Mushale

=Augustina Mushale=

Podcast
media type="custom" key="12081403"

BIOGRAPHICAL/GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE
My interviewee, Augustina Mushale, came from Nigeria, which is in Western Africa. Females are only expected to stay in school for eight years, but Augustina even went on to college there before moving to the United States. She ended up finishing school in Minnesota, though. In Nigeria, they are oil-rich but they are also politically unstable. Coming to the U.S. gave Augustina more opportunities to go great places in her career. She was born on August 8, 1976 and moved to the U.S. in December of 1997.

Nigeria, which is between Benin and Cameroon, has an equatorial climate in the south, tropical in the center, and arid in the north. This country also has the highest rate of twin births in the world, compared to any other country! There are approximately 155,215,573 people in the country, however despite the large number, life expectancy is short--- 47 years!

=Creative Writing=

By: Hope Ezell
I keep saying I’m going some place Far Far away And even though I know where I’m going, My heart keeps stopping In shock of what is happening. I knew this day was coming since before my wedding day. At least it is good to know I am not on my own and I have my husband with me, Someone to travel the world with, Someone who will never leave me behind. But this is home and I am afraid to leave, For Nigeria is where I’ve grown, where I have spent countless nights under the warm African sky, and I can’t leave my family behind as I go Far Far away To America, land of the free. . I step off the plane that transports me to the freedom I’ve desired And away from Nigeria’s warmth. I shake as I am met with snow. I knew December in Minnesota would be cold, but not this cold. But even though it is so cold it is almost painful, I know that soon enough, winter will melt into spring. This is my life before the sunshine and butterflies. My life is still at its beginning, not having blossomed yet But soon the roses will be in full color, in this country filled with opportunities And I can now say of the place that once seemed Far Far away That this is my life, This is my hope…
 * // This is home. //**

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
This is an interview with Augustina Mushale. The interview was conducted on November 23, 2011. The interviewer is Hope Ezell representing the Dayton Regional STEM School.

Ezell: So, how was life in your old country?

Mushale: Weather-wise, it was hot and here it was cold when I moved to Minnesota first. It’s hard opportunity-wise when you finish school to get a job… it’s very difficult. Compared to here, it’s a little more simpler. I would say for someone to be able to, when you’re raising a family, if you get a degree to be sure they got a job when they got here. So, it’s a little bit easier.

Ezell: And you came from Nigeria, right?

Mushale: Yes.

Ezell: What job did you have there?

Mushale: I was actually a student going to college.

Ezell: What was the government like in Nigeria?

Mushale: The kinds of parties… they have a civilian president. They have the Democratic party, they have various different parties just like you have here and when people are trying to do the elections and get the right to vote but leadership-wise they are not distributed equally I would say people didn’t have the opportunities they would have like if I’m here, if I don’t have a job, I could still get unemployment to kind of sustain me… we didn’t have that. Like government assistance, we don’t have very much of that compared to here.

Ezell: What were the major religions back there?

Mushale: Christianity and Islam. They have a lot of other religions but those two are major.

Ezell: What were the main sports in Nigeria?

Mushale: Soccer is big. We would call it football but it is different from the American football but soccer is the other word for it, too.

Ezell: What languages were spoken there?

Mushale: We have hundreds of languages so English would be a very common language for people to communicate with.

Ezell: What were the most common languages spoken there?

Mushale: English.

Ezell: Oh. What kind of music was most common there?

Mushale: A variety of music. It doesn’t have a lot of languages, each tribe or each language has what is particular to them. So you have reggae music, you have jazz; I mean there is a variety… I don’t know if one is particular like most cultures. It’s just a variety.

Ezell: What kind of music did you listen to?

Mushale: Well I listen to gospel music a lot because I’m a Christian.

Ezell: How did you come here? Did you get here by plane or a boat for example?

Mushale: I came here by plane. A boat would take a long time! (Laughs.)

Ezell: Did you have any trouble becoming a citizen?

Mushale: No. I became a citizen in 2004 and took a test to become a citizen. It wasn’t difficult; you just have to wait your time. You have to stay at least five years in the states to apply for citizenship.

