Living Lowell

age: July 8, 1972
born: Lowell, MA USA
neighborhood: downtown
speaks: English

Early Days:   Memories of Lowell

I want to tall about my childhood memory of Elliots. My whole family would cram ourselves into the car. My dad drove a yellow crysler at the time. You should have seen it! You would have thought it was a clown car. My family was seven. we usually had some neighborhood kids along. One time we even had our dog! Back then we never got out of the car.I wouldn’t have anyway. lowell was uglier and scarier then. my mother and father would get the order down. my dad would go in. He would come out a few minutes later with box of hot dogs french fries and tonics. My dad would call out “Who had this?” “Who had that?” We would answear me me. I did. there was always an impatient person amongst us. We would eat by the light of the street lamps amongst the trash and broken glass. Did I mention the clown car?

When I was older I was facinated with the pigeons. I would beg to get out of the car to feed the pigeons. What a treat that was!

I love to hear the stories the old timers tell. I took my first date to the Elliot. MY father took me and my brothers in 1940whatever. He made us share a drink. It is fun to think of your parents,grandparents aunts and uncles as small children and teenagers. My parents dating?! Grandparents as young couples?! Two hot dogs for a nickle?! So I have been told.

age: 28
born: Cambodia
neighborhood: Acre
speaks: English, Khmer

Early Days

As a kid growing up in the communist regim, my life was a struggle. I was 5 year old when my family fled from the Killing Field in Cambodia. It was a horrible nightmare for any human being to experience what we had been gone through of all those years. I grew up in Thailand, in a refugee camp called Khao I Dang. Our family was sponsor by First Church of Christ in Hartford, Connecticut. We arrived in the United States 1984 that’s when our lives started a new beginning.

Working

My first real job was groceries bagged at Shop Rite in Connecticut. Now I am working for Community Teamwork, Inc. in Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) as Community Coordinator. I take pride in my job and I take my responsibilities seriously. I have been work at the WIC Program for 7 years now. I love my job very much. I get to help people in needing and get paid. It’s rewarding to say the least.

Cultural Heritage

Growing up my family definitely identified itself with being Cambodian-American. We celebrate both Khmer and American’s culture and holiday. I consider myself as Americanized because I am accustom to the American society. I wouldn’t know how live in any other country beside USA. What is interesting to me is that I have grown older I wonder about my homeland (Cambodia). Some day I would love to go back when the country is stabilized and safe.

Living Lowell

I have worked in Lowell for 10 years and just bought a three family home in the spring of 2000. I first came to Lowell in 1989 going to Lowell High School and working part-time at the Cambodian Mutual Assistant Association of Greater Lowell. I slowly became aware that Lowell was an amazingly diverse place with lots of interesting people and a rich history. I’ve been here 12 years now and I continue to love the feel of living in Lowell, the spirit of the diverse people and a community mindedness that I have found nowhere else.

Present Days

These days, I am adjusting to my new life home owner (the American dream). It is 100 year old home, it’s need a lot of work inside and out. I’m taking it day by day. Other than that, I’m working at WIC Program, meeting a lots of wonderful people in the community. I’m taken web basic at LTC which I always admire people that designed the web. It is such a powerful way to get information or to give out information anywhere in the world. I am excited, wishes me luck. I want to build my own web site for my Cambodian Community here in the USA to link, to communicate with people in our homeland and any where else in the universe.

Fast Forward

I do not know much what I will do in the future tense at this time. But continuing to learn and grow is part of the puzzle. One thing I know is that Life is a daily challenge and peace begin with individual person.

age: 31
born: Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
neighborhood: Belvidere
speaks: English, Slovak

Early Days

I grew up in a middle class Irish-French Canadian Catholic family in a mid-size city, Lowell, MA, situated on the Merrimack River. Lowell was an interesting place to grow up with its diverse cultures and visible history.

