Bubacar

Podcast
media type="custom" key="8199960"

Bio/Geo Information
Bubacar immigrated from the country of Gambia. Gambia is the smallest country on the mainland of Africa. The population of this country is only 1,700,000. Gambia is the oldest multi-democratic country in Africa.

By: Jordon White
The flight is long, tiring and sad. I have left and traveled to a place far, far away from my home country, Gambia. There are many downfalls and benefits. The benefits are that I will get a new job make a better living and meet new people. The downfalls are that I will be leaving my family and traveling back and forth is too expensive. The first step I took in America was very different, The soil, air, climate are all different from my homeland. I traveled here with a single suitcase that I have had before in travels to country’s close to mine and a ring from my mother which has been a family heirloom the ring is one of the most precious treasures in my family, it has been in my family for ages and I am grateful to have it as a going away gift.

 ¬¬¬¬

City Life
Sometimes I get lonely ever since I left Gambia, all my brothers and sisters have moved too different areas. I work in the city of Dayton to make a living. I also make a lot of friends there including JorDon. When I first traveled to the U.S. I lived in New York for two years. The city life is where everyone wants to be, right? Well, it is very crowded and hectic especially at night. I wanted to move somewhere else so I came to Ohio and settled near Cincinnati. I have a wife and hope to have a long lasting marriage.

Memories
I didn't bring many physical pictures, but I keep many mental pictures of my house, friends, family, and the scenery of Gambia. I can’t get the memories of a beautiful morning in Gambia out of my mind, sunny morning, birds calling and the awesome smell of breakfast mmmm tea or coffee. I remember how I would pray, then pray again later in the day. There would be a futbol game on the television in the background, not what Americans consider football but soccer. On the weekdays I attend the local school were I established most of my friendships. I enjoy Skype, so I can chat with family and close friends back in Gambia. All of my brothers and sisters moved out when they were old enough to leave the “nest”. I’ve had a lot of memories in the U.S. like the first time arriving at the airport. I also remember eating at McDonalds for the first time, it was alright

Best Friends and Holidays, New Beginning
The thing I miss the most is my mother, she made the best peanut butter stew she was also caring and kind, She is my best friend and I will always miss my best friend. She would always comfort me when I was sick or tired and if I was hurt. Me and my brothers and friends would play soccer after school which was real fun. We would play for hours then we would come home for dinner which was my favorite part of the day. Thanksgiving is an amazing holiday, we would eat and eat until we were stuffed more than the turkey, Oh I can’t forget about the turkey, the best part! It was cooked very well and it would be gone within minutes. It had the best homemade stuffing that would tickle the tummy. The cranberries were the sweetest which were a great side and we added a lot of our own cultural flavor to the meal. On Christmas we had a choice of Christmas or kwanza. We tried both but they are totally different but both are one of the best parts of the year. It was sad leaving most of my brothers and sisters because most of them were gone so I couldn’t say goodbye but I talk to them a lot ever since I left. New Years is also an awesome holiday everybody is so happy and cheerful and there are games and food and family, the best three things of all. Everyone is so friendly and kind. After coming to America my life has changed, I hope to live here happily for a long time and to also visit my family often

Transcript
JorDon: “What is your name?”

Bubacar: “Bubacar Sonke.”

Jordon: “Can you spell it for me?”

Bubacar: “B-u-b-a-c-a-r S-o-n-k-e”.

JorDon: “What country did you immigrate from?”

Bubacar: “Gambia.”

JorDon: “Do you miss Gambia?”

Bubacar: “Yes I do miss Gambia.”

JorDon: “Do you have family in Gambia?”

Bubacar: “Motherwise I had 1 brother 1 sister, dad wise 8 brothers, 3 sisters.”

JorDon:” Did you bring anything from home.”

Bubacar: ”Umm just a ring from my mother and a suitcase. (chuckles)”

JorDon: “Do you like America?”

Bubacar: “yes very much.”

JorDon: “Are you thinking about going back to Gambia?”

Bubacar:”Yes!”

JorDon: “What religion do you follow?”

Bubacar: “I am a Muslim.”

JorDon: “Do you wish to change?” Bubacar: “Not likely.”

JorDon: “please describe a typical day in Gambia?”

Bubacar: “A typical day? Uhhh lets see a typical day is like a wonderful morning, sunny, hearing the sounds of many different birds.”

JorDon: “ What is your favorite food in the U.S.?”

Bubacar: “Probably chicken salad.”

JorDon White: “In Gambia?”

Bubacar: “In Gambia it’s called domodar.”

JorDon White: “Can you translate?”

Bubacar: “ Domodar is like it’s uh ok its called peanut butter soup or a peanut butter stew.”

JorDon White: “Sounds interesting.”

JorDon White: “What would be a typical breakfast in Gambia for you?”

Bubacar: “Um for breakfast it would be bread and black beans and some tea or coffe.”

JorDon White: “Did you try any fast food at the airport?”

Bubacar: “No not really, the first thing I tried was coffee while I was waiting for a taxi cab.”

JorDon White: “ what is your favorite fastfood restaurant?”

Bubacar: “ My favorite fast food restaurant is probably McDonalds.”

JorDon White: “What is your favorite sport?”

Bubacar: “ My favorite sport is definitely soccer.”

JorDon White: “ Have you attended any soccer games in the U.S.?”

Bubacar: “ Yep a lot of them.”

JorDon White: “In the U.S.?”

Bubacar: “ In the U.S.? Yes a lot of them.”

JorDon White: “What is your favorite team?”

Bubacar: “My favorite team is Chelsea.”

JorDon White: “What was the toughest part of moving?”

Bubacar: “ The toughest part of moving ? Im gonna have to say (pause) leaving my family because leaving my mom was the toughest part.”

JorDon White: “Do you have any special holidays in Gambia?”

Bubacar: “Yes we had a lot like korinei.”

JorDon White: “What was it like first setting foot on American soil?”

Bubacar: “Um it was different it was very different ,different people different buildings different climate .”



** Analysis **
This quarter in social studies I learned that immigrants are an important part of the U.S. Immigrants bring new things that we are sometimes afraid to try and we resent them which I think is stupid because immigrants try to help us and introduce us to new things. I believe that we as a country should open up to immigrants.