DEPARTED FROM
Guadalajara, Mexico
ARRIVED IN
Oakland, California
YEAR
2005
AGE
23
NOW LIVES IN
Puget Sound Area, Washington
TRANSCRIPT
I was living so happy. Earning a lot of money. Very easy. Honestly. And now I am here working very dirty. A woman between men. Making work like a man. Lifting things that I never think I can do it, and earning few dollars. It's hard when you think “This is not the life I was planning when I was in school.” You think everything that you started was for nothing. And I think, “No.” I have the knowledge and I know smart people. I think I could do something different if I go to the school. But other people tell me “No, you can not go to the school, you need to start from zero. I think, “No. I can do it.” So I will try, I will try.
Who was telling you you couldn’t do it?
The Mexican people. The worst people to help you, as a Mexican I say that, is the same Mexican people. They don’t like to see you wake up. If you say, “How can I get this license?” (they respond) You can not because the security is this, this, this. “How can I get this thing?” (they respond) Oh you can not because you need to get this license first. They can not help you. It’s like, I don’t know. I saw the Philippine people, the Chinese people, the Oriental people, they used to be very close. Even if they aren’t family. They used to be very close, and they help between them (each other). But Mexican is different. It’s different.....
Introducing K. Garcia: Garcia immigrated to the United states from Guadalajara, Mexico in 2005 seeking security and happiness. She left her family, possessions, and a very comfortable career as a surgeon behind. Alone and in poverty, she found work picking apples in E. Washington. She slept on a cold floor without heat and blankets the first nights. She now endures punishing physical labor, working as a landscaper and teaches herself English in her spare time. She struggles to find support within the Mexican/American community to return to community college, re-take American medical exams, and ultimately resume her career as a doctor.
