Karina Yushchenko was born into poverty in Odessa, Ukraine. When her parents, whose loyalty resided with the dissolved USSR, not Ukraine, had the opportunity to come to the United States, they jumped at the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their 3-year-old daughter. Now, that 3-year-old is 19, and could not be more thankful that she grew up in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
Karina Yushchenko in 2016
Before Karina
“My mom is Jewish- my dad is not. My dad’s parents didn’t like my mom because she was Jewish.”
“My mom had to have a Jewish star on her passport and certain colleges wouldn’t take her because of that.”
“My mom [went to college] in Ukraine, my dad didn’t.”
“My parents met in junior high, they dated since they were 13 and got married at 19, when I was born.”
Life in Ukraine
“[I was born in] Odessa, Ukraine, on May 31, 1996.”
“[It was] poor, I lived in an apartment with my grandparents and my other grandparents and my aunt and my uncle and my parents and four dogs.”
“McDonald’s is like a 5-star restaurant in Ukraine. It’s super fancy.”
“The main city [of Odessa] is pretty.”
“They don’t like Jewish people in Ukraine.”
“Everything is fair here whereas in Ukraine everything is about money. If you have money there you’ll be set you get the best school the best everything but if you don’t have money you get nowhere.”
“I went back [to Ukraine] when I was 9 and 11. I didn’t like it. It was old, not fun, I didn’t know anyone there.”
“[I miss the] countryside of Ukraine. We had a country house with [acres] of flowers and fruits.”
“I visited [Ukraine] a few times. Everything’s old, it’s pretty poor. No one buys new apartments, everything is super [old. There’s] no air conditioning, no heating. Everything is crap the government doesn’t do anything.”
The Decision to come to America
“[I came to the United States] when I was 3, in 1999.”
“My parents applied for a [United States] Visa, but they never heard back so they bought and renovated an apartment, got a dog, and then as soon as everything was finished, they got the Visa.”
“My dad didn’t want to come [to the United States] but my mom said, ‘I’m taking our daughter and leaving, you can stay or you can come with us.’”
“[My parents] came here for a better life. My mom likes it [here] a lot more than [the Ukraine]. My dad didn’t like it [at first]. He was depressed for years because he didn’t speak English, so it took him a while [to adjust]. But they like it!”
First Arriving in America
“There’s a video of me hysterically crying when I came to America because everyone spoke English and it freaked me out.”
“I danced when I was little with only Russian people. There was not a single American person there. [The students], owners, and teachers were all Russian.”
“I don’t think I knew other people [other than Russian people] existed until fifth grade.”
“My grandpa lived in Mil Basin, but Brighton Beach was all Russian-speaking and my parents only spoke Russian, so they automatically put us there. On Brighton 1st street right by the boardwalk!”
“I went to a Russian private school, Bambi, [so] I didn’t learn English until the second grade.”
“Whenever someone spoke English to me I would freak out and cry.”
“It took me a while to get used to new people.”
“[For new immigrants], a good start would be to come to Brighton Beach because everyone there speaks Russian and can always help you out.”
“Brighton is ‘little Russia,’ so it’s easy to get used to.”
“You can get a job easily and use cash if you don’t have credit card information.”
The Transition from Ukraine to America
“My dad only speaks Russian at home. His English is severely broken, it’s bad.”
“My mom can speak English, but I laugh at her [because] she has the heaviest accent.” “My dad only speaks Russian at home. His English is severely broken, it’s bad.”
“My mom can speak English, but I laugh at her [because] she has the heaviest accent.”
“My mom was a housewife, and then she came here and worked in a jewelry store. Then she went to a trade school and now she works at NYU. She’s a vascular technician.”
“My dad was a truck driver for furniture, and now he has been doing maintenance for the past 12 years [here].
