Interview with Anne
For this project, I chose to interview my mother, Anne Beasley, about her immigration story. Her journey from Sydney, Australia, to the United States in the 1990s is one that shaped not only her life but also the life of our entire family. She moved to the U.S. alongside my father on his work visa, beginning a series of relocations that spanned states, continents, and cultures. Through this interview, I gained a deeper appreciation for the resilience, adaptability, and determination that defined her experience as an immigrant. While I have always been aware of her sacrifices, hearing her speak about the details of this transformative journey made me realize just how much she endured for the benefit of our family.
(Pictured: My Grandmother Marzia and her Husband Sam (on my dads side) at my parents wedding)
Annes Migration
Anne’s migration story began in the early 1990s when she and my father decided to leave Sydney for New Mexico. The move was prompted by my father’s career opportunities, but it also represented a chance to start fresh in a country with vast professional and personal possibilities.Although excited by the adventure ahead, my mother confessed that leaving her close-knit family in Sydney was one of the most difficultaspects of the move. “I felt a mix of excitement and deep sadness,” she said, reflecting on her farewell to her parents and siblings.
New Mexico was their first destination in the U.S., chosen because of my father’s work placement. Adjusting to the stark desert environment of New Mexico after the coastal, urban comforts of Sydney was challenging for my mother. She described the setting as “isolating at first” but acknowledged that the people they met in the community helped her feel more welcome. Her experience there laid the foundation for the resilience she would need in the years to come.
After their time in New Mexico, my parents moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. Here, my mother found some familiarity in the lush, green landscapes that reminded her of Sydney. However, settling in a new place came with its challenges. She noted how different American social norms were, requiring her to relearn basic aspects of day-to-day life. One of the biggest surprises she and my dad had was something reallysilly. She said “They didn’t understand what we meant by shops” and “We were looking for a grocery store, but in Australia, we call them shops” This little barrier of language shocked her, and she hoped it wasn’t a tell for the future. Still, my mother’s adaptability shone through as she immersed herself in the community, slowly finding her footing in this new chapter.
A significant shift came when my parents relocated to California, where I was born. California presented a unique blend of opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, its diverse and dynamic culture appealed to my mother, but on the other hand, the fast-paced lifestyle and high cost of living proved overwhelming at times. This period was particularly taxing as my parents worked to provide for our growing family. Despite the challenges, my mother took pride in establishing a warm, nurturing home for us in an unfamiliar setting.
In an unexpected turn, my parents moved our family to Chile for several years, where my father’s work once again required a significant relocation. For my mother, this was one of the most demanding transitions. She had to learn Spanish to communicate effectively and adapt to yet another culture, one that was markedly different from both Australia and the United States. Reflecting on this time, she said, “It wasn’t easy, but it made me stronger.” Immersing herself in the local culture, my mother managed to find a balance between embracing Chilean traditions and maintaining her own identity. Her experience in Chile not only broadened her perspective but also enriched our family’s understanding of the world.
Eventually, we returned to the United States, moved to Colorado, and later, back to Charlottesville, Virginia. These moves marked a return to familiarity for my mother but also brought new challenges. Each transition required her to rebuild connections and reestablish a sense of belonging. Nevertheless, her unwavering dedication to family and her ability to adapt ensured that every new environment became a home for us
. 
(Pictured: my Mother and Father with some friends in the US)
Home is where the heart is
As my mother settled in various new environments, the process of adapting to life in the United States and other countries became more complex. Her ability to navigate through different cultures, while staying rooted in her own, revealed not only her strength but also her commitment to building a life for our family. Upon moving to New Mexico, the adjustment was challenging, as she had to learn to manage in a largely unfamiliar environment, without the immediate support network she was used to in Sydney. The small community they moved into offered a quiet life but felt isolating at first, especially since she was far from the bustling, multicultural atmosphere of her hometown.
In Virginia, where my parents lived twice in different centuries, things were a bit easier, though new struggles emerged. “I remember feeling like I was in a different world at first,” my mother recalled. “The pace was slower, the culture different, and I was constantly navigating between my Australian roots and the new American culture.” Her experience in Virginia taught her to find a balance between these two worlds, learning how to speak up for herself in a new cultural context while also maintaining her identity. For example, she quickly recognized the importance of small talk and the subtleties of American social life, but she never let go of the Australian warmth and openness that defined her.
