny. Um, what was life like adjusting? You said that you were, were you alone originally [31:00]. Were there any really hard parts that took a sec?
Lucky:
Yeah, in the beginning it was definitely very lonely, because it was holiday, there was nobody there, and literally me and my kitty cat, and then I had this thought that I have to only speak English. So I was speaking to my cat in English, super bad English. Yeah, like every day, just speaking to my cat. And then when outside, I walk around all the Walmart. Oh, there was another one at Walmart. Oh, the supermarket is so huge too. I was like, wow, it’s really big. Just like walking around. Yeah, and um, I met, oh what’s the question again?
Alison:
Just how was life adjusting?
Lucky:
Adjusting. Yeah, so first little bit, probably like first six months I was really trying to focus on improving my English to survive. Yeah, to survive. It was funny that the first semester, I was told like a [32:00] bad, bad student because I speak Korean in English class, right? English class, it was listening and speaking. As a Korean student, you learn a lot of listening skills. So my listening skill was okay, but my speaking skill was not so great. Okay, but, okay meaning better than speaking, but it was not okay, so it was bad. So I went to this class, and somehow I got into a little bit like advanced, like, level than I should be, I think. And this teacher was speaking something, of course, I couldn’t understand. There was, thankfully, there was a Korean guy next to me, and I would ask him in Korean, because I don’t understand. And the Korean guy said, oh, she said don’t speak Korean. Like, she said something, like, blah, blah, blah, right? Like, she asked something, and I’ll say something. And I’ll say, hey, can you tell her this in Korean? Because I cannot really say that in English at that level, not in that level yet. And then teacher will tell me, no, Korean. Only [33:00] English. I’m like, yeah, I don’t understand you. Sorry. That’s hard. That one. And after that, I kind of naturally learned by surviving, I guess. And a lot of friends helped me a lot throughout the journey. And yeah, I guess.
Alison:
Okay, no, that was good. Were you able to visit home pretty often, or not really?
Lucky:
So, actually, this part was not the main part. This part was actually just, uh, originally planned to be there for six months as an exchange program student. But then, I got a scholarship to stay one more semester. So then it was a whole year program then. But then I actually went back to Korea, because it was done, exchange program was all done. So I went back to Korea, finished up my college, and then came back to America to prepare to PT school. And after I got accepted to PT school, I visit one time that was maybe early [34:00] 2019. And ever since then, I haven’t been back.
Alison:
Wow.
Lucky:
Yeah, one was the school and second one during my only break in three years of PT school. That was a one month break. And that time was COVID, COVID just started it. So I couldn’t go back, and then I got a job, so I can go back, and now we are in the process to apply and get the residency here. And the lawyer advised us to not, like, leave the country, so I haven’t been back, and I haven’t seen my mom in person over five years. Yeah. But my mom’s coming in two weeks. Yeah.
Alison:
That’s exciting.
Lucky:
Yeah, that’s exciting. And my mom never met him. Yeah.
Alison:
That was one of my questions, was if you guys have been able to meet each other’s families, you’re gonna meet, aww. That’s exciting, that’s so exciting. Uh, let’s see. Oh, a bit of a, I guess a deeper [35:00] question. Don’t feel any need to answer. Um, but when it comes to citizenship, is that something maybe that you’re striving for? Um, Is that something that you don’t really feel the need to get?
Lucky:
So for me, residency, definitely. But citizenship, I’m not quite sure because as a Korean citizen, you cannot have dual. If I could have dual, yes, why not? But if you become American citizen, you have to give up my Korean citizen, and I’m not that ready yet, no. No, of course, of course. And since all my families in Korea, too. Yeah, that’s good to say.
Alison:
I didn’t know that. Is that something that might change in the future? Or is the Korean government pretty strict on that?
Lucky:
I think they’re pretty strict on that because of the military and the tension in North Korea and South Korea too. And then the healthcare system, right? Like a lot [36:00] of people might try to get it to get really cheap healthcare. That’s my thing, yeah.
Alison:
Okay, that makes sense, that makes sense. Well, thank you for answering that. I know that question can be a little personal or tough. Um, but Santi, going back to you, did you have any large culture shocks when first coming to live here?
