Today we went to visit folks at the Bayside Community Center! I had the pleasure of speaking to two women who had very different experiences growing up. The first person I spoke with was Lisa, a Filipina woman who immigrated to the United States in her 20s. She told me that she studied nursing in college before immigrating to the US and practicing. Something that really struck me was how she talked about only having to focus on her studies while she was in school and never having to work out of necessity. Her first and only job ever was being a nurse. This was really surprising to hear given that most people these days work multiple jobs before finally settling on their lifetime career. After telling me about her younger days, Lisa agreed to contribute a recipe to my cookbook project. She shared with me how to make pinaket, a famous Filipino dish from the northern region of the Philippines where she is from. The second person I spoke with was Zenny (I'm sure I'm misspelling her name so please forgive me). She also immigrated to the US from the Philippines after studying agriculture in college. She told me about how she worked for one of Jack in the Box's offices after she moved to the US and how the company treated her very well. Something I took away from our conversation is the importance of giving back to the community. She told me about how she donates money and volunteers for causes that mean a lot to her (e.g. Operation Smile, sponsor programs). When we had to say goodbye, she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and I think this moment of shared affection and love will be something that I will remember for a long time to come.
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Grace TranWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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