Ana Weinel was born in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. She immigrated to the United
States at the age of twenty-four, when she met her future husband, John Weinel.
They married each other in Arizona and after having a ceremony in Mexico, they
crossed the border and lived in Arizona. Irvine, California became their next
home and after Ana's five-year temporary visa had expired, she applied for
citizenship in the United States. After gaining citizenship, the couple moved
to Minnesota where they now reside with their six children. In the interview,
Ana highlighted the many struggles that she had with preserving her culture
while assimilating into the new American culture, language, and traditions.
I was born in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, which is the northern part of
Mexico. My reason for coming to the U.S was because I was in love. He was the
general manager of Sheldahl (1) and they hired me to translate and help him in
the office. That’s where we met. But, we never dated when we were working, but
then later we got together and started dating and the rest is history! We got
married and we moved.
She laughs at the
memory and later warns us of the crazy things that love will make you do. Love-
the driving force of her immigration- led her to her new life in the United
States.
Traditions
We moved from
Nogales to Irvine, California. Being there was easier
because there was a lot of people that spoke Spanish. I was used to California
as soon as I got there because I grew up on the border of Mexico and Arizona. I
was used to hearing people speak both English and Spanish so it wasn't much of
a change. California was familiar, but once we moved up here to Minnesota,
that's when I started noticing the differences between Mexico and the United
States. Once I got here [to Minnesota] I started noticing the traditions
and all the stuff that they [Americans] did that we [Mexicans] didn’t do and
all the stuff that we did that they didn’t do, for example, different
celebrations or different family get-togethers. The biggest culture shock of
these traditions was the food. I missed the food a lot. I used to go to the
store, and saw no cilantro, no nothing. I think that’s why I fell in love with
herbs and now every herb or spice that I see I will buy it, because I want the
flavor, and that’s how I learned to cook. In Mexico, you just go to the store
and you get the cilantro, you get this, you get all the basil, everything. And
here, nobody has anything in the store. It was hard. The day I saw peppers and
cilantro and all that stuff and I was like “ oh my goodness!” I was so excited!
We see the excitement in her
eyes when she speaks of the different flavors that represented her childhood.
Her voice softens and fills with rich detail. Slowly, she becomes more
comfortable and memories become stronger in her mind. She vividly recalls the day
when she noticed America become more diverse, not only in the spices and herbs
provided in its supermarkets, but also in the general population.
Diversity & Language
When I first came to Minnesota,
there was a lot of Mexican and Latino people here but there wasn’t as much as I
see now. Now I see more diversity, especially where I work, volunteering in
adult English classes where we have a lot of people from Somalia, Mexico,
Brazil, Central America, and South America. I help teach English even though
I’m still learning! It’s exciting to see and learn from them. It’s fun. When I
help people it’s fun to show them that it’s not that hard, as long as we try.
Like come on, I know we have an accent, but we have to speak, and people like
to hear you try, so I always push my students to do that, because it’s fun to
be able to communicate. I remember being quiet and wondering, “How do I say
this, am I gonna say it right, am I gonna say it wrong?” But once you do it and
try, people welcome that.
She learned this through her
own experiences of trying to speak the English language. She recalls when her
family would ridicule her about her accents or saying things wrong.
My own people are the ones that
would laugh at you. They would laugh and say things like “You say this wrong,”
so I would reply “Well why don’t you say it?” and then they can't. That’s why
we were scared of trying to open or speak English to Americans because we
thought they were gonna make fun of us. But I keep telling my students, don’t
even care if somebody makes fun of you. I remember when I was going to school
and tried to learn English, my brothers and sisters would make fun of me, and
say “You think you know how to speak English, you have to speak Spanish,” and I
was like “No, our teacher told us to speak English so we can practice because
we never have the opportunity.” So we [Ana and her friends] had to practice all
the time by trying to speak English and my brothers and sisters would make fun
of us. But now, I can speak more than they can. They speak English too, but I
can translate it and I can write it, but they can’t.
With all the new diversity in
America, and the complexities of the language, we asked Ana to voice her
opinion on how these aspects of American culture contribute to the idea of the
American Dream.
"American"
Dream
Sometimes I’m not sure about
the “American” Dream, because I think that it’s every human beings dream, even
in Mexico, or here, or wherever you are. You always dream about having a good
family and being together with the people you love. So if it’s here or there, I
don’t know. But if I would’ve been in Mexico with the husband and children that
I love, I wouldn’t even care if it was there or here. I wasn’t dying to come
here, I’m here because I guess that was my destiny. But, I guess it’s a dream,
but it’s everybody’s dream to be happy, and successful. I don’t know why it
bothers me when someone says, “Oh! You’re having the American Dream.” I didn’t
come to have the American Dream, I came to have my dream. I came because I was
crazy in love with this guy.
John & Ana Weinel, celebrating their marriage in Mexico, 1987
By following her dreams into
the unfamiliar country and finding a home in America, Ana was faced with the
difficult process of identity, but has now formed an identity that she feels
comfortable with.
