Interview with an Immigrant

Victor MartinTuesday, February 24, 2015Third BlockAP Human Geography

Interview with an Immigrant

Mandu Derain Elouera 57 years old, born on April 27, 1957 Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia Immigrated about 47 years ago Mostly because part of his family, including his father and 2 sisters, were in the United States. His grandparents wanted to stay in Australia, so he and his mother were the last ones to reach to America. Although there is still plenty of family in Australia, his parents wanted to get him and his siblings to get an American education, rather than the one he had in Australia, and go to a variety of schools there. Another reason was because of how there werent many jobs where they lived, and found many opportunities in America. Push Factors Unemployment from his family forced them to move somewhere else Pull Factors His family found job opportunities and economic opportunities in America and his parents wanted to put him and his siblings in American education, even though there really wasnt anything wrong with education in Australia His parents selected it because they found a lot of job opportunities in America that had high salaries. His mom and dad where both doctors, and because of the universal health care in Australia, they were not able to get a lot of money. They figured that America would pay much more than what Australia did, and so they moved there. For one, he speaks great English, but he still, somewhat, has an Australian accent. He also writes some words different from how Americans write. For example, Americans usually write harbor with an or, but Australians and other English speaking countries write it with our. They are both the same, but it really seems kind of funny if you are not used to it. Though there is no culture that he has, since he believes that the Australian culture is similar to America, he can say that he does prefer soccer and rugby over football. But he does actually watch the SuperBowl, since it has been a tradition for his family. He also prefers cricket over baseball, because he believes that it is more fun, but baseball is more simplistic. Some things he has missed are the beautiful shorelines, the Great Barrier Reef, and other landmarks that Australia is known worldwide for. Well, because he had left Australia at such a young age, there really was nothing that changed his education. When he attended middle school in America, they were basically learning the same stuff that he learned when he was 10 years old, but other than that, he has attended an American college and graduated from there. He went to medical school and became a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. However, he is thinking about retiring, soon. He is also thinking about applying to be medical school professor at a university in his local area. When he was in his young age, he faced many fears. He didnt know if anyone will like him at his new school, and he didnt know if he will make any friends upon arrival. However, he made a ton of friends, after joining his schools soccer team, and after his family settled in their new home. He was very shy during that period of time, but he feels more social and satisfied, now that he is making friends and all. He arrived to the United States by airplane, from the Darwin International Airport in Northern Territory, Australia to the Singapore Changi Airport in Singapore, than to the San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California. He has already became a United States citizen and a United States resident. He says that he reached all the way to Grade 5 in his primary school in Australia. Once school finished for everyone, it was time to move, but more as a chain than for the whole family. He believes there has to be a reason for people in these specific countries to illegally immigrate to the United States, and he believes that their home country must be very poor and sad for them to even live in that there. I told his him about the children in Mexico and other Latin American countries that go all the way to the American border just to seek a happier and balance life, and he explained that these countries should do something about the lives of their people, but they just wont. He really doesnt know why, but it is definitely something terrible that makes them leave their family and country for more benefits that await for them in America. He is my uncle on my fathers side. He lives in Walnut Creek, California. Right at this moment, he is on break from his job, and has come all this way here to see me and my family. When I found out about this homework, I decided to work with my uncle for this assignment. My dad was born in the United States, but his brother was not. I couldnt do my two aunts, because they are working right now, or even my grandparents, since they are enjoying vacation on a cruise ship, and I am not out on break, so my uncle was my only choice. It was really interesting asking him about his life, and how his immigration was nothing compared to others. It was only for economic and educational benefits, which he has definitely gotten.