Andera


 * Miss Bruno **

Miss Bruno was born in the Northern Philippines. She came to America, in 1969 at the age of 36. She came to America because she wanted to earn a degree in dentistry. Miss Bruno now lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

“//I just wanted a taste of that American snow.”//

Podcast
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Alone

by Kiera Cindric

I stand here. Alone, All by myself A single woman from the Philippines. Seeking a degree in dentistry I knew no one I miss my brothers and sisters I miss my parents I miss all of them The plane ride here took 22 hours I stopped in many places on my way to America. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Hong Kong and Japan <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">And more <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">They were so beautiful

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">The buildings were so different in the places I visited. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">To see the snow that is in the books. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">I just wanted to have a taste of that American snow. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">The white glittery snow. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">It looks like feathers <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Or stars in the night sky.

__ ** BIOGRAPHICAL/GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE ** __

Miss Bruno is from the Northern Philippines. There are around 93 million people that live there. The climate in the Philippines is tropical. The terrain is islands, mountains with narrow coastal lowlands. The official language is Filipino. Other language is English. She now lives in Cleveland, Ohio. She came here in 1969 so she can earn a degree in Dentistry.

//__ ** INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT ** __//

This is an interview with Miss Bruno. The interview was conducted on December 29, 2010. The interviewer is Kiera Cindric representing the Dayton Regional STEM School.

Kiera: So you’re from the Philippines. Mrs. B: Northern. Kiera: So when you came to America did you ever hear about snow? Mrs. B: Of course, we are kind of cuz when I went to college I um some snow in U.S. geography, so we knew about American snow (coughs) and we just wanted a taste of that snow. Kiera: So do you still like snow an d were you really excited to see snow? Mrs. B: Yes, because we didn’t see snow in the Philippines. When I came to America in the port of California, so the weather there was more like the Philippines. California is just hot in the summer it’s hot and in the mornings and evenings when it gets cooler. Kiera: So when you came in your port what was the process of when you came? Mrs. B: I was an immigrant and I came here for graduate status because I had a degree in dentistry. I was a dentist and I came over and supposed to go to graduate status in Chicago, but I stayed in California for a while. Kiera: That’s really cool. When you came here what was the hardest part? Was it English or the culture? Mrs. B: It was not hard at all you know we were bilingual and we learned how to speak English and Spanish and um status was in the English language so was not hard at all, and plus in California they had more Pilipino, so it was so easier to adjust with them. But when I went through this and it’s a long story in California. I came here I came with not married and then I got married there and met my husband there in San Francisco. We went for his internship we moved to New York, we drove states, we drove, and we drove from California to NY. Kiera: How long was that ride? Mrs. B: it was like a week. We had the stuff to go through the states; we just traveled through the day and stop. Oh I was also pregnant. Kiera: How many months were you pregnant? Mrs. B: I was almost due in eight months. So we back NY. I was immediately got my first baby there was in that hospital. And I had the baby in the porter’s room. We didn’t have no residence, so the hospital staff, they looked for apartment for us. They allowed us to stay in the intern’s room for a while. That’s when I encountered snow in NY. Kiera: So was it a boy or girl that you gave birth to? Mrs. B: Girl. Kiera: What’s her name? Mrs. B: Her name is Martel Clair. She was born in the Sinclair’s hospital. I had no names at all. Kiera: So when you’re in your homeland what did you miss about the Philippines? Like anything if you could take anything from the Philippines and move it to America what would it be? Mrs. B: In the form of what? Kiera: Like something that you like to do in the Philippines like gardening or farming Mrs. B: Oh hobbies? Kiera: Yeah like you really like doing it in the Philippines but you can’t do it in America and you bring it down to America? Mrs. B: Like what I like to usually do in the Philippines and then came to America and can’t do it here? It’s mostly like gardening food. It’s all ethnic food. I used to pray for all those foods from the Philippines. You know so in California. We had to look for an oriental store and get all the stuff we were used and it was not kind of usually in because it was not the big apple. In NY and its upstage to NY they didn’t have much oriental stores here. I don’t know if that answers your question. We adjusted because we had to go around where we could find stores that carried that ethnic food. Kiera: Was it like the same or was it like when you picked up the food? Did it taste the same, like did it taste the same as in the Philippines or did not? Mrs. B: Yeah it did. We like rice. Here you don’t eat rice. We eat rice with everything with rice with rice. You know when we have hamburger. We take off the bun and put it with rice. It’s good, we cooked rice all the time and anything that’s not rice, we eat with rice like a combo. Here you eat it like sandwich with bread; we remove the bread and eat it with rice. Kiera: Now do you eat certain rice? Mrs. B: Everything different kinds of rice: brown rice, white rice. Here all white. So you deal with it. Kiera: So back to where you met your husband. Did he come from, like, he immigrated here or was he like an American? Mrs. B: I was an immigrant and I deceased five years to the government. The government required us to apply for citizenship. I took a test it was supposed to be simple but it’s not. Kiera: What year did you come to America? Mrs. B: 69. Kiera: If you could go back to the Philippines to live there, would you why or why not? Mrs. B: I wouldn’t even. My family is there. I have sisters and brothers over there, but I also have family over here. So when I go down there every 2 or 3 years, I just don’t want to live there. I didn’t know anyone in America and now I do. It was hot and humid there, but we didn’t know any difference. We adjusted to the weather. And then I came to America, and I loved the snow. I love the cold; I love freezing weather instead of hot. Kiera: So when you moved to America, did anyone come with you or did you come by yourself? Mrs. B: I was all by myself. Kiera: Now did you bring back money when you got a job? Mrs. B: Yeah. Kiera: Did you send money back to your family? Mrs. B:Yeah, but you know, but, took part of my loan for my fare, but then my sisters and brothers just pulled all together resources and then that was my pocket money. But I got a job right away so then I send the money. Kiera: So what was your first job when you came here? Mrs. B: My first job was along dentistry. Then I was a publisher. The publisher company that made them, you know, there are people that will proof read it. A small place where you can ask then the number and everything like that. And I made $4 an hour. That’s big money then. Kiera: When you came here was there a time when you couldn’t send money back? Mrs. B: Yeah. Kiera: Did you get pressure from them? Mrs. B: No, because I wasn’t sending money there cuz of the loan for my fare. But when I was a dentist, not a dentist, I was a foreigner graduate and we had to take the foreigner exam. The dentists were from Japan. Big, big dental group in California and hired me as an assistant. But they didn’t want me to be an assistant. I cannot practice because I didn’t have a license so they prepared for the test. That’s a long story again. I was all prepared for that graduation thing so I could practice there. But we got married and put a stop to my career. And then we had a family. That’s a long story again. So I never got to take the foreigner exam and get a license. Kiera: Now if you had a chance to take that, would you? Mrs. B: No. I have no chances at all. I don’t want to go back to school. I started something else, a laboratory for medicine. Kiera: So like what holidays have you adopted in America? Mrs. B: We practice our own Christmas. Kiera: Is there any other holidays that you adopted? Mrs. B: Thanksgiving cuz we don’t have it in the Philippines cuz Thanksgiving is like every day there. Christmas we have lanterns. One time I went to the Philippines and carried a lantern. Every Christmas I hang it up, its home. Kiera: When you learned about America in the Philippines is it all true?

