STORIES
Series II: Diverse voices of Green Bay
"I am more of a spiritual person that anything else. [...] I get my identity from God, and no matter what is going on around us, no matter what cultures we come from, wherever we find ourselves, we should be anchored in the knowledge that our identity is from the One who has perfectly made us, who does not change. No matter the situation, no matter where I find myself, my identity is in God, who never changes. Nothing impacts who I am because He is an anchor at all times and I am a reflection of His image."
Born and raised in Nigeria, obstetrician-gynecologist in Green Bay
"When my extended family came here in the 60s, some of my cousins can understand the language, but they can't speak it because my aunts and uncles didn't force it. They said, you know, 'You are in America, just be an American. There is no need to learn Hindi'. But, today, in this world where I'm raising my son and I see India emerging as a powerful country, I want to maintain the language for that reason; because tomorrow he can get a job where he conducts business with India as an American citizen. I want him to be a global citizen, not just a citizen of the United States."
Born and raised in India, doctor and clinic owner in Green Bay
"I think something that was brought up my freshman year of college that I think a lot of people should know the difference between is, a lot of Hmong people move to America as refugees and not as immigrants. And the difference between that is, refugees don't get a choice of where they want to move; they don't get a choice of what they want to bring with them; they just grab whatever they can, whereas immigrants choose where they want to move. So, I think that is something people should be aware about with the Hmong culture: we were able to move to America because they gave us that choice, but we didn't have a choice of where we wanted to go."
2nd generation Hmong in Green Bay, UWGB students
"When you are in your native country surrounded by people who are pretty much like you, who speak the same as you, it's like being a fish in a fishbowl. Once you're taken out of those circumstances and you're put in other circumstances, it's like, 'Oh, okay, I'm a fish.' And so, I think that that's what, in a sense, that's what happened to me in the United States. I started gravitating more towards other Spanish speakers, and that's the group where my comfort is higher and where I feel more committed to help [...] With the Spanish-speaking people, I feel like I have a responsibility. [...] It's something that developed by just living here and having to find my place in this particular society. 'Who am I in this circumstance', and that questions can have a different answer if you're put in other circumstances."
Born in San Sebastian (Spain), Spanish professor at UWGB
"And all I can say is that I'm thankful that I'm here, that I made it. You know, it's just me, and I feel like the dream has become a reality. When I was younger, I saw myself as a teacher. I wanted to be a teacher. It wasn't a bilingual teacher. It was a gym teacher. But I'm here. I'm teaching, helping students, helping other colleagues with language. I can say that I can relate with some of the family struggles. In a way, I'm giving it back."
Born in Chihuahua (Mexico), bilingual teacher in Green Bay
"I remember when I came here, I remember my dad always told us to really learn English and start talking in English. After school he used to ask us, 'what did you learn in school?' or 'what new word do you know?', so he always wanted us to keep learning English. Spanish was still important, because he didn't and still today doesn't speak any English."
Born in Puebla (Mexico), granite installer in Green Bay
"One Saturday, I went to return a shirt at a department store and I didn't have the original bag. The woman behind the counter implied that I had stolen the item, probably influenced by how I looked and my accent. I called the manager and addressed the situation, but I worry about other who do not have the English language skills to advocate from themselves."
Born in Guadalajara (Mexico), interpreter for GB Public Schools
"I do think the Green Bay area has affected our native culture and language, in the way we look at our values and what we see out there. Like, you try to incorporate and balance the two into your family. I know there was a point when Hmong families actually believed that your children would be more educated if they only spoke English. And, now, I think they're like, 'no, we shouldn't have done that because now our language is dying'."
3rd generation Hmong in Green Bay,
special education paraprofessional in Green Bay
Series I: Hispanics in Green Bay
"When we just got here, one of my brothers, he got pretty sick. And I mean, we did not understand what the doctors were saying because we didn't know the 'godly', the English. And it feel like, you feel bad because you don't know what they're saying or what they're trying to tell you. I feel more comfortable with someone who speaks my language. [...] When we used to go anywhere, to schools or hospitals or whatever, you get a translator; then, you feel more comfortable because you know what's going on. When my brother was at the hospital, we got a translator. This was in Wisconsin, 14 years ago. The only thing we knew how to say was 'thank you'. [...] If you don't learn English, you can't do nothing. You talk two languages, you can become someone better and better opportunities for you. At the same time, you cannot forget where you're coming from."
