Interview with DD, HIST 150 Spring 2021, Conducted by Julia Cheng, March 6, 2021

Introduction to Interview:

D.D. discusses his immigration story as a young adult in the United States. His family back in the Philippines were fortunate enough to provide him with this opportunity, their business shaping D.D. into who he is today. In the interview, D.D. mentions themes of immigration, adaptation to a new country during the Civil Rights movement, changing family dynamics during his time as a single father and the idea of being an entrepreneur. D.D. highlights the states he has spend the most time in, and how he exactly ran New World Tours through his connections and experience.

The Philippines was initially owned by Spain, as many Filipinos have Spanish sounding surnames. Being in the global south, the Philippines is inherently a poor country due to western powers exploiting the land and resources. However, the U.S. has been the success center for immigrants to start new and better lives. While the “American Dream” isn’t as attainable as it seems, D.D. is one individual that lives dynamically due to his hard work and the opportunities he was born into. The sacrifices he made is the reason why I am here and live a fortunate life. I feel that sharing his story is a way to recognize and honor all that he has done for my family, and to showcase his admirable journey. His selfless attitude and wisdom is undeniable, as he now spends his time helping less fortunate individuals in the Philippines, being an active member at church and playing with his grandchildren.

Biography

D.D. grew up in the Philippines, and immigrated to the United States in 1967. With his father’s business and the booming economy in the Philippines at the time, D.D. was sent to the states as a young adult. Living with his sister in Columbia, Missouri, D.D. started his new life and eventually made his way to many different places, including Washington, D.C., New York City and Los Angeles. After successfully working for the Rent-A-Car business and raising a family, D.D. faced the loss of his wife and lived as a single father to three kids. Upon his return to work, he started New World Tours, a bus company, and eventually retired and sold the company. Now, D.D. spends his time in the Philippines and the U.S., visiting and spending time with family.

Research:

After the Spanish-American War in 1898, Spain ceased control of the Philippines and the United States was given ownership. When the Filipinos fought back for their freedom, the Philippine-American War broke out and lasted three years. As a result, the Philippines eventually gained freedom, and worked with President William Howard Taft to build a government system.

History.state.gov. 2017. Milestones: 1899–1913 – Office of the Historian. [online] Available at: <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/war> [Accessed 14 March 2021].

According to the 1960 U.S. Census, 105,000 people living in the U.S. were born in the Philippines, and Filipinos were the second largest immigrant group in the U.S. Additionally, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 dropped the quota system that favored northern and western European immigrants, allowing for more Filipinos to come to the states.

Bankston III, C., 2021. Filipino immigrants. [online] Immigration to the United States. Available at: <https://immigrationtounitedstates.org/497-filipino-immigrants.html> [Accessed 20 February 2021].

Most Filipinos live in California and Hawaii and due to shortages in hospitals, many Filipino nurses immigrated to the states. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 caused the increase of foreign nurses to the United States to fill the shortage of nurses. My interviewee’s sister immigrated before him, and I wanted to ask if she was a nurse who arrived to fulfill the shortage.

Brice, A., 2019. Why are there so many Filipino nurses in the U.S.?. [online] Berkeley News. Available at: <https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/05/28/filipino-nurses-in-the-us-podcast/> [Accessed 20 February 2021].

Interview Transcript:

DD 0:00
Okay.

JC 0:00
Okay. So today I will be conducting an interview about my grandfather under the pseudonym DD and his immigration story from the Philippines to the United States. So do you consent being recorded at this time?

JC 0:16
Do you, um, consent to be recorded at this time?

DD 0:26
Yes.

JC 0:28
Okay. So I’ll start with the first question. So what was life like in the Philippines before you immigrated to the United States?

DD 0:36
Well, personally, for me, it was not bad. I mean, you know, I think there’s a lot of changes that had to happen between the generation where my father was actually at the point or the peak of his business life. And my mother, too, had gotten the case, or what businesses in the Philippines during that time. And it was there’s a lot of fluid, or actually cash coming into the house. And I with my studies was preoccupied with some other stuff that I dealt with that I should have never done. But I learned a lot from that. And this few years that, I guess my parents considered it to be [inaudible], it was pretty much informal because of the stuff that I used to do. So he decided to actually go ahead and ship me to the United States. That was in 1967. And I was at the that was at the age of about 19 or so.

JC 1:58
Wow. So,

DD 2:01
Yeah, yeah.

JC 2:03
What kind of business was like your dad involved in?

DD 2:07
And like I said, it was a very, very, uh, good era for businesses in the Philippines. So my dad was actually involved with three different businesses. We had a poultry farm. He was also involved in a trucking company, and a bus company. And this is all evolving right around the Manila area, which is a major city in the Philippines. My mother, on the other hand, is also involved in selling appliances in the city of Manila, so they were pretty busy on their own, you know, their own terms. And we, there’s nine of us, we were actually handled by the maids and the drivers. And I had an uncle that that lived with us during that time that was actually, you know, keeping the household going.

