Fall 2002
Having a Hard Life In America
Having
a bad start in life deserves a fresh new start.
People
from China come to America to find a new life and a new start.
In
one purpose is to have a family and money to support their family.
American
life was hard, everywhere you go, do involved money$$, clothes transportation
and renting homes.
They
see the State of Liberty, they come to make money and so that their children
can have a good life, seeing it they think that this country is full of
freedom.
Coming
here because there was something wrong in their hometown like no money and
famines.
They
worked hard for the money and to for fill the dreams
Immigration
changes every aspect of our lives.
Having
to miss what you don’t have anymore like family and friends.
Yet
immigration was bad, having no money after immigration, spending all on coming
to America.
Immigration
has its difficulties.
Coming
to America was hard, you had to find jobs, that also took time, and sometimes
you won’t get paid a lot. You start out
not as good, but as time passes by better opportunities come in life.
Sometimes
this happens to us because of what we are!
You
don’t always end up rich and your dreams don’t always come true.
Hopes
and Dreams
Hopes
and dreams are said to come true,
Immigration
is just one clue,
Immigration
is the big answer,
Transcontinental
is the way for departure.
Going
over in the wee hours,
Making
the trip seem fast by plane
Having
plenty to eat,
It
isn’t half-bad,
Paying
for departing,
May
be a big worth it,
But
when we get there,
It’s
a whole new story
Little
boys and little girls,
Running
around in ceremonial clothing,
Getting
ready for a ceremony.
Running
up threw a clear street,
Discrimination
has came unaware,
Frustration
is not rare,
Life in
America has been tough,
As
time went by…
Life
goes well.
Hopes
and dreams just came true…
Happy
life comes a day.
Dreams
and hopes are just so well,
Living
a good life is just swell,
Beginning
may be harsh,
You
might have been made fun of,
But
in the end it is beautiful.
Movin’
Out
Looking
for a better life and a better way of living,
America
was noticed. Feeling confident...
Great
opportunities for a bright future would soon come.
Successful
family was in dreams.
Happiness
was wanted.
Traveled
along to New York City.
Financial
problems along the way.
Adaptation
was difficult.
Not
like home in china at all...
Big
streets, big buildings, many cars. Many different kinds of people..
Who
were these people with different colored skin?
Would
they hurt us..?
Struggling
through.
Hope
still remains. With the faith they have, they can go far.
Believe
and you will achieve.
Difficulties
will disappear.
Bright
future is just around the corner.
Keep
it up. You’re almost there.
Through it All
Through
all that we've been through
It
was all worth the work
Although
our trip wasn't like the past
Where
the trip is the opposite of fast
Our
ancestors were tortured and badly hurt
But
oh I don’t care, that was the past
We
all know America wasn't fair,
Let's
hope that America's not the same as back then
Our
Journey was fast and happy
We
learn a lot of things from other people
When
we reached America
The
sight of the Statue of Liberty was a relief
We
did not know how to read the words on the bottom
But all
we knew that we were in America
And
we thought our dreams have all came true
But
America wasn't as great we truly thought
From
language difficulties to race diversities
We
didn't know how to speak English
Which
made us with fewer rights than others
We couldn't
go to court, no right to a Habeas Corpus, or anything else
With
the languages from other countries that we do not speak
The
Cantonese and the Mandarin
Can
you believe it? I just got dissed by another Chinese
only
because we spoke a different form of Chinese
That
goes to show we're not the same
So
stop calling us by one name!
We
are not the same people
We
have different parents, different looks, and etc.
We
are all different in our different ways
And
we've all got something to say
Now
we want to make it loud it clear
So
the whole world can hear
We
can say we've been through it all
America
wasn't what we expected
But
slowly we learn to accept it
Our
dreams of being rich didn't exactly come true
It
only lasted for 20 seconds until we made a mistake
and
down it all went down the drain
We've
been through the bad and good
So we
can say it's all too bad or all too good
We
survived America with one common goal
And
that was to have successful children in America
Who
will one day shine and become stars
To represent
whom we truly are
To be
the people we wished to be
The
ones that we would never be
So we
raised them well and finally one day we will get to say
That's
my child up on that stage today
Making
a speech about something important
With
everyone staring and my eyes watering
We've
done it I want to say
And
that why I lived in America 'til this day
Through
it all
We
can say that we've experienced it
And
we want say that we lived our life to the fullest
On
the day that I die
I
want to still have a happy glow in my eye
The last second that I say goodbye
Continue
When
a task you have begun
Never
quit until it is done.