One of the biggest challenges my mother faced during her years in California and other States in the US was adjusting to the demands of a new life with a growing family. She recalled feeling like she was caught between the expectations of a rapidly evolving, modern world and the nurturing role she wanted to fulfill at home. This period was difficult, but it solidified her sense of resilience and adaptability. Even though the challenges seemed daunting, she approached them with determination, always putting her family first.
When the family moved to Chile, things became even more difficult for her. As she mentioned, “The language barrier was real” Living in a foreign country with a completely different language and culture brought new layers of complexity to her experience. She spent years learning Spanish, which she now says is gone. She found strength in overcoming these obstacles, constantly adapting to the new environment while trying to hold onto her sense of self. My mother became part of the local community, making lifelong friendships and experiencing life in a way that few people get to, thanks to her willingness to embrace the unknown.
Upon returning to the U.S., first in Colorado and then back in Virginia, my mother found herself reestablishing her sense of belonging yet again.The transitions were tiring, but she knew that these periods of change were an inevitable part of her journey. Her ability to build a stable life for us despite the constant uprooting helped her maintain a sense of continuity. My mother’s adaptability was particularly evident when, after every move, she managed to find new opportunities, whether it was work, social connections, or activities for our family. Through all of this, she never allowed the challenges of migration to overshadow her belief in the importance of perseverance.
Involvement
Through each relocation, Anne remained steadfast in her desire to ensure that we were able to integrate into our new communities. In Virginia, where we eventually returned, my mother found herself rekindling her teaching degree. Now teaching at William Monroe High School. However, while talking to my mother one quote stuck out to me. ”Eventually you realize you don’t belong anywhere,” she said. This sentiment put her emotions to the side as she managed a family and a job all in a country she never grew up in. Her ability to connect with others, even in unfamiliar settings, was a testament to her resilience and the power of human connection.
Her role in these communities wasn’t just about assimilation, however. She brought pieces of her Australian identity with her, sharing aspects of her culture with those around her. Her cultural contributions weren’t just an act of preserving her heritage, but also of fostering understanding and appreciation in the communities she joined. As a mother, my mom’sapproach to raising her children was shaped by her immigrant experience. She emphasized the importance of bothhonoring our cultural heritage and embracing the values of our new home. While that meant us eating vegemite as children, it has some more important consequences. While we were raised in an American environment, my mother made sure we understood our Australian roots. She taught us to cherish both worlds, offering us a perspective that few others had. Her ability to seamlessly blend these two worlds and create a cohesive family life is a testament to her determination to provide us with the best possible upbringing.
My mother’s role within her local communities was not only confined to family and friends. Her experience as an immigrant helped her become a bridge between cultures, helping those around her understand the complexities of immigration. She often shared her story, explaining the challenges she had faced and the lessons she learned along the way. In doing so, she encouraged empathy and understanding. Through her efforts, she made a lasting impact on the communities she became part of, not only as an immigrant but as someone who added value by sharing her unique perspective.
It was this dedication as well as the election of Trump in 2016 that my mother’s friend from South Africa told her “You should become a citizen” and that’s exactly what she did. My mother became a United States citizen in 2016/17 and from there she has “felt American” even saying that when they were becoming citizens in the courtroom the very fact she was moved to tears was “Uniquely American”. She now has voted and been a participant in United States Politics for many years, bringing her unique immigrant experience to the forefront of her actions.
Conclusion
Looking back, my mother’s journey as an immigrant has been a series of transitions, each one marked by resilience and adaptability. From the challenges of migrating from Australia to the United States in the 1990s, to the experiences in Chile and the many cities they called home, my mother has always approached each new chapter with determination. Her story is not just one of survival, but of thriving in the face of adversity, adapting to new environments while maintaining her cultural identity, and making a lasting impact on the communities she was part of. Now as a United States citizen, she is just as active and helpful as many of the other Americans who want what’s best for the country. As I reflect on my own life, I realize that my mother’s strength, commitment to family, and dedication to her values are the foundation upon which my understanding of migration and community is built. I love you Mom.