Living in Lowell

Lowell, Massachusetts, is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. Lowell’s textile manufacturing mills are well known for their impact on our country’s economic, social and cultural development. If you travel along the banks of the Merrimack, you can view the mile of mills that made Lowell one the most famous cities in America during the mid 1800s to the early 20th Century. Cotton was king in Lowell and the unique relationship between the Southern plantation owners and the Northern mill owners fueled the production of textiles. Immigrants from throughout the world came to work in Lowell and contributed the manufacturing labor and cultural diversity to our city. Today, the manufacturing mills are home to the very first urban National Park documenting the economic and cultural history of this Industrial era. As a result of manufacturing, the city was a natural starting place for American laborers and immigrants from around the world to realize the American Dream. Few dreams were realized under the harsh conditions and low pay these people had to endure. Today, though manufacturing is no longer the major employer, Lowell continues to welcome immigrants from around world to begin new lives in a safer place with varied job opportunity. The American Mill girls, French Canadians and the Irish were some of the first immigrants to come to Lowell and work in its mills. Later, other cultures followed including the Polish, Lithuanians, Greeks and Portuguese. As a result today on any given day, you may hear the following languages on the streets of our community: Polish, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Khmer, Vietnamese, Chinese and even various Indian dialects. And that’s just the beginning! You can see better how living in Lowell may have influenced my view of the world. My own great great grand parents worked in the mills as blacksmiths, stitchers and weavers. I’m very proud to be a fourth generation product of Lowell’s history and part of its cultural history. As a result of the sweat and toil of my ancestors, today I benefit from a life of opportunity.

Cultural Heritage

I grew up in an American family with Irish and French Canadian roots. My father’s family, the Brennan and Cooney side of the family are originally from Ireland while my mother’s side Murray and Plourde are from Ireland and Quebec, French Canada. One of my hobbies is tracing my family geneaology.

Working

No, I haven’t ever worked in the mills of Lowell. I have done a wide variety of jobs in my life here in Lowell and other places. My frist job ever was a newspaper route through my neighborhood in Belvidere, a neighborhood in Lowell. It was a great first job as it dealt with all sorts of different people. I remember my customers were originally from all over the world including Armenia, Poland, Greece, and Korea. It also kept me very fit as I made my way around the neighborhood by skateboard. Later, I continued to be involved with newspapers. As a 1992 graduate of Villanova University, Villanova, PA, my degree in English and experience with college journallism served me well as a journalist for the North Shore Weekly Newspaper chain in Ipswich, MA. Journalism was interesting work where you got to meet a lot of different people in the community. I still enjoy writing today as you can see. Unfortunately, it didn’t pay enough to make a decent living. So, I worked in a bank for a few years during the mortgage refinance boom in the early 90s, when people all over America lowered their monthly home mortgage payments by refinancing to a new rate of interest. Again, I met a lot of people from around Massachusetts at the time and came to better understand how our nation’s economy and mortgage industry functions. That’s always valuable knowledge in a capitalist society. Though, it really wasn’t a fulfilling profession. More of an idealist, I decided to get involved in community activism. In 1996 I helped my high school history teacher, Peter Richards, run a campaign for Lowell City Council. We ran on a platform of ‘the neighborhoods’ that make Lowell such an interesting place. After a long, hard fought campaign our candidate won and introduced a new division of City Hall called the Division of Neighborhood Services, which helps solve problems in the neighborhoods throughout the cities by working at the grassroots level with neighborhood community groups. Back in 1998 I again worked with then City Councilor Peter Richards as part of the founding board of Christmas in April Lowell, a non-profit whose mission is to repair housing owned by elderly, disabled and poor families. During these campaigns I took graduate courses in teaching ESL and worked for the International Institute of Boston as a volunteer tutor for a Serbian and Bosnian family. These experiences may have been a turning point in my life. I decided to go out into the world beyond United States borders to make a difference internationally and learn how other cultures live. As a United States Peace Corps volunteer, I taught English and organized democracy building activities in the former Czechoslovakia. During My Days In Slovak Republic where I lived and worked, I learned Slovak language and cooperated with Slovak and American colleagues on a variety of community projects including a Center of Volunteerism.