JC 3:20
Cool. So when you immigrated, basically, your father sent you to the United States. So it wasn’t just you or did any of your other like siblings or family go with you?

DD 3:32
Well, my sister, my sister, my sister immigrated to the United States couple of years prior to I, to me, so she has her footing when I finally got here in the States. But she lives in a place called Columbia, Missouri, which is a little Midwestern town. And when I landed in that area, I stayed there for I don’t know, a month, and I decided this is not for me. It’s really like a one horse town, where, you know, like, things only happen on Saturday and Sunday, and then the whole place is locked down, except for the university and the hospital where she works. Columbia, Missouri, is the only thing that’s actually happening in there is the University of Missouri and the hospital. And my sister was working for the for the hospital at that time, but like I said, it’s a one horse town and for a 19 year old to land in a place like that, it wasn’t really the place for me. So I decided to go to Washington DC and met up with, a couple of cousins that I’m very close to them when we were in the Philippines.

JC 4:55
Okay, that’s good.

DD 4:57
I think you know who they are.

JC 4:58
Yeah. Um, so I wanted to take a step back and like, look towards the immigration process. So could you walk me through that just kind of describe, you know, any kind of like paperwork you had to do with the government or, you know, just the process of going across the world to the United States?

DD 5:19
Well, at that time, he wasn’t really that bad. It wasn’t really that strict. You know, it isn’t like what we are actually faced with the immigration issues that we now currently have. At that time, it’s almost like sort of a free market. Nevertheless, you have to be legal. And when you process the paperwork, in other words, if you actually go ahead and submit a change of status, which is when the immigration issues, as soon as you have that process, then you legally, are, you are legal here in America until you get an approval. And but that, putting that aside, when I was in Washington, DC and stayed there for another month, I also decided that this is not the place for me, either. You know, in the 60s, I, we were faced with a lot of racial discrimination issues. Well, you weren’t born yet. But you know, there’s a lot of riots going on. And one of them is in Washington, DC is pretty bad. So I decided to actually go ahead and move to New York, by myself, and I met up with a friend.

JC 6:48
Yeah. If you feel comfortable, could you describe like, the riots and kind of like how your lifestyle was during that time?

DD 6:56
Well, you know, like, I have never during the time when I first came here, there’s a little bit of burden involved, you’re vulnerable into those kind of things. Because, you know, the issue is like, you know, like, white versus colored people. And it doesn’t have to be white versus black. It’s just white versus color people. And I felt that being in Washington, DC, through those struggles. I felt like I was the target. So I decided I said, I’m going to go into New York and really find my way. I’ve never been in New York City my whole life, but I’ve read so much about it. And I think, you know, like, being 19, you know, like you’re looking for some sort of nightlife. One of my adventure is, is looking for something like that. So I moved to New York, and I went ahead and met up with a friend where we took an apartment. And that’s where I met your grandma.

JC 8:12
Okay, yeah, that’s cool. Yeah, so New York City was definitely the place for you, then. Just when you?

DD 8:21
You know, yeah, it’s a little bit more negative that it is because all of my three kids are all born in New York City. You know, your two uncles were both born in New York City as well. As well as your mom.

JC 8:35
Yeah, that’s cool

DD 8:38
Yeah, until we decided, you know, at that time, I took up a job with a rent-a-car, Hertz Rent-a-Car. And, you know, for the first couple of years, I was kind of stable and being able to stay in one spot until I move up within the ranks. And they started shipping me all over the place. And that was the time when the first promotion that I got was that we have to move to LA. And your Grandma didn’t want to do that. But, you know, we have no choice.

JC 9:23
Yeah

DD 9:25
Yeah.

JC 9:28
Yeah. I want to get into like getting involved with the transportation business and, you know, like, how you like you got where you are now.

DD 9:35
Believe it or not, it’s not really my design. It just so happens that. You know, like I said, I grew up with having buses and trucks around my nose because of my father’s business. And when I came here, one of the jobs that I had, you know, actually one job I had was to work for a rent-a-car and I started in New York City. And like I said, when when when we finally when I finally move up within the ranks, and you know, was able to actually get some sort of an expertise on what the rent-a-car is all about. I was shipped to LA. And so bagging your grandma, and the three kids, you know, your mom and your two uncles, we moved to Los Angeles. Your mother has no idea what Los Angeles is all about. But they decided to make that a home. They believe that they belong there, not New York City.

JC 10:48
Yeah, that’s, that’s very cool, too. So when you got to LA, did you feel like you found like, an identity there as well?