Santi:
So, for a lot of places where I’ve been, I’ve always been the culture shock because they have a mix of accents, uh, Spanish accents. Well, mostly before when I was younger, like a teenager. Um, here, I used to live here in America for a couple of years, so I was a little bit more aware of the culture, also living in Mexico and other places. Um, we grew up with American shows, American cartoons, movies and everything, so a lot of stuff I feel familiar. Um, [37:00] I guess, uh, it was the, there’s, there’s there has not been a lot of cultural shock in wherever I go. That was my life, just going country from country. So, I’m very open minded. Very acceptable of other people’s cultures, traditions, and everything.
Lucky:
Oh, but one thing though, my mom would agree this too, and I would agree too. We feel like American people are so welcoming and nice. Okay, that’s nice. But he thinks that they’re a little bit cold. Do you think they’re cold? Compared to his culture.
Santi:
Have you ever heard about Hispanics? You know that you heard that they are like really like they probably that that is a cultural shock. For example, in Peru, we kiss people when we say hi, we do one kiss, but in Spain they do two kisses. So, and here’s just hug here. It’s just like, even from, from the hand, there are also people that sometimes, oh, I don’t do hands. So [38:00], so you, you meet. So I remember, uh, the first, when they came to visit my sister, I, I went to a group of Peruvians that’s been living here. So when I went there, I went with all my Peruvian cultures, so I started kissing everyone. And all those Peruvians that were already living here for a while were shocked, like, Oh, we don’t kiss anymore here. So there’s some kind of stuff that you start noticing, Huh, why should I start with, why should I kiss strangers in the face every time I say hi? So yes, now I even tell Lucky, like, hey, don’t feel pressured to kiss to these people, right? Because even, even now here that we live here, we, I work with a lot of other Peruvians. So sometimes they like kiss and I’m like, don’t feel compromised that you have to kiss and hug everyone if you don’t feel comfortable.
Alison:
That’s funny. That is funny. I’ve taken a few Spanish classes and our professors will tell us, because they’re all from different countries, they’ll tell us the different parts of culture and I knew it was lots and lots of kissing that is funny. So, uh, [39:00] you have moved around a lot. You were pretty open to a lot of different cultures and aware of everything. Did you find it difficult adjusting when you came to live here full time?
Santi:
So, that’s something that my family says that I’m spoiled because, um, they all have experience of going abroad to different countries, being on their own, struggling, uh, with everything, right? Financially, emotionally, everything. So, I came, when, when I came here, I didn’t, I didn’t, I, well, I came from living one year alone in Peru because I did the service. But, I, I, I live like two hours from my home, so every weekend we go back. So, that, that was like the, the first, like, stretch of relationship, uh, me being a little bit more independent. When I came here, I moved in with Lucky.
Lucky:
Yeah, I picked him up.
Santi:
She picked me up from the airport. So I came from saying goodbye to my parents with a hug to say to be welcome here. She [40:00] always made me feel here comfortable, welcome, like a place to be. So I never felt like alone or I sometimes would get homesick, but um, I was accompanied with someone that I love. So. They always tell me, you, you got it easy, you got it easy, you haven’t struggled. Uh, so.
Lucky:
Totally different. Me, after the motel six, I have to walk everywhere, all apartment places with my limited English. Do you have a room? Do you have a room? Do you have a room? Do you have a subway? And then I got into the subway with my cat and a heavy luggage.
Alison:
Yeah, very different experiences.
Santi:
Not even that, I didn’t even go looking for a place because she already
Lucky:
I have sister, right? 18 years older, 12 years older. And they’ve been living, some of them living, I mean one living in America. And then I asked, can you help me since my English sucks? And she gave me literally Google translator link. Here you go, you can use this. So I’ve been always kind of, my family is very [41:00] independent or very cold.
Alison:
Have you been able to visit home a decent amount since living here?