Mrs.B: Not really, you have to see to believe. Kiera: When you started to drive… do you drive? Mrs. B: Yes. Kiera: When you started to drive what was the scariest thing ever about driving? Mrs. B: It was scary, of course. Kiera: The ice or the weather, or stuff? Mrs. B: It’s kind of, um, I started about to drive in San Francisco. It was hard. San Fraciscon is hilly, I failed. Kiera: How many times did it take for you to get your driver’s license? Mrs. B: I failed In San Francisco, but when we moved to New York and I had the baby already and I didn’t drive and my husband is at his job, we had two cars so I went to driving school cuz if your family is teaching, it’s so stressful, but when you go to driving school and they are professionals. So I passed. I passed it right away. I was in my 30s, 36. Kiera: What’s your favorite dish in the Philippines that you would eat every day? Mrs. B: There are so many. That’s why we cook those ourselves. It’s not like the real thing. You can never get that quite exact. Adobo, it’s like marinated pork, with vinegar and soy sauce, and garlic, and more. And chocolate milk, it’s so good. Kiera: What are you favorite fruits in the Philippines? Mrs. B: Mango. You can make salsa with mangos. Bananas, there are small ones, big ones, long ones, all types of bananas. Lots of tropical fruits. That’s what’s in the Philippines: vegetables and fruits. And sea food: shrimp, lobster, and fresh water fish. Kiera: What’s your favorite American food? Mrs. B: There’s not really an American food. Spaghetti is Italian. What is an American food? Pizza is Italian. Kiera: Did you remember the plane flight or boat? Or what did you come on? Mrs. B: Plane. Kiera: When you came on the plane, how many hours was it? Mrs. B: Oh boy, if you take the plane from the Philippines to California, if there is a straight flight, directed, non-stop, that’s like 22 hours. 22 Total hour’s non-stop. That’s why you don’t have non-stop flights. We stopped in Japan, in Hong Kong. So from the Philippines to Hong Kong is like 6 hours.

//__ ** ANALYSIS ** __//

What I learned through this project is that immigrants have to take a test. Also if they have a high degree in their country, and they come to America. It doesn’t really count. What I mean is the person basically starts from scratch.

** This transcript was prepared by Kiera Cindric, ** ** January 9, 2010 **

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