Anecdotes 1 & 2 & 3

When my mother was young in the Philippines while she was going to school she elected to drop out of school because her parents were very sick. She was one of the oldest of her family so she had to handle and take control of the household. She wanted to help out her family with baby sitting her younger family members and generally helping her parents. She went and found a job because she wanted to help pay for things around the house and the rent. She got a job baby sitting kids for this wealthy family. The kids at first were rude and disrespectful and at time she wanted to quit but she knew that she needed the money.

She worked for this wealthy family for 15 years and when the family found a business in the United States she went with them. At first she didn’t want to go but her family thought it would be better off for her to chase that “American Dream.” When she got to the United States the family treated her like a slave, she couldn’t talk to anyone, she couldn’t leave the house and she got $20 a month. She wanted to leave and go back home so bad. She stayed because she wanted to better her life and wanted to help her family back home.

While she was in L.A. she met another family that was in San Jose and they promised her that she would be happier working out there. So she ran away to San Jose In hopes that life would be better but it was the same situation. She was still a household slave, she did everything around the house. She cooked, cleaned, did the laundry, basically everything that needed to be done she did. The only difference is that she was paid $30 an hour but everything else was the same.