Ezell: Was the test difficult?

Mushale: Well I wouldn’t say it was difficult. It gave you fifteen questions to study, so at least you know where the questions are coming from. I know it was very, very informal. They may have asked me maybe more than three of the questions but you never know which ones so you have to study fifteen of them. I wouldn’t say it’s difficult it asked about how many states are in the U.S., how many colonies, how many colonies were there first, so history of America was a big one.

Ezell: What was better or worse in America than in Nigeria?

Mushale: Better, I say opportunity. People have access to a job, even if you’re a young kid, maybe eighteen or twenty-year-olds can benefit from a job, have a car and be able to get around. And so that’s better. Difficult would be maybe training of children. It’s just a different aspect when you look at how kids are brought up or what kind of values are allowed and not allowed, so I think that’s a difficulty for me, training my children in a different culture.

Ezell: Did you know English before you came to America?

Mushale: Yes. I learned English, like, as a baby.

Ezell: Oh, so was it pretty simple to learn or difficult?

Mushale: I don’t really remember when I learned it because I was so young when I learned it I didn’t have any trouble coming here to start learning English. I just have problems with the accent.

Ezell: So, was it your first language?

Mushale: No.

Ezell: What was?

Mushale: Isoko.

Ezell: What is different in America?

Mushale: That’s a broad statement. What’s different? The food is different (laughs), the weather is different, the language is different ‘cause it’s not my first language but I learned it so I pretty much have adapted that part of it. I think those would be major… the food, the language, and maybe I would say all of the language that would be apart of the American slang, like you could make a joke about something and I wouldn’t really get it just because it’s more geared to the American culture; it’s something I have to learn. I think those things are the main ones.

Ezell: Do you feel immigrating to the U.S. was a good decision? Has it benefited you?

Mushale: It has. I have actually joined the military after being here for five years and life is great, it’s just it’s great for me but it’s hard because I have family back home. So I’m still attached to my native country.

Ezell: So do you normally visit Nigeria?

Mushale: I’ve flown in before, went just last year in the summer.

Ezell: How did your family feel about you coming to America?

Mushale: They felt very happy because one of the things about America is there are opportunities like being a pastor and so they were very, very happy.

Ezell: So is that one of the main reasons you came to America?

Mushale: Well I came because my husband was coming so we got married and then we came.

Ezell: What’s you favorite thing about being an American citizen?

Mushale: Being a member of the military, that’s great… I never thought of that before so that’s a positive and the opportunities that I get to enjoy. The privilege is that I get to enjoy the rights that people have suffered for me to enjoy today, so that’s a good thing.

Ezell: What do you think was the hardest thing about moving to America?

Mushale: Leaving my family. My dad actually died in 2004 and I came in ’97… I went back after seven years but he died about two and a half years later

Ezell: Is there a single experience that has shaped you into who you are today?

Mushale: I would say the way I was brought up. It has a lot to do with who I am today. If I wasn’t brought up in the way of God and Christ, I don’t know what I would’ve been today. So the way I was brought up really was a big impact.

ANALYSIS
In U.S. History class, I learned about immigrants from the eighteenth century up until the twenty-first century. The interviews helped the me learn more about modern immigration, and what it is like moving from an entirely different country to an entirely new one. “It’s hard because I have family back home,” Augustina said of moving from Nigeria to the U.S. But, the move is worth it in the end. A new start in the U.S. is another chance. “I get to enjoy the rights that people have suffered for me to enjoy today,” Augustina responded when asked what her favorite part about being an American citizen was. Just like the saying “Freedom isn’t free,” moving away from home into an entirely new country can be quite intimidating. But we are called the land of the free for a reason, and with that freedom comes a price that makes the suffering worth it in the end. Even in the pain of leaving family behind and having to fill out paper after paper, what makes it worth it is the reward that comes out of it. Freedom to do whatever you want to do. Opportunities so you can be whoever you want to be. So that is what America is, the land of the free and the home of the brave.