DD 10:58
Yeah, yeah. Like I said, I am, I am very much intrigued with the rental car business. I was lucky enough that I was able to actually be uh, considered in different segments of that business. Where finally, I was actually able to run a city, what I mean by a city is a store. That’s what they call it, the city. So being in Los Angeles, and was able to go to different aspects of that business. My boss had given me a chance to run Los Angeles International Airport, which is, in contrast, it is a number 10, is one of the busiest airports around the United States. So I was able to do that for a while, until I’ve got recall back in the main office, and was able to actually go ahead and deal with the buying and the selling, of course, a particular business. So I learned that too.

JC 12:20
Yeah. And so I wanted to go into the your bus company, New World Tours, which was very successful. Yeah. And I could you kind of describe how, you know, you started with rent-a-car. And then you ended up at New World tours?

DD 12:34
Right. So what anyway, so let me let me continue on, when that promotion, also in the rent-a-car, that’s fine. I was actually taking on another promotion where they want to actually move me in this region in Washington, DC, to run Dulles International Airport, rent-a-car in that Dulles International Airport. When I first got that promotion, I told your grandma not to move, you know, no one to stay there until the school is over. This was in 1988. And I went and moved to Washington, DC, leaving your grandma, your mom and your and your two uncles for a period of about eight months. So we did that. And part of my contract was to be able to go home to California at least once a month. At their cost, of course. And we did that kind of a lifestyle for a while until it was time to move after they got out until your mom got out of school. Well, the accident happened.

[My grandmother died in a car accident, changing the family dynamic so that my uncles relied a lot more on my mom.]

You know, we had that that happened in our lives, which is pretty tragic. And it took me a long time to actually go get my bearings, once again, until I decided well, we’re going to continue on with the move and go to Washington, DC, which we did. But it was really both a bad experiences both painful. And I guess kind of rewarding for us. Because we were able to actually go ahead and survive that dark area.

JC 14:43
Yeah, that’s amazing to hear. Yeah. And that kind of goes into besides dealing with that accident and what other kinds of challenges did you face you know, when going to DC and you know, going back into work and all that?

DD 14:59
Well, well, I have to go back to work. Maybe after your grandma passed away, the corporation was kind enough for me to actually get productive, give me a couple of months off, take two months off, until I get my bearings straight. So when we finally moved in, when I moved back to DC, you know, it was a little shocking for your mom and his two uncle’s because the concept of Wash-, of Virginia, was then, they thought it was like in the middle of a cornfield or something like that. So that was a challenge. Yes, like I said, you know, it’s actually getting to know each other. Because when we lost your grandma, there was a little bit of a turmoil on how they’re going to deal with me. Because, you know, when they were growing up, a lot, my absence, sometimes they get freaked out for you know, like, they look at your mom as the soft part, and I am in the hard, I’m the executioner of the family. So it was very difficult to actually go ahead and blend in, all of us. So it took a whole year that, and when I finally went back to work, it wasn’t really good because I know that, you know, your mom and the two uncles were not having a good time here, Virginia, they feel like they don’t belong here, they belong in LA. So I had to say goodbye to the corporation. And, you know, and they understand that they understood it. And I went back to LA with the three kids. So it’s all, until they’re all out of the house. And I’m free. So I decided to come back here in Virginia. But, when I left, I had put in a little bit of, let me see, an interest on a bus business. So I decided to have my niece and my nephew, run a small, a mini bus business at that time, and they were running it for me. Until I was ready to take the helm. You know, like, I know, it took like maybe four years. So when I moved here, I went ahead and look at the business and I have a little bit of a few dollars left in my pocket. And we invested in actually on, on big buses. So I have all the dilapidated buses during that time, uh, when I came back here in this region, until I met up with another operator with the same dilapidated buses. And we finally looked around and say, maybe we should look for somebody who could actually invest in our equipment. And we run across this manufacturer, and they’re based out of, let me see, Orlando, Florida. And they went and looked at our books to see you know, if we are to do any of the dreams that we wanted. And they said, I can actually take in your throng of buses, 14 brand new. And like, hey, if the business is here, and we have this new buses, maybe we could actually go ahead and expand. And we did. We took that risk. And on and on. So during that time we started with Bob buses with that partner in tow. Nice man. I don’t know if you guys have ever met him his name was Arnold Brown, but, uh, at any rate, uh, we traded the 12 to 14. And that’s how New World Tours started.

JC 19:16
That’s great.

DD 19:19
When we finally, so we operated on that, we started with the 12, and it became 17 became 22 became 27 until finally after the capital by 34 buses. We finally had whenever I finally decided to bottle out it was still much it was like eight years of doing the same thing.

