Silva

=Insert your interviewee's name here.=

Podcast
media type="custom" key="12081439"

BIOGRAPHICAL/GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Robert Silva was born in Thailand in 1965. He came to America on July 4th, 1977, when he was 11 years old. The reason he came to America is because his mother married an American serviceman. When he moved to America he lived on base and had to move around the country every few years. He said that he liked living in many different places because then he got to experience more of America. Even though he liked America very much, he still missed Thailand and his family a lot. For this reason he visits Thailand every few years and he brings his wife and three children with him. Although Thailand is a poor country, his family has enough money to live in air-conditioned houses and have a fairly easy life-style.

Thailand is very mountainous in the north and along the coast. In the middle is the Central Plain. It is in Southeastern Asia. The surrounding countries are Burma, Cambodia, Laas, and Malaysia. The total area of Thailand is 513,120 square kilometer. Thailand is the 51st out 249 countries. The climate is tropical, rainy, hot, and fairly cloudy. Some of the natural resources from Thailand are tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, Timber, lead, and fish. One of the current environmental issues is air pollution.

=Creative Writing=

By: Teresa Dockery
I have high hopes as I walk into the airport. There are so many people carrying large suitcases behind them… I could’ve fit everything I own and more into one of them. Instead I carry a small book-bag with me. I am nervous and excited as I get on the plane. I take my seat between my mother and the window. As the plane takes off we rush trough the air, clouds, and sky. The sun is setting as we take off, the orange, red and yellow pool over the clouds reminding me of the fields I used to play in back in Thailand. I think about my family and friends, how they will be without us… I fight to keep my eyes open because I don’t want to miss anything about the plane ride, but sleep eventually wins the battle, as it does every night. I dream about my family ad about Thailand, I also dream about how I think America will be. If America is anything like it is in my dreams, then I think I will like America.
 * Sweet Dreams **

Mt first day of school is today. The word “nervous” doesn’t even come close to how I feel. I remember my first day of school in Thailand, I was scared then but at least I knew how to speak the language everyone else spoke. In America I am alone and confused as if I am only a baby again, an innocent, clueless child. These are the times when I miss Thailand, I miss my family, I miss my friends, and I miss being understood and being able to understand everyone. Oh, how I took for granted the power of understanding. All day during school I deal with people pointing, laughing, and staring at me. I’m in the middle of the crowd, the center of attention but I have never felt so alone, like a zoo animal, put out for peoples’ entertainment and laughter, they never think of how the animal feels, how it wishes to just blend in and go back to where it belongs, not in a zoo or circus, but in its home, with others who are like it. I don’t like school and I am no longer so sure that I like America.
 * Blending In **

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Dockery- Hi, it’s Teresa.

Silva- Hey. I only have 15 minutes to give you.

Dockery- Alright. So I am going to start off by asking what country you were born in.

Silva-Okay.

Dockery- So what country were you born in?

Silva-I’m from Thailand.

Dockery- How old were you when you came to America?

Silva-I was 11.

Dockery- 11?

Silva- Yes and I landed in America on July 4th, July 4th 1977, on Independence Day.

Dockery-Alright. So why did you come to America?

Silva-My mom married an American service-man.

Dockery- Oh, okay.

Silva- Yeah so my stepdad was in the air force.

Dockery- He was in the air force?

Silva-Yeah my mom married a military air force guy so that’s why we came to America.

Dockery- Wow. So did you or your family in general, have any goals when you came to America?

Silva-No… I was only 11 so I personally didn’t really have any goals.

Dockery- What did you expect America to be like?

Silva- Rich country, nice people.

Dockery- Was America like that? Or was it different?

Silva- Yeah, for the most part.

Dockery- Well, that’s good. Did you miss your old country?

Silva- Oh yeah. All the time.

Dockery- What did you miss about it?

Silva- My family.

Dockery- Your family?

Silva- Yeah…

Dockery- So what relatives were in your old country that you left behind?

Silva- Aunts, Uncles, Cousins.

Dockery- Were you guys close, like did you live nearby each other?

Silva- Oh yeah, we all lived within like the same block.

Dockery- So you spent a lot of time with your family?

Silva- Yes.

Dockery- Did you like your old country’s customs and culture better than America’s?

Silva- Not really, it was just different. I think one of the neatest things I saw was Halloween. We didn’t have Halloween in Thailand. To go trick-or-treating and get free candy was like wow.

Dockery- So did you have any bad experiences in America when you first came?

Silva- Yeah we did. We came here in 1977, so right before the end of Vietnam. So there was some racial discrimination going on. So we were called names and stuff.

Dockery- But did that discrimination end after a while?

Silva- Yes, but it took a long time.

Dockery- But it did end?

Silva- Yes.

Dockery- That’s good. What are some of the best experiences you’ve had in America?

Silva- I think just growing up here. I grew up in different parts of the country so I got to see the west, the north, and the south. So it was kind of neat to be able to see the different parts of America. Getting to see the different people and how the act.

Dockery- What was the hardest part about coming to America?

Silva- Being so far away from Thailand and my family.

Dockery- But you go to visit Thailand a lot?

Silva- Yes. That helps.