Present Days

These days, I’ve returned to my beloved Lowell, where I teach English as a Second Language to adult Brazilian immigrants. Enabling my students to use the English language in practical situations through creative lessons is one of the most fulfilling experiences that I’ve gained from serving in the Peace Corps. I also work for a firm that provides quality assurance to mortgage banks. Though, this job is more of a means to an end rather than any significant passion. For three years I served in Slovak Republic where I taught English to secondary school sudents for two years and helped develop a demcracy building non-profit organization during the third year.

Travel

During my time in the Peace Corps I was able to travel quite a bit. Some of my favorite places were Belgrade, Yugoslavia after Slobodan Milosevic was ousted from power. In Belgreade, I visited the Democratic Party headquarters and met the newly elected Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, tasted flavorful Balkan salads and sausage, and toured the old town. I also enjoyed visiting Dubrovnik, Croatia, during the summer to enjoy its clear aqua Adriatic Sea and its mountainous coast. Though Croatia has some of the most dramatic sunsets, there are no sandy beaches–only rocky ones. Of course, I lived for three years in some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Slovakia shares a border along the High Tatra Mountains with Poland. Hiking through these mountains is an awe inspiring experience. The Polish and Slovak people, while very different in many ways, are very warm and welcoming people. The Slovak beer is remarkable, especially after a long hike. Austria, Greece and Bulgaria are also memorable. Ask me sometime.

Fast Forward

Now, I’m focusing on a long-term goal of attaining my master’s degree in Community or International Development. Since returning to Lowell, I’ve attempted to put myself in a position to build up some money to help pay for it while at the same time researching programs. At the same time I need to adjust and get to know American life again. In other words, I’m in no real rush. After three years of living in a very slow culture in post-communist society, I’ve developed great patience and perspective. One of the most interesting adjustment has been not being able to walk everywhere or take public transportation. In Eastern Europe, the bus and train are a natural part of life. People don’t depend on cars so much and can use public transportation to go just about anywhere. The individualism of America coupled with its sheer size is one big difference between Slovak Republic and America. Though buses and trains were often crowded, I’ll still miss thesocial aspects of the Eastern European publc transportation system.

age: 25
born: Fort Wayne, Indiana USA
neighborhood: Acre
speaks: English

Early Days

I actually grew up in rural northwest Ohio. And I mean rural! I graduated with about 60 other students. And believe it or not, this class was one of the largest classes to graduate from Antwerp Local School. The thing I remember most about growing up in northwest Ohio is gathering all of the neighbor kids to a back field to play kickball. Those were the days! But we had to grow up. When I turned 13 my family moved to an even smaller town, Marshall, Indiana. I went to Turkey Run Jr. and Sr. High School. And no, the mascot was not the “turkey.” Right before grade 10, we moved back to northwest Ohio…back to the very same house we moved from just a few years before. I suppose the best thing about going to a smaller schools is that there were fewer students, less competition in the arts, and more opportunities to actually play on the sports teams. There was really no such thing as school violence. Overall, it was a pretty easy place to grow up.

School and Work

My first real job was working as a car hop at the A&W Drive In. I was 16, ya know I hated the job at first….but soon learned the value of a smile in earning great tips! Hey it works! I worked this job and many a babysitting jobs to support my shopping habit. Finally it was time to go to college. I had kind of out grown the car hop thing so I worked jobs in music, retail, and mental health crisis stabilization. When I graduated from college in Defiance, Ohio, I knew I had more to learn…so I moved to Chicago and started graduate school. Soon I was bored and realized that I was in the wrong program. I moved back to nw Ohio and began work as an HIV Educator (education, hiv testing, hiv counseling). That job in part (the other part being the support from my boyfriend) inspired me to continue work on my Master’s degree. So now I am here in Lowell. My current job is as a TA for UMass Lowell Community and Social Psychology department. I am currently working on a web design seeking to link community agencies and organizations with the building and organizational tools that can help optimize the Greater Lowell Communities. In addition I am assisting with the MVHub Project. MVHub is a web-based information/referral database seeking to link the people of Merrimack Valley with the programs and assistance they need. To access the database go to: www.mvhub.com