Being
the labor great or small
Do it
good or not all.
Immigration
with the laws
Many
of us find the flaws
If it
is hard
Don’t
throw your cards.
Freedom
is needed
But
it is cheated.
Wake
up in the noon
You’ll be done soon.
Tears
rolls down,
and
trickled down her face,
making
it harder to leave,
and
forget,
leaving
all love behind,
and
waving
farewell.
Arriving
at a place of unknown,
thrashing
sound of airplanes,
rising
to the sky,
pondering
how will this wonder land
be
like,
this
so called,
America.
Will
there be freedom?
Will
there be money everywhere?
Will
I get a good job?
Will
I live in a house
or
apartment?
How
big will it be?
How
does America look?
Will
it be hot there?
How
does people look there?
Are
the people nice?
Curiosity
falls on her,
wishes
and hopes
keeps
on coming rapidly.
Hope
of happy new life,
in
America,
wishing
of money to help
the
old ones,
and
the ones that are left behind.
But,
all
her loved,
cared,
times
was
left behind,
only
wishing to be back,
and
have it again,
but
until then,
sadness
roams over her.
Rebecca
C
Expect
the unexpected
Life
was not going well for the Chen family in Guang Dong, China
they
were poor
they
weren’t able to afford new clothing and shoes
As
kids, they would stay outside of stores and look at the clothes and food shown
in the windows and dream of being rich
Time
passed by and they had grown
they
had low paying jobs life was just not what they wanted
America
was where they wanted to go for a new life and money
Bing
Kun Chen was twenty years old when he decided to go to America with his family
He
dreamed of riches and starting a family of his own, carrying on the Chen
generation in America
They
reached New York and for the time being, settles in Allen street
Bing
Kun tried his best to learn English and worked as hard as he could working in a
garment factory being a presser
But
America turned out to be not what he expected
As a
garment worker, he received very low pay and had to pay an expensive rent
They
once again lives in poverty
America
was their only chance, it was the land of opportunities
But
life was even harder for them
No
one understands the language that they speak
they couldn’t do anything else
Soon
he met a wonderful woman named Pei Yu
This
women became his wife and had two children
The
two parents try all their best and put all their heart into explaining to them
that they have to do good in school so that they would be rich and the family
would live in a big house together
Their
two Children are Us citizen and are doing their best in school to fulfill their
parents dreams
Better
life?
Back
in China, life was bad
Water
cost 10 cents for 4 buckets
There
weren’t even home bathrooms
All
we got were public dumps
There
weren’t electric light till mid 1960’s
And
there were no sinks in many homes till 1970’s
Back
it China things got from bad to worst
So,
we had to leave and enter the U.S. to look for hope
After
20 hour of boredom and traveling
To
the land where we could all be free
By
judging from the pass we dare not come
Like
all those racist laws that target us
But
for the sake of our next generation
We
take the risk because we love them
Our
life is harsh enough we forbid them to follow
All
that working day and night
Hole
and tears in our blankets
But
will this work? Time will tell.
Immigrating
to America
America
is your destination for freedom.
My
mother and father came to America for a chance to earn more money.
There
was really little jobs and money in China.
They
took an airplane to America in the 1980’s.
They
also came to America because of certain qualities they have.
One
to have free education while in China you would need to pay for education.
Two
to have free healthcare.
Third
to have more money.
My
mom and dad were here to find a job to earn money.
Back
then in China it is really hard to find jobs.
Even
if you found jobs it was not that high of pay it was really low.
But
when they arrived in America they came to New York in Chinatown.
My
parents chose Chinatown because there was my dad’s mom.
She
came to America 1960’s where there was plenty of discrimination.
There
had been strict laws against the Chinese.
They
were being treated unfairly.
The
Chinese couldn’t own real estate, go fishing and more.
After
a while there was no more discrimination against the Chinese.
So
that is when that was over my parents came to America.
There
they started a whole new life.
Getting
jobs and earning enough money in America to support my family.
When
my parents came to America they got what they expected.
They
got jobs and a better life for my brother and me.
America
was not as solemn and gloomy as China after whites stopped hating the Chinese.
Life
was hard at first when there were hatred and discrimination against races.