Dockery- Well that’s good. I would like to go to Thailand and see everything over there. So is there anything else you miss about Thailand besides family, like the customs or food or anything else?

Silva- Yes, every now and then I will be eating something or see something and it will remind me of home and I makes me wish I could be in Thailand. It’s like how you miss Mom’s cooking or something like that, you know?

Dockery- Yes, I know what you mean. So what do you think the main difference between Thailand and America is?

Silva- The main thing I guess would be that here, in America we have more opportunities to do things and you can get better jobs. Where in Thailand if you were born poor, you kind of stay poor all your life. Where as in America you could be born poor and become a billionaire. There is just a lot more opportunities here.

Dockery- Do you think that people in America take things for granted a lot? Since we are pretty blessed here and Thailand is a poorer country.

Silva- Yeah definitely. People in the U.S. take things granted because they don’t know what it’s like because they have never been really poor.

Dockery- Yeah that’s true. Did you already know how to speak English or did you have to learn?

Silva- No I didn’t know. It was hard at first to learn it and then you slowly learn the language but it was easier because I was so young.

Dockery- Yes, that’s true. Did you start going to school as soon as you got to America?

Silva- Yes.

Dockery- Did that help you to learn English faster?

Silva- Yes, I went to school in Thailand for Kindergarten and first grade. And then I came to America and I started In Kindergarten and then moved to the next grade.

Dockery- So what school did you go to when you first came here?

Silva- Well since my dad was in the military I went to on base school.

Dockery- So what language did you primarily speak in your household?

Silva- We spoke both but more English because of my dad.

Dockery- So it probably helped you to learn English since you spoke it at home too.

Silva- Yeah.

Dockery- Was it hard for your mom when you came to America? Since she had grown up in Thailand for her whole life.

Silva- Yeah it was tough because her English wasn’t too good and she only spoke the bare minimum. It was hard for her to get a job.

Dockery- Did she already know some English when she came?

Silva- She knew just enough to get by. She couldn’t read or write or anything like that.

Dockery- Did she go to school In Thailand?

Silva- She got an elementary education.

Dockery- Did she go to school at all when she came to America?

Silva- No.

Dockery- And she went back to Thailand, didn’t she?

Silva- Every other year.

Dockery- Why did she have such a hard time getting a job in America?

Silva- Because she couldn’t read and write.

Dockery- Did she eventually get a job over here?

Silva- She worked as a maid for someone, I remember, and then she worked at like a Dunkin Donuts. And then later on she worked at a cafeteria.

Dockery- So she never could start a career?

Silva- No.

Dockery- Did you guys live in a nice house since your dad worked in the air force?

Silva- We lived in base housing, so pretty nice.

Dockery- Did you like going to school when you came to America?

Silva- Yeah, I got adjusted.

Dockery- So in Thailand did you go to school there first?

Silva- Yeah I went to kindergarten and first grade.

Dockery- Did you like school better in Thailand or in America?

Silva- It’s kind of hard to compare.

Dockery- Have most people been accepting of you?

Silva- I would say so, especially these last 15-20 years.

Dockery- What has been your best experience in America? Like getting married, having kids, or starting the restaurant?

Silva- I guess it would be just be being accepted by people.

Dockery- So did you start “Bahn Mai Thai” because you missed Thailand?

Silva- No, it was just something to do…

Dockery- Well you could’ve opened like Mexican restaurant or a Chinese restaurant but you opened a Thai food restaurant. (Laughs). When you first started the restaurant was it hard to start it?

Silva- Yes, I didn’t know anything about the restaurant business. So I had to learn the hard way.

Dockery- Is it hard to find people who know how to cook the food right?

Silva- Yeah.

Dockery- Do you personally teach the cooks at the restaurant how to cook the food?

Silva- Yes, I teach everyone how to cook.

Dockery- How authentic would you say the food is? Because you must have to add salt and fatty-ness to it so that way Americans will eat it. (laughs).

Silva- About 80%.

Dockery- What do you add to it that normally wouldn’t be in the food if you had it in Thailand?

Silva- We put more native vegetables in it, like things you wouldn’t find in Thailand.

Dockery- Is there more variety in the food that is in Thailand or is there more variety in the food you make here?

Silva- There is more variety in Thailand. They have more fruits and vegetables.

Dockery- What did you eat mostly when you were growing up there?

Silva- Vegetables, rice, fruits…

Dockery- Louie(my brother who has been to Thailand) said that they eat pork a lot over there?

Silva- Yeah, mostly pork.

Dockery- Well I think that is all the questions I have.

Silva- If you have any more you can just call me.

Dockery- Thanks, and thanks for letting me interview you.

Silva- No problem, bye sweety.

Dockery- Bye.

ANALYSIS
This interview is relative to what we have learned in class because in class we talked about how immigrants were discriminated against by white Americans just like the person I interviewed. We also talked about the difference in culture (American culture vs. Thailand’s culture) and how hard it is for immigrants to adjust to the American culture. The person who I interviewed came from an extremely poor country with a lot of poverty, for him to come a first world country was a big change. We also talked about reasons for people to immigrate to America, for instance my interviewee left Thailand because his mother married an American service-man.