JC 19:49
Yeah, so after you’re retired and just, you know kind of just finding your place,

DD 19:58
Right. Well, When, when, when I was doing all this, you know, it’s a seven day event for me because I was having a good time. I mean, you know, I think they saw me here and there. But ordinarily, like I’m on, if I’m not in the office, I’m on duty or, you know, taking care of people showing up in the places where the busses are, you know, people would would be subjected to some sort of introspection wherever I go, and it gotten tired. I mean, it took a toll on me. And so when I sold the bus, I said, I looked at my life, and I said, I needed to find out exactly why things wrong. And that intrigued me about taking a trip to the Philippines in 2008. After 38 years of absence, I had never gone back. Because of, you know, almost preoccupied with everything that’s happening with me. I had a good time. I was only supposed to, they’re supposed to stay there for a couple of weeks. And I ended up staying a full month. Ever since that time, I’ve repeated that trip. You know, almost like every two years.

JC 21:20
Yeah, I want to ask, like, you know, since you’ve been going back to the Philippines, and I know that, um, you live there, like before you came here to help out our family for COVID, um like, how does American culture differ from Filipino culture in your opinion?

DD 21:38
Not really, now, I you have to understand. You know like the Philippines is, is in American culture. A long time ever since, even before the Second World War II, the Americas was already in the Philippines. And everybody’s kind of shocked around the world, like every time we go someplace else. We tell them that we’re from Philippines. Can you speak English? Well, English, in our schools in the Philippines, all the way from kindergarten. English is the medium of what we use school. I mean, we still have a subject for you know, the local, the Tagalog, which is the local dialect, but everything is in English, our textbooks and language, you know, everything is. So as far as like actually trying to put a some sort of a difference of culture between Filipinos and Americans. Very, very few. I would probably even consider at that, if we have to actually go and dig out. What is the difference? Now probably some sort of, this can be a lot of religious information, you know because we’re more Catholics then some people over here in America.

JC 23:04
Okay, and then did you feel that you’re able to find like community relatively quickly in the United States? I know that we have, like, a lot of family in California. I just wanted to ask about, you know, like, there’s a lot there’s a high Filipino population in California, and, you know, how does it feel being there? Whether or being in Northern Virginia? Is it any different to you?

DD 23:30
No, not really. I, like I said, I think because of how I actually mended myself, to the community, regardless of color. You know, like, I have never been conscious about, you know, what the color? I really am, I haven’t, I don’t know if you guys notice this when you guys were growing up. But I have brought in a lot of people in my house that are of different color. And it doesn’t matter to me, it didn’t make any difference.

DD 24:12
I don’t know. I have just, yeah, I guess. Lucky that I’ve, you know, like, I feel that way. I mean, I’ve used it in my advantage. Don’t get me wrong. You know, because when I used to do bidding here in this, in this region, and we still have the bus company which is kind of stupid, you know, they asked you what nationality you are. And I said, What’s that for? Says you know on the bidding system, we have to jot down what your ethnicity is, your White, your African American, your Pacific Islander or something like that. And I finally figured that if you’re a minority, they tend to give the bid to the minorities. I mean, that’s the way I looked at it. I. I don’t know.

JC 25:21
Yeah, that’s interesting.

DD 25:24
Yes, it is.

JC 25:25
Yeah. And then I also wanted to ask, you know, like, what are the advantages and disadvantages of living in the United States versus living in the Philippines?

DD 25:33
Well, of course, the cost. You know, like our money’s in the Philippines goes a long way compared to your dollars here. So the exchange, the exchange rate is like your dollar here is like 50 pesos in the Philippines, and your buying power is probably, I don’t know 30% less than what you can buy. So you figure it’s not really too far off. Yeah, it’s, that’s other than that, really? Nothing else.

JC 26:08
You wouldn’t say,

DD 26:12
We get more sunshine than we do here.

JC 26:14
Yeah.

JC 26:15
And then was there anything else you want to add about your story or anything that you think would be important?

DD 26:23
Nothing really, Julia. I mean, like I said, I am, most of the stuff that I’ve done here. As far as like, trying to make a living and raising, you know, mother two uncle. And, you know, you stayed in my house for a few years. I, I felt that most of the things that I did, is driven by survival. And my, my only belief is that I really believe that you treat your brothers and your sisters well and somebody higher up will treat you good.

JC 27:22
Yeah, that’s great. Um, thank you so much for, uh, wanting to be interviewed. I think we’ll end it here. But it was nice talking to you.

DD 27:34
Alright sweetheart.

JC 27:36
Okay. Bye

DD 27:38
Bye.

Technology and Interview Process:

This interview took place on Zoom and was not edited at all. I sent DD the consent form a few weeks before, and I created a Zoom meeting for him to access. We turned our cameras off to get the best sound quality possible, and I used Otter AI to transcribe.