Born in Jalisco (Mexico), student at NWTC
"I worked at Casa Alba (Melanie) with our teachers, elementary teachers. The idea was that our students here at UW-Green Bay, that they would start working with Latino parents. Oh my God, they were so scared! They were so scared the first day, to just walk into Casa Alba. Really scared. They had no idea what they were going to find, you know, with the language barrier. And, not one of them spoke Spanish. They didn't speak Spanish. And the parents, they didn't speak any English. They were very scared, but I told them: 'Believe me, there are other barriers that are larger and stronger than language. You're going to find out. Language is a barrier, but it's a barrier that can be taken down easily if we have the right attitude. Wanting to work, an open mind, and understanding'."
Born in Mexico; professor in Education at UWGB
"Being an immigrant is always more difficult to get what you want or deserve; you have to prove even more. [...] Everybody came from all over, and people lost their language because they felt shame. It would have been beautiful for them to keep their language. Some families feel shame because of their experiences, so they do things like changing their names to be 'americanized'. But, more languages is better for the kids and the future. [...] We need to be better at language acquisition in education."
Born in Mexico City (Mexico), principal at St. Thomas More
"El principal del high school preguntó si 'teníamos cerebro'. Las únicas que realmente necesitábamos ayuda con el español éramos mi hermana y yo; la otra mexicana sabía suficiente inglés como para defenderse ella sola. Entonces, la escuela estaba buscando fondos para contratar a un intérprete para ayudarnos sólo a nosotras dos. Tuvimos como una entrevista para probar a ver si, como quien dice, valía la pena invertir ese dinero en hacer un hire porque sólo éramos dos. Ese comentario fue el fuel para mostrar hasta dónde vamos a llegar mi familia y yo y, cada vez que me enfrento a una situación, regreso a esa conversación."
Born in Guatemala, nursing degree at NWTC
"Emigrar a los Estados Unidos es impactante. Tuve que cambiar toda mi vida, no solamente mi profesión, la cultura, el idioma y todas esas cosas que involucran modificación del estatus. [...] Lo más difícil de estar lejos de mis seres queridos, como la misma palabra lo dice: familia. Familiaridad, sentido de ser querido, de sentirse amado, de saber que están ahí en todo momento y en todas partes cuando uno los necesita, en la alegría, en la tristeza, en el dolor. Aunque sintamos alegría, tristeza o dolor, podemos hablarlo, sentirlo y persistir, pero la cercanía no está. Y eso es lo que ayuda y conforta mucho a una persona."
Born in Cali (Colombia), worker at Green Bay Public Schools
"It was hard to adjust to the US at first, especially with the language barrier. I didn't speak any English when I first arrived, and my academics were set back initially since I couldn't enroll in school when I first came here. After three years in Seattle, I moved to Green bay and I've been living with my mom ever since. [...] The process for applying for citizenship has been long and stressful. Some of my Dominican friends have shunned me since I've moved to the US and started the citizenship process. When Trump became president, a lot of people where scared because we didn't know how it would affect our citizenship application status. It has been such a crazy 11 years and I've been through so much, but all the stress and memorization was worth it, because on April 5th, 2018, I officially became a citizen of the United States of America!"
Born in Dominican Republic, college student in Green Bay
"Cuando Luis era pequeño, él iba a la escuela. Cuando estaba pequeñito no hablaba inglés porque sólo hablamos español en la casa. Cuando empezó a ir a la escuela, ya venía hablando en inglés, y llegaba a la casa y me quería hablar en inglés, pero yo le decía 'no, no me hables en inglés. Yo no puedo hablar inglés'. [...] Yo siempre quise que él hablara español porque yo sabía que si él hablaba inglés, se iba a quedar hablando sólo inglés, y después le iba a ser más difícil aprender el español. Cuando hablan inglés, después hasta para pronunciar el español se hace más difícil. [...] Es muy bueno hablar inglés y español porque más que todo pienso que el inglés y el español son los idiomas universales."
Born in Tegucigalpa (Honduras), stylist in Green Bay