(Pictured: My Mother on her wedding day)
COPY OF MY TRANSCRIPT
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:47:14
My name is Nicholas Beasley and I’m interviewing my mother today, Anne Beasley.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:47:18
She’s an immigrant. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
[Anne Beasley] 13:47:24
Just generally, okay, I was born in Australia in 1967 and I moved to this country
[Anne Beasley] 13:47:30
in the end of 1991 and I’ve lived here ever since that time, except for four years.
[Anne Beasley] 13:47:36
When I lived in Chile, which was from the middle of 2004 to the middle of 2008.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:47:43
Okay. Can you tell me a little bit about your life before moving to the United States?
[Anne Beasley] 13:47:49
It was just, well, I guess it was a good childhood. My parents were
[Anne Beasley] 13:47:55
And we weren’t poor or anything
[Anne Beasley] 13:47:58
So I just went to a good school, went to Sydney University, which is a good university, had an economics degree.
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:05
I had met um
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:08
I had met the person that I married, Tony Beasley, when I was at college
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:13
I worked for two years in the bank with my economics degree, then decided to go back and got a master’s in teaching, took a year.
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:19
Then I was teaching for a year and then that’s teaching a year
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:21
at that time, at the end of my first year of teaching, because in australia we
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:26
Our school years are calendar years.
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:28
we moved to
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:30
We moved to New Mexico.
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:32
for Tony’s work. He’s an astronomer.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:48:35
Okay, so that leads me to my next question, which is what motivated your decision to migrate to the United States?
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:40
Okay, so when we first moved, it wasn’t a migration decision. It was a moving for a few years for um
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:46
Tony’s work because he’s an astronomer. So he had the
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:48:49
like a work visa.
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:51
He had a work visa and I had a visa
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:53
I can’t remember what it’s called, but it allows you to live in the country with the person who’s working but not to work.
[Anne Beasley] 13:48:59
So I was not allowed to work at that stage, I was just about to have my first baby anyway.
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:04
And so I was on that visa
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:08
Until 2000. It was renewed many times, but I was on a visa that did not allow me to work from
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:15
the end of 91 until 2000 when we got our green card.
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:20
In that time I had the four children, so I was busy anyway.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:49:21
Okay.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:49:25
Did you have any help from someone or did you face any significant challenges financially, legally, or logistically moving to the US?
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:36
No, our airfares was paid for to get here because Tony was coming to be a postdoc.
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:41
We just bought suitcases of stuff and then um
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:45
when we got here, we just sort of rented a cheap place called Married Student Quarters
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:50
And just bought secondhand furniture and stuff, just got secondhand stuff for the baby
[Anne Beasley] 13:49:56
Tony’s salary wasn’t very big, but things here were very cheap and we lived in New Mexico, which was also very cheap so we didn’t
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:02
was it was just sort of normal living normal
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:50:07
So how did the prices really vary between Australia and America, if you’re seeing it as cheap?
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:08
Sorry.
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:12
At that time at that time, America was much cheaper for everything
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:17
So for example, I use
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:21
Well, this isn’t when we first came, but by the time Kate was born so um
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:26
So by 97, by 96, 97, when we had our first minivan, I could feel it for $11 for petrol.
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:33
I guess.
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:36
in Australia, it was much more like today’s prices here. So it was a big difference
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:41
Just food was cheaper, just anything, anything at all was way cheaper here.
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:46
Now it’s much more equivalent.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:50:49
Okay. That also leads me on to my next question, which is what were your first impressions of life in the United States?
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:50:56
Were people welcoming, unwelcoming?
[Anne Beasley] 13:50:59
Americans are very surface friendly.
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:03
very surface friendly. Remember, a lot of our friends were in the astronomy community, so a lot of them were not Americans.
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:08
a lot of them would also come from elsewhere. Most of my good friends had not
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:13
come from America. But the Americans were all really lovely. I’m still friends with some of the ones that I made right at the beginning there.
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:20
Some of them even because their husbands also worked in the same field, live here in Charlottesville now.
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:26
Yeah.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:51:28
Okay. How did you adapt to life in the US?
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:33
I had to adapt some of my language, a lot of the language around babies and things
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:38
like pacifier and like pacifier
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:40
diaper and all that is American language. We use different words in Australia.
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:46
Otherwise, it’s
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:48
I guess a little bit of missing some foods or missing people
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:52
Otherwise, it wasn’t that much different.
