Move to Los Angeles

Life in Davao, Philippines Kindergarten in Davao, Philippines Evacuated to the Jungle Captured by Guerillas after bombing of Pearl Harbor Family was shipped back to Japan after the war Attitudes toward Hikiagesha Move to Los Angeles First Impressions of the US Life in the Philippines Unique Identity from Having Multiple Backgrounds On Nikkei Identity Returning to the Philippines

Transcripts available in the following languages:

Well, it was one of the requirement that we have a job, at the – someplace – minimum three months, and so we worked – no, parents worked at the Ishibashi strawberry farm for three months, and to pick the strawberries, and then the season was over at the same time that our agreement was also – ended, so we were free to leave. And they moved to Los Angeles, Boyle Heights.

So, after that, father wanted to learn how to become a gardener, because there were advices that you don’t have to know English, so he wanted to learn, and he lived in a boarding house, and then while she was – I mean, while he was in the boarding house learning how the – the trade of gardening, mother was doing seamstress and cleaning the house, she learned to do those.

And then I moved in with the American family as the schoolgirl or mother’s helper, to earn my allowance, as well as living expense, and then also to learn – I was told that then it’s the fastest way to learn English. So it was important for me to learn English as well as finish my high school.

Date: July 12, 2017
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Mitsue Watanabe, Yoko Nishimura, Leighton Okada
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Boyle Heights immigration jobs Los Angeles

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