Cultural Heritage

I am not particularly proud to say this, but I know very little about my cultural heritage. As a matter of fact, a couple of years ago I kind of fudged my heritage in a project for a class (I won’t name the class or location for fear it could come back and bite me). What I do know is that I have some German decent as well as some Indian decent. I know that my grandma met my grandpa at a funeral. I know that my family used to take me to a Lutheran church in Ohio. But beyond those skeleton details there is little that I can fill in. My family is very important to me…and maybe that is my strongest heritage link. My parents are divorced and living in Ohio. I have 2 sisters (Tera, 30 and Cassidy, 19). My dad works with Nucor Steel and my mom is head of customer services at The Wholesale House in Hicksville, Ohio. Tera lives in Indiana and is working a retail job as well as working toward a business degree. Cassidy is also working in retail, playing a lot of softball, and working toward her physical education degree. With the large age difference it may seem odd, but we are all best friends. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t fight, but today, even though we are all in different states, we are as close as ever.

Living Lowell

I am a newbie to Lowell. I moved here to enroll in the Community and Social Psychology Master’s Program at UMass Lowell. I have been here for only 4 1/2 months. Its very different here. I don’t just say that because it is larger than from where I grew up…(I mean I did live in Chicago for a year)…but the atmosphere has been a bit hard for me to get used to. This is my first experience where the neighborhood I live in, I am not part of the majority. At first I was scared to go out much…I was scared to drive anywhere (But that had more to do with the fact that I got lost everytime I left my parking spot). Somewhere along the line I started to look a little differently at what was around me. Instead of seeing the screaming kids and hearing the constant sirens…I saw the people. Everyone here is doing the same things that I am…relating to the community as best as we can. Suddenly it wasn’t so intimidating, but more enriching because now I can sink in and learn from the diversity that surrounds me.

Present Days

Today, I am still working to adjust to life in a new part of the coutnry as my boyfriend adjusts to a new country (he uprooted from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). The program at UMass Lowell is moving right along. Every aspect of my life is coming together. I spend my days studying, working on projects related to school, trying to keep Oliver out of my plant (Oliver is my cat) and enjoying as much time as possible with Erik (my boyfriend).

Fast Forward

In a couple of years I will finish my Masters’ degree so Erik and I will probably throw a dart at an atlas and figure out where we want to settle down.

age: 1/26/66
born: Malone, New York, USA
neighborhood: Downtown
speaks: English, French

Early Days

I grew up in a very small rural town in upstate New York. In fact on a clear day, you could see the St. Lawrence River straight into Canada. Laying in the foothills of the Adirondacks, it was a beautiful and safe place to live. I remember the stereotypical small town summers of riding bikes up and down the neighborhood streets with my brother Kevin, sister Colleen and Betsy and Martha Ohlman who lived behind us across the white picket fence (I kid you not).

Working

My first real job was washing dishes at Kings, a family-style restaurant, in my home town. I took lots of pride in that job despite the fact that I often ended the evening with grease embedded in every pore of of my body. Perhaps my worst job ever, was a summer job I had working in the payroll department of the local shoe factory, Tru Stitch. My aunt got me the job, because I didn’t have the foresight to secure other employment during my summer break from college. I spent my whole day taking shoe orders and filling in production forms with tickets on them that the various shoe assemblers, who worked by the piece, would tear off. This was the day before lots of computerization and it certainly was something that would now be automated. What depressed me most was that this was a summer job for me, the 10 or 12 other 40-50 year old women in the department did this every day of their life. It would drive me insane to think of doing this.

Cultural Heritage

Growing up my family definitely identified itself with being Irish and Catholic. My mother was a McCarthy before marrying my father. There were no strict celebrations or events that underscored this identity, but shamrocks, an occassional Irish flag, a slew of Irish first names and a bunch of behavorial ticks? flaws? are what I have taken from this. What is interesting to me is that I have grown older I wonder about my two Quebecqois grandmothers (both of whom I knew and loved) and my two Irish grandfathers (both of whom were long dead by the time I was born). Why did my family not celebrate the heritage of these women? The only thing I can come up with is that it was a more socially acceptable thing to be Irish than Quebecquois in my home town. Which is strange, becasue in my mind the whole place is made up of pretty modest, hard working rural folks.

