On immigration day my group talked to two people, Peter and Shru.

Peter was 7 when he immigrated from the Netherlands to the U.S. He told us about how he came during world war 2. He told us about how he went to 1st grade three times, once in the Netherlands, once in a state I can’t remember right now, and once in Michigan. He also told us about how he learned English in school in the U.S. and how him and all his siblings spoke English in the house too so they could get better and his parents could learn.

Shru was an adult when she immigrated from India. She didn’t have a crazy story of how she came. Basically, she wanted to marry her fiance in the U.S., got her visa in less than six months, and moved. It’s pretty simple.

Overall, immigration day was an eye opening experience for me. Not because of Peter’s crazy story (though his story was crazy to hear) but, because Shru didn’t have a crazy story. Before immigration day I thought all immigrants were like Peter.