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:55
I think at the time I thought it was a lot different, but it’s hard for me to
[Anne Beasley] 13:51:58
remember exactly what that is now. I’ve been here so long.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:52:01
Do you think that your and dad’s relationships with people in NRAO helped you
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:52:07
have a social network and make you feel at home in the US?
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:09
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely it did.
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:12
the work things were the work things were
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:15
Yes, absolutely. All the work things. It was a small town and so a very astronomy community
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:21
and all the people who work there, not just the astronomers was quite
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:24
tight-knit and very, very helpful yes
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:28
Yes, for example, the first time we arrived, the person that had employed Tony had also been an astronomer in Australia. He was about our parents age and they
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:35
drove us around and show us places in the town and took us out to dinner and just sort of
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:40
helped us settle in as if they were our parents because remember we were only um
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:44
25 and 27.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:52:48
And at what point did you and dad say we’re staying here in the United States? When did his work visa end?
[Anne Beasley] 13:52:55
Okay, so his work visa kept being renewed and i think
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:00
Around about, well, about 95.
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:03
the company said, you’re going to be here longer than two or three years. Let’s apply for the green card.
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:08
But some, I can’t remember what it is, but some new
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:12
there were some changes to the process that meant a lot more people could apply for it.
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:16
just when we were applying for it. So it actually took five years. So we actually didn’t get our green cards till about 2000.
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:23
And in amongst that time, I mean, we had to do so, you have to go to so many different immigration appointments. And when they say be here at this time, you do and
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:31
be fingerprinted and blood tests and all sorts of things to get the green card.
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:36
But we eventually got it, I think, our first ones in 2000.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:53:42
Okay. So over the course of your time in the United States, you’ve become a US citizen.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:53:47
How do you feel being a part of American society?
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:53
Well, at least I can vote now.
[Anne Beasley] 13:53:57
The reason I, I think I had, well, I know I had renewed my green card one time and i
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:02
Once you’re on a green card, that actual green card is very important. It’s like a piece of gold. It allows you to work. It allows you to be here
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:11
But it doesn’t allow you to leave for more than two years without leaving it, without losing the green card.
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:16
And as I still have family in Australia and I was no longer married to the person who got me here, I was divorced.
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:24
and all my children were here, I needed to have access
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:27
to both countries.
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:29
And so one of my friends from South Africa and she got a green card, she said, you really should
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:36
get citizenship because you can’t lose citizenship like you can lose a green card. If I suddenly had to go back and look after my parents for
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:45
three years, I could still come back and live and work in the country where my children are.
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:49
So that’s why I decided to apply for citizenship.
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:55
I think it was 2015.
[Anne Beasley] 13:54:58
or maybe the very beginning of 2016, I decided to apply
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:02
But I knew the process took a long time. So as I go to Australia in the summer.
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:07
I had everything ready and I sort of put in the application the day after I came back because
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:12
as the application’s going on, you can’t come and go very easily.
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:16
it’s like you’re sort of stuck here
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:19
unless there really was an emergency, but it would be a huge process because it’s sort of like
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:24
during that processing time, you’re meant to be here the whole time.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:55:28
Okay. Do you think…
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:30
Living in Chile affected how long before i could
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:33
I had to be back on the soil after being in Chile for a certain amount of time.
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:39
to get my citizenship or to get my
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:42
I can’t remember, but being in Chile affected the process because I hadn’t been here long enough and I had to wait longer.
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:49
Yeah.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:55:49
So how do
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:55:51
different was it immigrating to Chile for four years?
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:55:55
Then moving to the U.S.
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:56
Well, it wasn’t an immigration.
[Anne Beasley] 13:55:58
We’re definitely never going to live in Chile forever. It was a work situation sponsored by
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:03
We worked for the American company.
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:05
So we worked for NRAO still, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, or Tony
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:13
And so we went as americans
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:15
even though we’re Australian, we went as Americans. We still paid our taxes to America each year, not to Chile. Chile is fine with that.
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:24
And we had to return every two years
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:27
And so that we didn’t lose our green cards. So we had to come back in two years and process all the paperwork again to say, yes.
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:33
We still want to live in this country and then
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:35
go back to Chile.
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:37
So in the middle of it, we had to do that.
