Interviewee: Margarita Maldonado
Interviewer: Jessica Maldonado

Relationship: Mother
Date: January 6, 2004

Her experience in living in Puerto Rico to moving to Philadelphia.

What is your full name?

What is your nationality?

What is your date of birth?

January 17,1963

Where were you born?

A small part of Puerto Rico called Barranquitas.

When did you (move to the U.S./move from somewhere else in the U.S.) to Philadelphia?

When I was 15 years old.

Why did you leave your country/State/former place of residence?

We needed a place that had better economic privileges.

What did you like/dislike about your home/country?

I liked my country because it's a smart, quiet island where my family lived. I disliked it because it was a poor country and the water and power kept turning on and off.

Why did you choose Philadelphia/U.S?

I had family that lived in Philadelphia.

How did you travel here?/What type of transportation did you use/take to travel here? How would you change that?

Airplane, I wouldn't change that transportation.

How did you find a place to live in Philly?

We lived with relatives.

With whom did you travel? [Who did you travel with?]

I traveled with my mother, father, brothers, and sisters.

Give 1 thing you remember most about your hometown and why?

I remember when my mother had to wash clothes in the river because I always helped her.

How did your life change when you moved and what were the differences between the two places?

It was different because in Philadelphia was a better life and my father and mother started to work and helped us with our struggles.

What did you expect about the US/Philly?

I expected a clean place - which it wasn't.

What did you come here to accomplish and what else do you feel you still need to do?

I came to accomplish to finish school and go to college and live a good life.

What are the differences between when you came here and now?

When I got here we didn't nave furniture, money, friends, owned our own home and we couldn't speak English.

What did you sacrifice/leave behind when you left?

I left family and friends.

What problems did you encounter coming to the US/Philly?

Waiting for the money to arrive for plane fare, was a big problem.

How much money did you have and where did you get it when you came to Philly/US?

We did not have money, the money we had for plane fare we got from relatives.

How did you adapt to your new environment?

I learned English and started to meet people, then I started a new life of my own.

Why do you think it was worth all your changes?

When we got to Philadelphia, my parents started to work and gave us what we needed.

What education did you have before/after you arrived?

I had some education, I came to Philadelphia and I started and graduated high school.

Do you [ever] regret moving? Why or why not?

No, because it's an easier place to live and has more privileges.

What reason would/could make you go back to where you came from?

If all my family went back to Puerto Rico or if there was a family emergency and someone needed me.

Describe your first job here. If you didn't have one, were did you get money?

I started to work in childcare with Congreso.

 

1/4/2001