But
soon after that ended life was at it’s best in America.
Family
Poem
Where
there are Bad, There is Also Good
Things
in China weren’t so good.
Even
though it started out as the most advance civilization in the world,
It no
longer is, due to the hundreds of years of blocking out foreign trade and
ideas.
Food
was limited in China in the 20th century,
Each
family was restricted to a certain amount.
With
these restrictions, you can’t possibly get fat.
My
mom said that she always loved New Years, where she could eat to her heart’s
content.
She
also said that even if you have the money to buy food, you couldn’t because
there just wasn’t any food.
Jobs
weren’t paying well, the economy was down.
So
people in China were looking for ways out.
They
were looking for a place where getting rich was easy and you could eat as much
as you want.
Their
eyes fell upon America.
The
Chinese had came here years ago, also looking for a better life,
And
my parents came here to try and start again.
To be Born Again
Amy L
People from all over the world came to in search of quick gold
and hopes of striking it rich
In those days, China was
wracked with chaos and starvation and social upheaval causing many people to
flee and seek treasure beyond the sea
“Gold Mountain” it seems,
where one could go and become rich by just plucking the stuff off the group and
you could sail away to wealth guaranteed!
The Chinese only knew that
they were going off into the unknown to make money
It was an arduous journey, 3
months of being tossed about on the Pacific Ocean, crammed into hold that
carried cargo and contagious sickness and disease ravaged the ships
Chinatown, the place most
Chinese settle, it was a place that America hasn’t regulate out of existence,
and there one could smell the village where the Ancestors had lived for perhaps
a thousand years before living memory
In our new homes, we tried to keep some ways of our cultures and
tradition
At the same time, most wanted to become part of the American
culture so we could blend in easily as the “old immigrants” (Irish hand
Germans) had
Sometimes both desires cause a disagreement
Conflicts often happen upon parent and children and men and women
Some immigrants found that their American born children has
little interest in the culture of the Asian homelands
Most children want to be part of the American culture
A
Brand New Land to Start
Vincent
Y
Dirty
streets follow along the path where many walk.
Nothing
is clean and poverty is around.
People
are starving to do anything for money and food.
America
was a better place for many.
Life
was still hard but it was better.
Many
have more rights and freedom.
A new
place with a better life and a better community.
More
chance of success and opportunities,
Discrimination
has been around,
Victims
searched and used against others for who they are,
Because
of this lives have been hurt and so are feelings.
Violence
causes a problem.
Not
everyone is liked to each eye.
Feelings
against habits and culture, and things they hate because of their religion.
The
benefit against it is that anyone who does so discriminate is not a respective
person.
Danny Z Life of Chinese (Tea that burns)There are Chinese every where in New York. Where the place is Filled with Chinese custom.Having no space caused peopleTo be squeezed through sideWalks. Housed are stuck togetherTo cause no room for other people. Chinese putting or saying Houses look like the dragon, thatCaused people to think it canScare away sprits. With the bambooWall and the end of it made it look like a dragon. It was the year of the MonkeyAnd time was count differently. Later few of the Chinese men Woman went on a ship to go to A place. But then they got gold For their family. The word has Been passed and Chinese Began to search for money. Chinese coming here for more goldand money by working on the railroad.Have governments being in trades with the white and no money.Once they heard gold was there and jobs they headed there. Andthe population began to grow in china that caused to leaves. But theywere treated badly once they came. Chinese was helplessly ganged up On by the white. The Chinese don’t have the right to say Something for them self. Prohibiting the equality of Chinese. The Chinese don’t Even have the right do things From their own custom for Holidays. No rights to testify in Courts. Threaten and harassed by White with weapons.
Annie
Y
Traveling
From One Place To Another
People
were immigrating to America
They
were traveling from one place to another
Thy
came for a better living
They
all came by train
America
is where they thought would be a good place to start all over
Everyone
was rushing to America because America is the place to be
Everyone
wanted to leave china
China
is where they thought was really bad
Everyone
pushing to get in to America
America
is the beauty…
America
is what they thought
America
is how people wanted to adapt the environment
America
is the place to be
First
Step To America
By: Sephoen
T
Job,
money, job money in my mind repeating it self over and over when I took the
first step to America. Chinese New Year was today, streets were partying starting
fire crackers and happiness. But nothing like the feeling of Hong Kong
celebrating New Years. It seemed more quite and unknown as if there were any
thing called Chinese New Year. I started to get lost of what I was doing, trap
in a maze and can’t find my future self. Looking for a way to make my light
glow in me, wanting to show the world I can grant my wish and hopes. Drips of
every hard ship, hard money, brought me to marriage and got two lovely kids.
