One thing that surprised me while learning about immigration is that millions of people immigrated to the U.S in a short period of time - in the 2000's there have been about 10,300,000 immigrants. I always knew there were several people - but I didn't really expect there to be that many. Something I want to know about immigration is, why is (or was) the process to get into the U.S so difficult and even disturbing? Although they have to make sure everyone is eligible to get into the U.S, I don't think they had to go to certain extremes. Something I found out that I didn't know before is how long it actually takes to get to the U.S. It takes weeks and weeks to travel from whatever country you're coming from, get through Ellis/Angel Island, and finally arrive in the U.S. Overall, I think immigration is a very difficult process, which I didn't really realize before.
The definition of history is: Acquiring knowledge about significant events and individual developments over time; investigations about the past and its legacy. Obviously, Poland is a huge part of my history. My whole family is from Poland, which definitely affected me and the way I live. One of the biggest things that affected my life was when I went to Poland; the reason being I learned some Polish lifestyles, like different foods, like pierogi, and traditions, like Children's day. Although my family already did these things before I went, I began to get more used to them. As I grew up, I still clung on to these traditions and I still do. A lot of my actions have to do with Poland and its lifestyle. I've always been glad that our family stuck to these traditions, so I don't lose that part of me. It's always good to learn different traditions and I'm glad I did and still do. 1) Where did our family name come from?
Our family name originated from Poland. 2) How is life different in Poland when compared to the U.S? In Poland, it's a lot harder to find a job. People generally make less money in Poland so they cannot afford many things like some Americans can. 3) What genes run in the family? The face structure from my dads side is similar throughout most of the family members. To be specific, the nose structure is the most similar. 4) What hospital was I born in? I was born in Edwards Hospital. 5) How were living conditions when/where you grew up? Both parents (and a lot of the Polish population) shared rooms with their siblings; siblings usually do not have separate rooms. My mom lived in a poorer neighborhood in Poland, whereas my Dad's family lived in a slightly richer neighborhood. 6) How has migrating to the U.S affected your traditions and lifestyle over the years? In Poland, there aren't as many holidays as in the U.S. For example, the Polish community doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving or Halloween. But when my parents got here, they learned about these holidays and decided to start celebrating them. Also, coming to the U.S has benefited my parents because there are so many more opportunities here and, as said before, there are more jobs here, so things were and are more affordable. 7) How did you adapt to the English language and American ways of living when you moved here? It was difficult to live in a country where you don't understand what's going on around you. My parents took courses in English, but mainly learned from various American television shows and the people around them. My lens was geography, which is Earth's physical features and human features including locations of places and regions, and political boundaries. So, my parents came from Poland, which did definitely impact my life. My grandparents and my parents decided to come to Illinois because they knew family that was here. I think that both Poland and Illinois played/play a big part in my behaviors and how I live my life. I still have some Polish habits like Polish foods and obviously the Polish language, but I learned a lot from living here in the U.S. I know how to speak English fluently, which is a major part of how living in the U.S has impacted me. Both the U.S and Poland add to my character.
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EmilyIn 8th grade, & I'm blogging for social studies. Archives
January 2015
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