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:40
we would have had to do it again, except we came back.
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:43
After four years.
[Anne Beasley] 13:56:44
So we didn’t immigrate to Chile. It was just like, we’re just going there.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:56:46
Do you…
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:56:50
Okay. Do you think that…
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:56:53
living in America for so long has made you feel American or
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:56:58
a stronger connection to America.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:00
Yes. Yes, it does. Things that i would have thought
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:04
was stupid and would have been extremely embarrassed about as an Australian.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:08
So I drove past the other day and this big American flag was flying in the sunrise and I was thinking, oh, that’s so beautiful.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:15
As an Australian, I would have thought, what an embarrassing thought to have.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:20
But I did. It was beautiful. At first, you know, when my children were in school, I refused to do the Pledge of Allegiance when I was a mum helping in the class until James, my oldest in third grade said.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:30
It’s very embarrassing.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:31
that you do not do the Pledge of Allegiance. So I thought, well, I better do it for my kids. And now as a teacher, I have to do it every day. It’s federal law.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:38
And so I’m quite fine with that.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:40
doing that, pledging allegiance thing. It is very sort of like a prayer but you know
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:45
That’s all right. I do think Americans get religion and patriotic mixed up and i i
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:50
I would not do that.
[Anne Beasley] 13:57:53
But otherwise, yeah, yes. And also you do see living in the four states we’ve lived in and now me teaching in Greene County.
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:01
that you can’t say 350, it might be more than that now million people
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:06
are all this and varied. It’s a very varied population with very varied views and
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:12
live lives and
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:15
So you can’t say Americans are this. That’s what I’ve learned. They’re a variety of people.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:58:22
Okay. How do you feel your home country still plays a role in your life?
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:58:28
Do you have like traditions or foods that you eat?
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:32
Yeah. So my family lives there. Yeah, the chocolate I eat, I’ll still make my Australian fruitcake for Christmas, even though people here think that’s disgusting.
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:42
I have to have my Vegemite almost daily
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:46
vitaeweight crackers, which are Australian
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:49
I feel I still have the Australians
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:52
Actually, I think I still have the Australian sense of humour. However, I was home recently and
[Anne Beasley] 13:58:58
I thought something on australia i thought i sent a dog on my sister that is so mean. And she’s like, that’s not mean. That’s funny. It was something that happened on the TV.
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:06
So maybe I’ve got a little bit
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:08
I’ve lost a little bit of the humor
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:13
But I still think I’ve got a lot of it where we would think things are funny that perhaps Americans do not find funny.
[Nicholas Beasley] 13:59:20
How do you feel that being an immigrant has shaped your sense of belonging either here in the US or back in?
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:25
Oh, yeah. Yeah, that is very difficult
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:30
At some point, or I thought this was my name at some point
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:34
you don’t really belong anywhere.
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:37
At some point, that’s how it comes.
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:39
And I realized that in Chile mixing with so many people from so many places and it was
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:43
There was books to help the kids called Third Culture Kids because the kids are neither the culture of their parents
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:50
nor the culture of the country where they’re living. These are kids that move around.
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:53
And so they’re not so they’re not
[Anne Beasley] 13:59:56
So for you guys, for example, when we go home, it’s not really your home in Australia. It’s my home.
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:01
you’re visiting a country
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:03
But I don’t really think exactly like Australians or Americans. You’re sort of foreign everywhere.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:00:11
Okay. Going back to…
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:00:13
first coming to the US, what were your initial experiences with dad finding housing and work?
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:00:19
In the U.S?
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:20
Well, dad came with a job.
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:21
So that was no issue. Finding housing
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:28
We were put into a little place where we can stay
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:31
For a little bit of time until we found somewhere
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:35
and um
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:36
We looked at several houses we could rent. In the end, we rented from married student quarters because
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:41
It was within walking distance of many things like
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:46
I actually thought I’d be able to make friends in that neighborhood.
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:50
it wasn’t where I ended up making my friends because I didn’t realize there’d be like a play group but
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:55
it also was within walking distance. We only could afford one car
[Anne Beasley] 14:00:59
So it meant I could either quickly drive dad to work or I could walk and get the car from his work or he could walk to work, you know.
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:05
So that’s why we chose where we lived.