But never wonder the dark side of consequences from using my action. Having me
to drip and drip some more to keep me and my two light glowing. Cute, fluffy, white, and cold brought me out
of drips and tears which got me to McDonald’s favorite word. Smile! “It was my
first time watching snow.” This show me the way to have respect, glory and
confidence of my future. Days fade,
worked for a different company in Watix at New Jersey and having good pay.
Supporting family was much easier in life. This life brought me to
success.
Showing
That I know my way to life, still standing tall and lights glow in me!
Family
Poem
Their
dreams are to come to America.
The
land of freeform and opportunities
where
you can live happily with your family.
In
our country conditions are too harsh for us to live in.
The
streets are old and narrow
The
houses are in bad condition.
They
could collapse any second now.
It is
extremely hard for us to live here.
They
are desperate. They are willing
to do
anything to get out of their country.
They
are going to America where a new
Life
awaits them.
They
started to save some money so they could
come
to America.
When
they had enough the went on the boot for three months
So
they could some to America.
Luckily
no one in the family had
died
from diseases our starvation.
They got
to America safely and cried with joy and happiness.
This
was their dream that had come true
My
Family Experiment of Immigration
On
the ship or plane,
crowded
as always,
were
immigrants from different countries arrive,
searching
for freedom,
rights,
inner
peace to their lives,
and
new experiments and opportunities.
Finding
jobs and making money,
its
what its all about.
Many
immigrants came,
just
for many reasons.
some
were for a new life,
money
and jobs,
and
also for many rights and opportunities.
The
Chinese had to work long hours day and night,
To
make the money they should be earning.
The
Chinese are working way to hard,
That
the Americans do not care.
The
Chinese was none of the Americans business,
But
then the Americans still continued to bother the Chinese.
The
Chinese did not mine the bother,
Because
they worked hard.
The
Chinese were like ox,
They
were strong and hard workers.
They
were willing to work until their work is done.
Many
Americans think that the Chinese are bad,
But
they do not know the real truth.
Different
people arrive,
and
soon the United States get crowded.
Parents
come for many reasons,
jobs
and money,
and
always searching for a better life.
Parents
who came during around 1950- now,
came
to the U.S. by plane.
Life
was hard,
to
make money and also to get a fortune,
people
had to work long hours day and nights,
to
earn certain amount of money.
When
many came,
They
were accused of many things.
People
were accused of spreading many horrible things,
Such
as many of the deceases caused.
Now
life has changed.
Businesses
were provided,
money
were being given out,
and
lives were as good as gold.
Houses
were eventually small,
People
shared rooms with others and they were usually pushed out.
Life
was difficult,
But
in U.S.,
There
was many opportunities and more people enjoyed their lives.
People
who arrive in the United States are really happy,
They
get many opportunities that they could not have in their old country.
People
are living a new life that gives them privileges.
Mothers
who come to the U.S.,
Works
mostly in factories and get paid little.
Fathers
who come,
Works
in schools and stores and are sometimes servants.
The Land for Better Future
China
is a hard country, many wanted to immigrant to America.
Not
enough food for everyone, no nutrients for them to be big.
Children
start working at 13, doing all the chores and earning money.
America
is the star that many wanted, more opportunities and better lives.
It’s
a rocky hard start, but a better future.
Future
generations can have an easier time, no suffering and no hardships.
14
hours in the heat, working for the best to come.
Many
get into the way, trying to intercept.
Working
hard and contributing for the future generations.
Success
was what came next.
Freedom
Song
Everyone’s
heard the repeated story of slavery,
But
do they really know it?
White
masters back then said that they deserved it,
But
how can they show it?
And,
as all slaves and strong blacks can prove it,
Their
hard work and appreciation, they give to others to use it.
The
African American nation still grows,
Even
though the history they went through, and were
Pushed
further than the below.
But,
as we live along, we appreciate the road that our fathers, for us, paved.
We sing
our freedom song,
Which
we will bring with us, ‘till the day we turn to dust… in our graves.
