David ManeiroDavid ManeiroSOCI 102:01Dr. Vikash Singh My families’ immigration story 11/20/17My families’ immigration storyNot too long ago my families’ history had only taken place in Spain. But all of that changed when my grandparents decided to move to the united states. My grandparents wantedto live the American Dream. They wanted more than just the farm life that they had in Spain. But although my grandparents where the first ones to move in my family, I won’t be talking about them. Instead I’ll be talking about my own father. I I'm the son of an immigrant and here is how that story all started. While my mother was living in America my mom would go back to Spain in the summer, much like I do now. My Grandparents to this day still own the houses they lived in while they lived in Spain. While my mother with in Spain she met a boy, this boy was Spanish and when it wasn’t summer time My mom would get calls from the man that she met, who later became myfather. After years of only being able to see each other during the summer so they decided to get married and the first thing my parents how to answer was the question of where to live. Would my parents stay in Spain and live with my grandparents or would they move to Americaand start a brand-new life together in the United States of America, and I think you know what they decided on. My parents decided to chase the American dream as well, but first my father had to become a United States citizen. To do become an American citizen my father had to do two main things, one find a job, and two find a place to live. My grandfather helped my father with the letter letting my father live with him until he was able to afford his own place to live, Actually, my grandfather helped my dad with the former too, setting my father up with a job in port Newark. Now most of this stuff I was too young to ever remember, but growing up with an immigrant parent you ask them all of questions about how it was. The biggest problem my father faced early in his new life as an American was Americanization, I always remember my mother telling me that my father at first hated this country. My father didn’t like the American culture, he hated the fact the people weren’t as open as they were in Spain. He hated how people would look out for themselves. He also didn’t know the language which made it hard to meet people, which made it hard to go out and enjoy life in America. All my father did was work, nothing else. Eventually my father learned that the only way to enjoy life in America was to learn the language, by learning the language my father was able to enjoy life in America moreand was able to move forward in society. My father who never went to college in Spain was able to go to community college to get a bachelor’s degree, and better his life in America. By getting a degree my father was able to stop working a port Newark and get a job that wouldn’ttake him away from his family. My father went from port Newark to working in a front desk at a hotel, although pay wise it most likely wasn’t the same as working in port Newark my father washome more with his family. Eventually my father left the hotel to go Extech, and then he tried to become a correctional officer, but he didn’t like it. Eventually my father decided to take a chance and try to become a firefighter. For the last ten years my dad has been a Newark firefighter. He and my mom own two homes and they were able to send me and my brother to college. My father went from hating the country and culture, to accepting the culture and becoming a functioning member of