Category 20-29

Juana

As we sit in the professor lounge at the NYU School of Dentistry, I think back at everything Juana had to do to get here. She was able to come to a new country with no money, learn the language,… Continue Reading →

Eve

Eve (left) is the youngest of five children born to a farmer and a fisherman who lived in a village in Hainan, one of China’s 34 provinces. Her family of 7 lived in extreme poverty for all of her childhood… Continue Reading →

Gerald

This past semester, in an attempt to narrow down my future career options, I volunteered at a hospital, expecting an experience that would be clinical, in more than one definition of the word. To my surprise, the medical professionals I… Continue Reading →

Mark

It is a bright Monday morning and Mark stands in front of his large 3-story home in the Bronx. He pulls at a cigarette, a habit he picked up to “deal with the stresses of America.” He waves hello to… Continue Reading →

Mariel

Mariel from Ilo-Ilo, Philippines Abigail Calumpit MHC Seminar 150: People of New York City “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New York! In roughly twenty minutes, we will begin our descent to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The local time is… Continue Reading →

Ashley

Ashley* is a strong woman with a soft-spoken voice. She is moral and independent, and she pauses before she responds to you so as to choose her words carefully. Upon interviewing Ashley, it became increasingly apparent that it is her… Continue Reading →

Ida

Ida is not my oma, but she might as well be.  Her granddaughter Danielle and I have been best friends for around six years, and consequently, I’ve become another grandchild myself.  From sleepovers at Oma’s house followed by delicious homecooked… Continue Reading →

Jemima

The sun is beginning to peak through the clouds, but the moon is still visible as my mom waits on the Lefferts station platform for the Manhattan bound A train. The wind blows, and she adjusts her gloves and scarf… Continue Reading →

Hsinlan

Hsinlan sits at a table in the quiet main lobby of Oyster Bay High School on a Sunday afternoon. The first-floor main entrance, previously bustling with the activity of parents conversing and children running around, is calm now that the… Continue Reading →

Daniela

Hugging her two boys on the back of a bus laid Daniela, as she stared out the window and digested her last few moments in her home country of Kosovo. In Kosovo she would leave not only the frightening memories… Continue Reading →

Mariel

Mariel from Ilo-Ilo, Philippines Abigail Calumpit MHC Seminar 150: People of New York City “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New York! In roughly twenty minutes, we will begin our descent to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The local time is… Continue Reading →

Rose

Rajwinder is currently 44 years old, but she was only about 24 when she decided to move from Punjab to New York City. Punjab is a state in Northern India, and, much like the rest of India, it boasts a… Continue Reading →

Joy

BROOKLYN, New York — It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon, but inside Didi Fresco Tortilla and Chinese Restaurant, Joy is hard at work. She greets every customer who walks into the small storefront. Joy recognizes many of her return customers, and… Continue Reading →

Grace

BROOKLYN, New York — The sun is just beginning to set in Midwood, and the streets are beginning to grow quiet. Parents are exhausted from a long work week and gather with their children for Sunday dinner before the work… Continue Reading →

Yana

Some people are meant to put everything on the line. They are willing to risk losing what they have or what they’ve created for themselves in order to go somewhere they could have more, create more, and be more. Immigration… Continue Reading →

Ilona

1989: Baku, Azerbaijan. Tanks patrol the neighborhood that young Ilona, 20, resides in as a medical student. The streets that were her home and childhood are now overtaken by guards in military uniforms, enforcing their anti-Azerbaijani regime on the citizens… Continue Reading →

Jane

“Shanghai, China was a quiet place. It was sometimes too quiet, too boring. Everyone wanted to go away to America, if not, at least to Japan, Australia, Spain or France.” Jane was one of the few people from her neighborhood… Continue Reading →

Inna

An arc of seagulls amassed against a gust of wind high above Brighton Beach towards the Atlantic Ocean. Lowering the frame of focus will reveal a boardwalk littered with shops, restaurants, and a powerful Russian cultural influence. The series of… Continue Reading →

Nancy

“Why New York?” This is the first question I ask Nancy Nagourney. She contemplates at her desk thinking about how she should respond. In her office the plain white walls are easily ignored by the beautiful view of New York… Continue Reading →

David

When David Wang first arrived in Flushing, Queens, it was not what he had expected. Back in Shanghai, China, everyone believed that America was a place of opportunity and luxury. His expectation of a city with sparking streets and a… Continue Reading →

Fuen Yen

The day after his eighty-seventh birthday, Fuen Yen is opposite me. His arms are folded over a brightly printed vinyl tablecloth. As the rice cooker lets out the last of its steam, he gets up to scoop two bowls of… Continue Reading →

Catherine

“Same Name, Different Story” Sitting amongst the company of her parents and five siblings, Catherine had basked in the summer sun of her expansive yard in Thessaloniki, Greece. The captain of two hefty vessels, her father had adorned the perimeter… Continue Reading →

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