Rodrigo's Story

Rodrigo came to New York from Colombia in 1970, when he was twenty-four years old.

Now, he is working as manager of the cleaning department in the Open Society Institute (OSI).

His first job, however, was as dishwasher. Rodrigo came to the United States looking for a better life because in his country the economy was very bad.

In his  opinion, the advantages of living in New York are public services like transportation, education, health and better opportunities to learn English. The disadvantages, in Rodrigo's opinion, are that the cost of living is very expensive, especially the house rent- he has to work very hard here.

Rodrigo gets up at 5:30 A.M. and starts working at 7:00, but the schedule is flexible.

In his free time, he enjoys watching TV (sports) with his wife. They eat delicious meals cooked by his wife.

Rodrigo signed up for English classes at LaGuardia in 1973 and took a course for only three months. He came back this year (2014) because he wants to improve his English.

Rodrigo wants to speak fluent English and travel around the world. That's his dream.

Otto's Story

Otto was born in Guatemala on August 31st, 1978. He lived in Guatemala until 2000, when he decided to leave the country and work in the cruise line business. He worked for ten years as a bartender, and he was lucky to visit over forty different countries.

In 2010 Otto came to the United States because he needed to visit his grandmother in the hospital. After that, he decided to stay in California for two years and eventually moved to New York.

Now he works as a meat deliverer for Boar's Head Distribution five days a work. He prefers to stay in New York because there are better opportunities here.

Otto was happy in his country until 1998, when Hurricane Mitch struck and his mother's house was damaged. That was the reason he decided to leave his hometown to repair the house for his motherr.

His first job in California was in food production.

Now he enjoys his free time with his family and friends, and he has been studying English in the fourth level at LaGuardia Community College.

Otto's dream is to become a food and beverage director.

Amber's Story

Amber was born in Pakistan, in Karachi. She came to the U.S. thirteen years ago at age twenty-three.

She works on-line, in the computer field.

Amber came to the U.S. for a better life and education for her kids. Her country was struggling.

Amber has been raising her children after working at the computer in her home.

Her dream is for a better life, better education and more opportunities for her children.

Living in New York, Amber says, is very expensive.

Basem's Story

Basem came from Libya four years ago, at age twenty-nine. He works as a salesman in a cellular phone store. He came her looking for a better life because his country has many problems; the political situation is unstable.

His first job was in a bar in the East Village.

New York has a lot of people who have different cultures. That's why he likes New York. However, he doesn't like life in this city because it is too expensive and very busy.

He works five days a week. Basem wakes up at eight-thirty every day. He walks his dog before he goes to work. He starts his work at ten a.m. and finishes at eight p.m.

In his free time, he likes watching movies, playing guitar and meeting his friends.

Basem wants to study English so he can enter college. He plans to become a graphic designer. 

Ivonne's Story

The first time that Ivonne flew out of Chile, she arrived in Canada. After living there for three months, she decided to move to New York.

When she tried to enter the U.S., she had a problem with the police. After that, she lived in New Jersey for six months, but she didn't feel good and took her luggage and moved on to New York.

She wanted to work in her career- acting- but she had problems, one of them the language. The second problem was being here by herself and not having enough money.

After three months without a job, she started to work as a waitress in a bar. She wanted to save money and go back to her country, but she found somebody who suggested to her to go on-line and apply for a job in a theater company. It wasn't easy, but she got it.

Now her dream is to become a bilingual actress.

people research

Person or group?   Man or woman?    Dates?        Country?     Religion (if you know)    job       

purpose         your feelings (good, indifferent, bad?) 


Malala

Obama

Mandela

Martin Luther King Jr.

Buddha

Mohammed

Jesus

Malala

Taliban

United Nations

Gordon Brown

Benazir Bhutto

Ban Ki Moon

Desmond Tutu