The American Dream
- Enrique Villalobos
- Los Angeles, California
- PERU, 3-5-97
- 17
My names Enrique Villalobos, i am a latino 17 year old and living in Glendale, California. I was born in Callao Peru, my parents are Peruvian as well. I guess you could say i am 100 percent Peruvian.I migrated with my family to the United States at a very young age. I came when i was five.My father was a ship engineer and made really good money, we were wealthy in Peru and it was good while it lasted. But when the president sold the port to Spain, he left a lot of educated men unemployed, including my father. At the time i was four and my older sister was six. My father and mother had to make a very serious and brave decision because the other port in which my father was offered wasn't going to be good enough to support the four of us. If we stayed we were to live a life of misery. Because my father was educated and wealthy we were eligible for visas. My father didn't want to leave his country and his whole family behind. It was my mothers idea to come to the United States and she persuaded him into doing so.
It was a sacrifice they both made; like many immigrants, they wanted the best for their children and they knew the U.S was the best place for it. We came to the United States in the year of 1997 during spring. My parents tell me we first landed in Miami, from Miami we flew to California. My aunt picked us up from the L.A.X and we proceeded on with our new life's.
I could imagined how my parents took it, how they soaked it in that they were in the United States. They tell me that they were really happy because of the illusions they have in Peru of how the United States is paradise. No other country can offer you what the U.S can offer and that had Peruvians dreaming back home. From the L.A.X airport my aunt took us to live with her until we got on our feet. She was currently living in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles. That was where i had my first birthday in the U.S. i turned six. We all crammed in a two bedroom apartment. It was a pretty big apartment but not big enough for seven people. I was still small though so it didn't bother me as much as it would to a grown person. Me and my sister didn't even notice that we were crammed in. We were too young.
From what my mother tells me, the first month was horrible for my father. He was feeling extremely homesick. He worried about his mother, his brothers and sisters and just overall missed Peru. During this time my father begged my mother to return to Peru for a month and make sure he leaves as he wanted to and not rushed. My mother let him. I didn't even notice his absence until they mention it, i was too young, i was having fun with my older cousin. Back then all we played was sega genuses. My sister got adjusted with my other girl cousin, and my mother with my widowed Aunt.
When my father returned he would take us to the lake at MacArthur park and we'd ride the pedal boats. Once we were economically stable enough to move on out on our own we moved to Edgemont in Hollywood. I was now eight and my sister was ten. We moved into a single, but from what i remember it was a pretty big single. The apartment had a pool so we would go swimming on Sundays when my father wasn't working. He would take us to the museum after we swam and had lunch.I Started Kindergarten at Franklin Elementary School, We lived a relaxed and mellow life while living in Edgemont. We lived at Edgemont for only a year though because we found a place with a room for the same price in Los Feliz and it was closer to my fathers job which was in Glendale. I was nine and we lived on drew street for two years. I went to Fletcher Elementary school there and must admit i didn't like it, i would get into fights alot.The apartment was alright because our neighbors were good friends of my aunts, so they became like relatives to me.We would have fights with neighbors across the street though, i didn't like the area at all, i think it was because now i was more conscious now.
My father found us an apartment in Glendale because he worked in Glendale and he found an affordable apartment at the time. It was a one room apartment as well only this time we lived in a safe and nice area and not in a ghetto. I started fourth grade in Glendale, I went to Horace Mann Elementary school, then to Roosevelt Middle School, then to Glendale High School, finally and now currently at Daily High school.
My immigration story isn't long and its a lot like others, but we didn't face as many hardships as most families did and do, and my parents got what they came for, a land of opportunity, we went to decent public schools, and participated in many activities and lived happily in peace. Something which was going to be hard to do in Peru if we stayed. I haven't returned to Peru ever since but me and my family will one day. So far i do consider myself American, Peruvian-American. My immigration story goes on as each day does. We are that much closer to achieving The American Dream. For me and my sister to have great careers and families, then only would my parents feel like their sacrifice and dream would of came true, for my sister and myself aswell.