Santi:
So, I have not been able to visit a few times. I think a lot of times back home. So, yes, I think since I came here, I’ve gone like two or three times to Peru. Um, my parents, they seem to come every six months to visit me or my sister. They were actually here four weeks ago. I had, I had, uh, gallbladder surgery. So they came here for four days just to be with me, be with Lucky, help her, Lucky with everything. Um, Well, uh, they tried to help and then they went to my, uh, back to, to, they went to visit my sister. But, uh, so we’ve seen them often. They’ve seen, actually the first day that, uh, that we, that I met Lucky was the 4th of July, I was with my parents. We were doing the fireworks, and she met [42:00] my, she met my parents since day zero.
Alison:
Wow.
Lucky:
Both his parents, sister, and sister’s ex boyfriends. Ha!
Santi:
Yes.
Alison:
That’s a story.
Sant:
Yes. Yes.
Alison:
So, how did you guys, we’ve talked a little bit about who you guys have met, which was awesome. Um, how did you guys, you said you were in St. Louis, right?
Both:
Uh huh.
Alison:
How did you guys decide to move into the Northern Virginia area?
Lucky:
Yeah. Yeah. Thanks to John!(Lucky’s boss) So, as an F1 student, and after you finish school, you get one year training, OPT period. For me, it was one year. For him, it can be up to three years because his major is STEM major. So for STEM major, you get three years. Uh, for me, I get only one year, and after school, after graduation, I was applying to school, and of course, as a F1 student, you always have to think about, okay, after one year of STEM, I mean, OPT period, what are you going to do? So, I had in my rack, I probably need [43:00] H1-B visa, which is working visa, or green card, which is residency here. So, I applied different area, like orthopedic clinics to sponsor me either green card. I mean both green card and H1-B visa. Mostly the green card and John contact me and we had an interview and we clicked so I’m here.
Alison
I didn’t know that, that is funny.
Santi:
For me since the beginning I uh, I also like uh, because I had three years I had a little bit more of time than she did than she had. I told her since the beginning I If you pick first, you choose a state or something and then I’ll just look, look there too. So that’s how we ended up here. Um, I was, I was looking for a lot of, uh, research programs, research jobs and then she told me, hey, what if you apply to this one? It’s like, works with the youth like you like, it has connections with, [44:00] with the health department, this and that. So I said, hmm. That seems a little bit more like, um, other brand, that, other, other branch that, that, that what I want to do, but let, just give it a try. So I applied there and I actually, they contact me and that’s like the, that’s the place that I’m working for right now. So I, everything work out well.
Alison:
That’s exciting. That’s nice. It did work out nice.
Santi:
Oh, but the most important part, which is this area, is because there were a lot of H-Marts.
Lucky:
So, in St. Louis, it’s very American. Not so much diverse culture there. So, it’s either black or white. Not Asian, no. Hispanic, no. Not really, right? So, if I wanted to go to a Korean restaurant or a Korean supermarket, the big ones, you have to drive six hours to go to Chicago. And whenever we go to Chicago, we’re so excited. Get all the trunk full with the Korean stuff. Hispanic? Not so much Hispanic. Korean stuff. And come down, like, every six months or so, right? It was a big deal for us, a really [45:00] happy moment. But then when I got an offer, I’m like, oh, what is this area? And I heard from my friend, this area is really nice. And then I just randomly searched H Mart, like, oh, wow, it’s everywhere. And we knew, okay, this is the place.
Alison:
Yes. No, Northern Virginia, especially suburb of DC, lots of diversity, lots of diversity. I mean, I told you earlier, I lived here my whole life, so it’s always been so many different types of cultures and everything, which I feel like I’m spoiled to have grown up around. Um, speaking of culture actually, uh, you guys come from very different places, different backgrounds. Has it been fun kind of like learning about each other’s cultures, integrating them into your own lives? How’s that experience been?
Lucky:
Uh, for me, I love it. It’s just funny that when we [46:00] , like, drive, like, sometimes it’s The airplay will connect with my phone. Sometimes it will connect with his phone, right? So whenever it’s connected to my phone and then I say hey play music and we will play Hispanic music Spanish music reggaeton like all those and when he say play music is like all k-pop. So I absolutely love it like learning other cultures here uh, it’s not just Hispanic American, but like all Middle Eastern Indian all that and so many good food that you can’t really find in Korea. Korea is so, like, homogeneous, right? It’s all Korean. Everybody you meet, see, looks like me. Everybody’s Korean. Their parents are Korean. Their grandma’s Korean. All Korean, Korean, Korean, Korean. And whole entire my life, maybe, I never met any of my student peers that’s either mixed or different, from different culture. So, here was definitely a culture shock, but like a really good culture shock. I love it.