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:09
Yeah.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:01:10
So in the first few weeks or months, what was the most shocking thing that you saw or
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:01:16
Any big difference that you really noticed?
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:19
So one difference is one difference
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:22
stores in Australia, we call them the shops, which here shops is where you get something fixed.
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:27
So we went in with another couple who had just arrived from India before James was born and we had to get some household goods or
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:34
Because the town where we were didn’t have anything at that stage. I mean, it had a little supermarket. We had to go into Albuquerque
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:40
It’s an hour away and we didn’t know where the big moor was and we hadn’t asked anybody. We just sort of drove in, I guess, thinking we’d find it.
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:48
And so we would ask people, where are the shops? And they would be like, and it was like.
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:52
I think it was a sunday so they’re just like a
[Anne Beasley] 14:01:56
They thought we were asking somewhere to get our car fixed. They just didn’t understand why
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:02
And we couldn’t understand why they didn’t know what we were talking about. The shops, you know, these big shops when we would describe what we wanted to buy
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:09
I mean, I think eventually
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:10
I don’t even know within that trip we found them all.
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:13
But very soon after being there, we found them all.
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:16
Because I remember it snowed
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:20
And we didn’t realize this being from Australia, we thought it would snow and the snow was going to be there for three months. But in New Mexico, because it’s there for three days, but we didn’t know that.
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:28
We rushed into Albuquerque to buy like snow boots and mittens and things, thinking this was it now for three months.
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:34
So we must have known where the shops were then and that was very soon after we arrived.
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:39
the shop the stores or the mall
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:42
Yeah.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:02:42
So how do you view the concept of being an immigrant now that you’re a dual citizen versus when you weren’t a dual citizen?
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:51
I find that i find that
[Anne Beasley] 14:02:56
in my mind, when I think of migrants, when they talk of the migrants on the TV and they talk about them badly.
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:02
they’re not talking about someone that they don’t recognize as a migrant unless I open my mouth.
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:07
Because, you know, a lot of those people who are anti-migrants, I mean, people are always anti-migrant, big waves of migrant, but it’s usually people have different cultures and languages or skin colors and
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:18
Until I opened my mouth. But people like Australian accent or a british accent so
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:23
no one so i’ll have people say all these immigrants come here and they have all these children and I’m like, well, that would be me.
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:28
And they’re like, no, no, no, because they have a different concept of immigrant. So I don’t
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:33
I don’t feel in danger being an immigrant like I might if I’d escaped from Mexico and came here. Then I might feel in danger.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:03:40
How do you feel your
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:03:42
journey as an immigrant has shaped your view of immigration in the US?
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:49
Oh.
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:52
I don’t know, I’ve always believed in immigration. Australia has the same issues where they don’t want immigrants and yet we need immigrants.
[Anne Beasley] 14:03:58
and immigrants of all Australia really is well same is here
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:02
I’ve always thought immigration is important. I feel I feel
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:06
This country especially it’s the whole thing about taking in the world’s poor and stuff and
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:11
We can do it. Do I think there’s problems with the policy?
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:16
Yes, I guess I don’t really know all the policies. I only know what i’ve been through.
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:23
I think that if you snuck over the border here, you might not really be committing crimes because you don’t want to be noticed.
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:29
Right. So I don’t know if my view has changed so much on immigrants.
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:34
At all.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:04:35
Well, rounding out the interview, I just have some reflections and lessons I want to ask you.
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:40
Did you want to know how you become a citizen or you know all that?
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:04:42
Well, yeah, tell me about your journey becoming a citizen.
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:47
So you have to learn
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:49
you get a book with 100 questions
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:52
that you have to learn and they’re going to ask you randomly 10 of them and you have to get six right.
[Anne Beasley] 14:04:57
And as I had just been changing my Australian teaching to American teaching of history.
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:03
a lot of it i’d already learned.
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:05
The only ones that are unique is like, what is the governor of your state and things like that. Because I’ll probably ask you that one.
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:11
So you have to learn that. And there are several times where you have to go and be fingerprinted and it’s just
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:17
And it’s really just like they send you the letter in the mail and you must be at this place on this day
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:23
at this time. And there’s no you can’t really like bring up and change it. You just do and it’s always waiting and
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:30
Once you get the citizenship, then they tell you you’ve passed it
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:34
Then you just wait for a court date and that also is not of your choice. They just tell you it’s this date, it’s this time.