Anna
K
Great
Hopes
Coming
to America
High
Hopes for their children
For
better life and future
For a
successful life
For
education and intelligence
"America
is beautiful!"
Immigrants
assumed
"America
is crowded!"
Immigrants
saw
"America
with many schools!"
Immigrants
wish and saw
Having
new life
Better
education
My
parents came with the help of my aunt
By
themselves
With
no friends
Only
each other
They
faced a new country and faces
Making
new friends
Having
a new life
Father
soon found a job
With
the help of my uncle
He
became a great cook
Mother
being busy
With
her five children
Treated
nicely with our neighbors
Having
a peaceful life
Soon
there were five of us
Brothers
and sisters
Together
we faced America
In
school we worked hard
To
achieved our goals
To
satisfied our parent's dreams
To be
successful in life
WE'RE
READY FOR AMERICA!
My
Family’s immigration
My family came here starting from my great grandfather. He came here all the way from Hong Kong, crossing oceans and seas. He came here at the time of World War 2. He crossed seas and oceans to sail here to the land of the free. When He came in, he saw the mighty women with a torch. “Give me you pain, you huddle mass and your poor.” She said. My great grandfather enters with a dream in his heart that this was the place for him and his future generations. He worked hard to earn money so that he can bring his wife over. He worked day and night, hours passed, the only thing that was keeping him awake was the thought of how the future of his kids would be when they come here to America. He only wanted to make money for his family. Finally, after 5 years of working in a basement washing dishes he made enough money to bring my great grandmother. She traveled with her daughter in one hand, and the other with her hopes and dream of succeeding in America “the land of hope”. My great grandmother stayed at home and cooked because she couldn’t leave the house or work because of the limited jobs. She hoped that my grandmother would find a good job and have a better life than her. My grandmother worked hard to emigrate my father here. Because my grandmother didn’t get the education she should have gotten she ended up with a horrible job she was a waitress in a restaurant. She worked hard hours earning pay that is lower then a white person that does the same job. Treated unfairly my grandmother still has to stand the way that her boos was treating her. She has to live in a stuffy place where white people curses at her. Finally she could emigrate my father and mother here but they didn’t want to leave their home in china, their homeland, birthplace but the only reason they left was for their future generations and me.
My poem of my family’s Immigration to new York
Dark, Dark, Day
Grandma Screams out and slaps grandpa
A fight, deep silence through the staggering night
Divorced grandma needs hope
A bright shining green statue appears
It’s golden gate open
Its arms take my family and relatives
Takes my family into a newfound land.
America
Translated in Mandarin it means beautiful land.
Now the hope lives on
Free from danger and there past bad old lives
They can live on
Kimberly
C
My
great-grandfather came to America during the 1890’s.
He
left his home of China, in search of a better life in the United States.
He
and others had heard of the gold mountains in California, where they could
easily become rich by mining out the gold.
Traveling
to the unknown, what will he find there?
Are
the rumors really true?
But
when he got there, after traveling on a horrible ship where he had stayed in a
cramped, dirty, small deck filled with people, what he found was
discrimination.
He
didn’t really find mountains of gold there in California, which was very
upsetting for him since that was what he came for in the first place.
What
he found was white Americans with hateful feelings against him.
They
didn’t seem to respect or like the Chinese.
They
seem to want the Chinese out of their country.
Because
there was no gold he went to look for jobs but found low-paying ones instead.
Soon,
his son, or my grandfather, went to meet him in America around 15 years later,
so that they can both start trying to make money to support their families back
in China.
There
was so much discrimination against them with strict, immigration laws against
only them.
White
American mobs would sometimes rob them, burn their homes, and attack them.
They
had to look for a better place to live in that was in America.
My
great-grandfather went back to China soon after his son came to the U.S., to
live out the rest of his life there with his family.
So,
my grandfather went and brought railroad tickets to New York City since he
heard that it was a much better place than it was in California.
In
New York City, it was just as tough as it was when he was in California.
There
were still low-paying jobs there and poor living conditions like broken,
run-down apartments with dirty, smelly streets.
During
World War 2, my grandfather was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army.
Because
of that, my grandmother came to join him in New York City after the war was
over.
The
laws were changed and she was able to come to America because her husband
served in the U.S. Army.
America
was changing its attitudes toward the Chinese as the years passed.
Now
there aren’t strict laws against them and not as much discrimination.
They
are now able to live like anyone else in America.