Santi:
[47:00] Yes. For me, well, I, before meeting Lucky, I really like Korean music. So, uh, I actually was starting, uh, I started, uh, studying Korean, uh, back in Peru.
Lucky:
You went to institute?
Santi:
Yeah, I went to, to Korean institute. I dragged my ex-girlfriend there. So, we only did one semester because she failed. But I, I, I kept like learning for myself with a little bit of internet. So absolutely. When I first met Lucky, um, at that, at the place we, after that, after the five hours, we went to a bar and then I actually introduced myself to her in Korean. Yeah.
Lucky:
I was so shocked.
Santi:
So, it was, it was fun. I, I, I like, uh, I always liked a lot of different cultures. Uh, I, ’cause I from, I experienced America and European and everything, so I always thought Korean Asian culture was…
Lucky:
And living here, [48:00] especially the DMV area, you learn different cultures. I feel like every day. Even American culture. I never heard about Turduckan before. And yesterday I learned turduck, turducken. Have you heard about that?
Alison:
Turduckan?
Lucky:
So turkey, duck and chicken. For Thanksgiving…
Alison:
Jack(Lucky’s coworker) told me this yesterday!
Lucky:
Yeah, yeah, you didn’t know about this one? I would say, hey guys, I heard this turducken this Louisiana thing. There was a big giant turkey, and inside there there’s a duck, and inside there there’s a chicken. With the Cajun seasoning I was like eww.
Santi:
A funny, um, cultural experience that I had with Lucky. The first time we were hanging out, I actually, she was, she, we were driving around in her car. She was driving me around to see the town. And I went to her side and I opened the door. And then I saw her face of confused. And she actually told me later that she thought, Is this guy trying to drive my car? [49:00] I was just opening the door for her. Oh, that trying to be nice, but I guess I was…
Lucky:
Korean guys are not that nice. Another one was those kisses. They really love kisses, I guess. I was studying in the medical school library. And it was like, when we met maybe a week ago. It’s been just a week. He’s still kind of a stranger and then I was studying, oh, where are you? I’m in the library and he walked to me and then he just give me like a little kiss right here (points to cheek) I’m like, what?
Santi:
For Hispanic, for hispanics touching is almost our love language, I, she told me that Koreans are not, they don’t have that much like public affection. We do. So, that was also another cultural, but she eventually got used to it.
Alison:
That is really funny. That is really funny.
Lucky:
It was funny. It was shocking.
Alison:
Well, honestly, I think that was [50:00] kind of all I had. Um. I want to take a second to thank you guys again for being so open and willing to do this. I loved learning more about you guys. Obviously I know you, but now I feel like I know you even more. Um, I did want to take a second and just kind of open the floor to you guys. If there’s any closing thoughts, ideas, anything you guys would like to say before we wrap it up.
Santi:
Closing thoughts? I don’t know, maybe just about, um, the future. We talked about, we like a lot this area. We like how diverse it is. Um, we don’t know what’s going to happen with the paperwork. Everything is going well. We hope we have a lot of faith in the system and the lawyers.
Lucky:
And we haven’t done anything [51:00] illegal.
Santi:
Yes, we’re happy. We were just, uh, each one keeps pursuing its own dreams, uh, hopes, uh, we know that this was, this, this being a heavy bite on, on like goals and dreams and everything getting, getting to, to be here, to settle here. Um, Once the, uh, everything is, is on track, I’ll start pumping my, my career again, but we’re happy. We’re happy.
Lucky:
Hopefully this helped to understand a little bit of the immigration part of your class.
Alison:
Yes, no, I’m gonna take it and I’m gonna analyze a ton of it. No, but thank you guys so much. I really appreciate it.
Lucky:
That’s really fun. Thank you.
Alison:
Of course.
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