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:40
The court date was one of the last days of the teaching year.
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:44
I don’t think there were students there that day, but it was a work day because I remember I had the time off and I came in for the second half of the day and I really just thought it’d be quick, but it’s really quite long.
[Anne Beasley] 14:05:53
It was very, very soon after Donald Trump had been elected for the first time and the judge was just saying, now that you’re citizens.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:01
Remember, as well as rights, you have responsibilities and your responsibility is to vote.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:05
So I think he was trying to make that very clear.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:09
But it was quite a lot of people there, people who had been here a very short time and been sponsored who were running away from dangerous situations.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:17
write up to some woman from England who lived here for 40 years and
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:20
She stood up and talked about
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:22
how emotional it was to finally make that decision. So it really was quite an emotional experience.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:28
I felt sort of close to tears and then I thought, well.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:31
I’m no longer an Australian, I’m American if I can be moved to tears by a ceremony
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:36
And not.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:39
But yeah, that was really, it’s a long process but once it’s done, it’s like it’s done.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:44
And then you’ve got that citizenship and all you have
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:48
you just apply for the passport and all that stuff. It does mean I have to carry two passports like you guys.
[Anne Beasley] 14:06:52
That’s all right.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:06:54
Do you think if you weren’t already accustomed to US life and
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:07:00
how things work here that becoming a citizen would have been more challenging
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:07
You mean if I went through the process when I first arrived?
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:07:11
Yeah.
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:12
Yes, I guess if you go through the process when you first arrived
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:07:13
Or…
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:15
You’re doing it for a reason.
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:18
Because if you just do it the way we did it, you usually have to be here for several, like at least five years on a green card and then applying for the green card takes time so
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:27
Nearly always when people become citizens, they’ve been here for a long time.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:07:33
Okay. What has been the most rewarding part of your journey as an immigrant?
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:39
Oh, good.
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:41
What do you mean by rewarding?
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:07:43
maybe your children, maybe, maybe me.
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:46
The rewarding part of my life for being an American.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:07:49
I guess as an immigrant, yeah.
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:55
Perhaps living in a different country than you grow up
[Anne Beasley] 14:07:59
makes you a little more broad-minded, a little more accepting of things.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:08:03
a little more of a global citizen.
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:06
Maybe, yes. I feel that Australians have a certain point of view and Americans
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:12
although not everyone’s the same but you know there’s a worldview and a worldview in america
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:16
But I’ve only lived in Chile as well.
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:20
I feel, yes, living in different countries can make you see
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:26
the people of people, perhaps.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:08:30
if you could…
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:30
you know australian australians are critical of everybody, Americans less so
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:34
Americans might be critical of each other, but really on the world scale they’re a little more
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:39
you know, if American came to Australia and said, well, we call take away, take out, we’d say that’s stupid.
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:45
But when I came here and someone said, we’re going to get takeout and I said, oh, we call that takeaway. They said, oh, isn’t that cute?
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:52
They have more of a like a
[Anne Beasley] 14:08:55
patronizing is not the right word, but more of a like, oh, the rest of the world’s so sweet and cute, whereas Australia is sort of like the rest of the world is stupid.
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:02
you know so
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:05
sort of like…
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:09:05
Do you think that your migration has shaped who you are today?
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:10
I think everything shapes who you are every single thing.
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:14
It must be part of it.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:09:17
Okay. Is there anything…
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:18
My biggest thing that shaped me is giving birth to my fifth child, Nicholas Beasley.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:09:25
Is there anything else about your journey or experience that you’d like to share?
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:31
No, I don’t think so.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:09:33
And what would you like people to understand about the immigrant experience?
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:39
Oh, it must well it must
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:41
it must be a very varied experience.
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:44
for some people is much
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:47
much more joyful
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:47
Because this is what they really need because their life was really bad. For other people, it’s just like, okay, this is a good decision.
[Anne Beasley] 14:09:55
that i’ve made it. Yeah.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:09:58
Okay, awesome. Well.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:10:01
Thank you for interviewing with me.
[Anne Beasley] 14:10:03
All right.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:10:04
I’m going to end the recording now.
[Nicholas Beasley] 14:10:09
Yes, thank you.
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