“I didn’t have to do anything [to become a citizen] because I was under 18, I was 17. My parents only did it because I had to go to Italy for my senior trip [in high school and] I needed a passport. It was $2800, and they had to take a written and a verbal test. They had to say a sentence in English and then they got it, and I got it through them. [We] gave up [our citizenship to the Ukraine]. It didn’t change much because we didn’t live in Ukraine, we didn’t associate with Ukraine. [My parents were loyal to the] USSR. We can still go there any time we want with an American passport, but my grandparents would have to get a visa [to come here].”
School and Education
“When I went to public school for one year I didn’t speak English and I got put into ESL and lower classes.”
“I wasn’t stupid; I knew all of the material it just took me a little longer.”
“I got classified as an immigrant who didn’t know anything, and I got picked on, [but] I had strong skin so I didn’t let it bother me.”
“Most of my friends were Russian. Not so much anymore [now, but I used to] hang out with all Russian people. We were in the same dance group, the same schools.”
“When I went to an American middle school, Mark Twain, I was shocked at all of the different types of people.”
“A semester ago I took a semester off because of loans. It’s too expensive.”
“I never liked school. I don’t want to finish but I know that at some point I’m going to have to.”
“My mom told me that college wasn’t for everyone [and supported me].”
“I liked [college] I obviously got some things out of it, but I wish I didn’t take out a $6,000 loan.”
“I have a lot of opportunities compared to [in Ukraine] I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
Identity
“I heard my name means ‘queen.’”
“I don’t [religiously identify].”
“I was baptized, I had a bat mitzvah, but I don’t identify as either one.”
“My parents are in denial about it, they will say that I am Jewish or Christian.”
“I’m less Russian than a lot of my Russian friends, I identify as an American. [However,] If someone were to tell me, ‘you’re not Russian,’ that would piss me off and I would [say], ‘yes I am!’”
“I have a lot of Russian characteristics and I associate a lot with Russia [through] my way of dressing and my hair.”
“I have a Russian accent.”
“I speak both [languages] at home. I’ll start a sentence in English and end it in Russian, or start in Russian and end in English.”
“I feel like I became very American very quick, I prefer it [here] better.”
“[When I was younger I wanted to be] a pediatrician. I still want to work with kids but I don’t want to pursue the medical aspect, I’m not good with sick kids.”
Family
“My family in Ukraine refuses to come here.”
“[I have] a little brother, [who was] born in 2005, [in the United States].
“My brother is super American. He likes his football. He goes to a Russian school, but he has no accent. We are very different.”
“My brother speaks, writes, and reads in Russian but he learned it here and I learned it [in Ukraine]. My grandparents are here from Ukraine now and he has a harder time talking to them than I do. His Russian is [very] broken.”
“My grandma is constantly [making me eat!]”
“[My grandmas is] here for two months to visit and help out. My dad’s mom.”
“My mom’s mom refuses to leave Ukraine.”
“I want my kids to know [the] Russian [language], and I’ll cook Russian food, but my kids will probably be more American.”
“My dad would love me to marry someone who’s Russian, my mom wouldn’t care, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
“All of my family is still in Ukraine [except for my nuclear family.]”
“They won’t admit it, but [my parents] miss their family.”
“My dad misses his sisters, and they Skype all the time but it’s not the same.”
“My mom talks to her family through the messaging app Viber.”
“I don’t miss my family [in Ukraine], I don’t know them.”
Life Now
“I get jobs a lot easier, I know a lot of people. If you go to Russian neighborhoods they will automatically hire you once they find out you speak Russian.”
“I’m a medical assistant at a dermatology office. I came in for an interview to be a regular administrative assistant, and then they [said], ‘oh you speak Russian? We need a Russian person to be a medical assistant do you want to do that?’ and I said, ‘I have zero experience whatsoever but sure!’”
“All I eat is Russian food at home. When I go out, I prefer American food like McDonald’s and wings and French fries!”
Loose Words
“They came and then they winged it!”
“My grandparents want me to get married now, [at 19] I’m getting old for back there! They aren’t happy with my current, Polish, boyfriend.”
“All Russian people love Russian people.”
“I am absolutely thankful [my parents came here].”