Identity
I am American because I’ve been
here for a long time. My husband is from here and my children are from here.
I’ll never forget that I’m Mexican but I’ve lived most of my life here and I
like I here. I don’t want to go back. I’m Mexican but it’s not my country
anymore. I feel that I’m from here more than there. My home is here in
Minnesota. At the beginning it was hard because I used to always want to go
back because I guess I missed everybody, but after a year I went back to visit
Mexico and quickly after that, I wanted to go back home. This is my home and
I’d do anything to keep it that way. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mexico, but I
have never wanted to go back to live there again. It’s mostly because I want to
preserve the memories I have of my hometown. Now it’s ugly, filled with drugs,
guns, and gente peligrosa (2). I always want to remember my childhood the way
that it was. You could go play outside for hours and never hear a gunshot, you
could go out at night and sit on the hood of a car looking up at the stars and
you wouldn’t have to worry about somebody kidnapping you from your own home.
Now you have to worry about that. That’s not the Mexico I know, so it’s not my
home anymore. Nogales has changed, and it’s sad to think about, but at the same
time, I have my home here in Minnesota. So, to answer your question, I am
American, because my home is in America.
FOOTNOTES
(1) Sheldahl, a manufacturing
company.
(2) "Gente
peligroso," Spanish for "Dangerous people"
STORY FACILITATORS:
Dani Cameranesi, Jessica Weinel, Mai Chia Lee
Dani Cameranesi, Jessica Weinel, Mai Chia Lee
One thing that I think readers would benefit from taking away is the part where Ana talks about how she was not dying to come to America, and how what matters to her is being with her loved ones. The reason I think this is significant is because I think sometimes Americans think we are superior to some other countries and parts of the world and think everyone would love the opportunity to live here. In reality, Americans need to realize many if not all immigrants have circumstances that were incentive to come to the United States and it is not always that they will have a life like the American Dream and live like Americans do. Something that challenged me when reading this blog was the concept of her own people laughing at her for making efforts to learn the culture. I can't imagine trying to completely change my life and the people that I identify myself with in a new place being the ones to make me feel insecure.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog, and I really liked how Ana discussed identity in such detail and how she responded to “the American Dream”. It is always very interesting to me to hear if an immigrant sees him or herself as an American or if they still identify with their country of origin. It is also engaging to hear how she sees herself as more American because her husband and kids are from America. I am always really fascinated with immigrants’ responses to what it was like to visit their countries of origin for the first time after immigrating to the United States. Her answer to the question was not one that you hear a lot of the time, but I found it extremely captivating.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this blog especially because she immigrated to America because of love. And I like how she was able to adapt easily in America. I also like how she was never afraid to try speaking in English. All in all, this is a wonderful story.
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading this blog, especially when she talks about the American Dream and how it can be different for people, but it is where the people she loves the most are. I like how she immigrated to America not just for more opportunities for herself, but for the man she loved. It is so inspiring that she teaches immigrants English even though she is still learning herself. This blog post shows how selfless people can be for the people we love, or for people that need help in areas in which we can provide help in. Something that made me think about things in a different way is that your home may not always be where you were born and grew up in.
ReplyDeleteAna's story was really interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. I wish there were more to read of her story. I think it's important for people to know that immigrants struggle and face insecurity because they might not be good in English but that doesn't mean that people should point them out for that or someone should give up on themselves. Ana is inspirational to keep pushing herself to improve her English and in addition, helping others as well. I thought that her perspective of the American dream was interesting. It's a point of view that I've never thought about so it was eye-opening. I think that it's a challenge for immigrants to learn English and I admire those who strive to improve it. It really shows their persistence and effort in learning a new culture.
ReplyDeleteI really like how Ana defined "American" dream. Her reason of coming to the United States is not seeking an "American" dream but her own dream. The dream that exists forever no matter where she is. In the end of the blog, she identified herself as an American because she has been here a long time and her husband and children are all from here. I enjoyed reading Ana's unique perspectives about her dream, identity, and her life experiences. I think it's important that how you see yourself instead of judging yourself from others' opinions because you are the person who you are.
ReplyDeleteAs a story of immigration, the interview contributed to the public conversation about how a Mexican woman was able to achieve her dreams in a foreign country. The post brings to light the hardships a foreigner may face like for example the language barrier between Spanish vs. English. It also shows how this so called "American Dream" can mean something different to everyone depending on their expericences.
ReplyDeleteAna's immigration story was interesting. The fact that she found love and moved to the U.S. was incredible. When learning a new language, it can be difficult. The section about "Diversity and Language" surprised me especially the language portion. Why should people be made fun of because of their accent? Especially from your own family members. I liked the "American Dream" portion. You do not hear often about people saying that they came to the U.S. to create their own dreams. It is usually about having the American dream. You create your own dream, not someone else's dream. I think one of the challenges a lot of immigrants face is when their visa expires.
ReplyDelete