Nina - Personal Bio
Nina was born in Peru, 1944. She was part of a large family that included six other siblings. In Peru, Nina was a homemaker and did some work from time to time at a hostel for missionaries. She came to the U.S. in 2002 to be with her husband and son. After a few months of getting accustomed to her new life, Nina began to work as a housekeeper and began studying English. Through her English classes, Nina hoped to improve her English language ability, especially her communication skills. Nina was looking forward to obtaining a GED which she thought might be useful in helping her find a better job.
This is a summary of how Nina described her migration to the U.S.
| I: | And how long were you living [in the United States]... | |
| Nina: | 4 years there…in Portland. | |
| I: | And where did you live before that? | |
| Nina: | Before that I used to live in Lima but I would come to Portland a few times a year to visit my children. My son enrolled me to study English in PCC. I was there for six months studying, and that's when I learned my first words in English. So whether it was for a visit, or for a wedding, I used to come for many reasons…for tourism…and it turns out that when you make trips you accumulate miles, and I earned enough a free trip to the United States. Or I paid, if I remember, only about 100 dollars, or 40 dollars I can't remember. I told my children "Hey I have a free trip there." They asked me to come here to try to start a new life. They said that I could try to get a new job, because you know, the situation in Peru is very, very difficult. I told my children "Oh but I don't know the language, and I wouldn't have anyplace to stay in Portland." They told me that I could stay with them until I started working. So I moved there and stayed. We were moving from place to place, living just for a bit in one place or another. And that's how it was; in each house for 2 months at a time, 4 months at a time, until finally we started to work. And now here we are; my husband and I are working and we finally feel independent and can take care of our own expenses. | |
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