Living Lowell

I have worked in Lowell for 4 1/2 years and just bought a condo in the summer of 2000. I first came to Lowell in 1995 when I was interviewing for a job at Lowell Telecommunciations Corproation (which I didn’t get - although 2 years I did get hired). I remember taking the commuter rail on a February morning. I immediately got lost by walking in the wrong direction and was almost an hour late for my interview. LTC wasn’t even fully built then, but I remember thinking that the old brick mill building was a fantastic place. Two years later, I interviewed for a job again at LTC driving my housemate’s Volvo station wagon from Salem, MA to Lowell. Again, it was February and this time I left with a new job in hand. Once I began working at LTC in March of 1997, I slowly became aware that Lowell was an amazingly diverse place with lots of interesting people and a rich history. I’ve been here only a short time and I continue to love the feel of downtown, the spirit of the diverse people and a community-mindedness that I have found nowwhere else.

Present Days

These days, I am adjusting to my new life as a dog owner. Milo the pug came to my hosue in May of 2000 and we are in the third week of getting acustom to each other. Other than that, I’m working at LTC, finding lots of gratification in working with community groups setting up computer labs. Getting to know my Ayer Loft neighbors more and working on projects such as this website. I’m in a pretty happy place these days.

Fast Forward

I don’t much know what I will do in the future tense at this time. But continuing to learn and grow is part of the puzzle.

age: 40
born: Baroda, India
neighborhood: Pawtucketville
speaks: English, Gujarati, Hindi

Early Days

I grew up in a very small rural village in upstate Gujarat In fact on a clear day, you could see the Heran river straight into India. Laying in the foothills of the Adirondacks, it was a beautiful and safe place to live. I remember the stereotypical small town summers of riding bikes up and down the neighborhood streets with my brother and sister Meena and Bachu and Ramesh who lived behind us across the white picket fence (I kid you not).

Working

My first real job was farmer, in my home town. I took lots of pride in that job despite the fact that I often ended the evening with grease embedded in every pore of of my body. Perhaps my worst job ever, was a summer job I had working in the Sales man , My brother in law give me a training for photography and I have a lots of fun and took a very nice picture of nature and people around that part.

Cultural Heritage

Growing up my family definitely identified itself with being Hindu. My mother was a Sumitra before marrying my father. There were no strict celebrations or events that underscored this identity, but shamrocks, an occasional Indian flag, It has a three color White,Green,orange. What is interesting to me is that I have grown older I wonder about my two indian grandmothers (both of whom I knew and loved) and my two Indian grandfathers (both of whom were long dead by the time I was born). Why did my family not celebrate the heritage of these women? The only thing I can come up with is that it was a more socially acceptable thing to be Indian in my home town. Which is strange, because in my mind the whole place is made up of pretty modest, hard working rural folks.

Living Lowell

I have worked in Lowell for 12 years and just rent a condo in the summer of 1988. I first came to Lowell in 1988 when I was interviewing for a job at Billerica in assemble a camera it was a interesting job.and then every year I make a progress and learn a lots of thing in my life and I have a lots of changes in life that I don’t believed. We loose our camera building contract then starting a Cable Assembly work. I learn a every thing then I jumped down in another company because they hire me a with good money.When I was unemployed I build my career in Quality Control in Electronic.Now I get another time laid off I use my most time to learning a computer. I have a lots of social activities for my society. I have a lots of fun with my piano.

Present Days

These days, I am adjusting to my new life as a Computer Technician and learn a lots of new subject. and I want to serve and give help to people.Recently I am learning a web pages design and create a new idea and bring before the people.

Fast Forward

I don’t much know what I will do in the future tense at this time. But continuing to learn and grow is part of the puzzle.

age: 1/13/65
born: Fort Monmouth, NJ USA
neighborhood: Highlands
speaks: English, German

Early Days

I grew up in a middle class town in New Jersey. My father retired from the Air Force after 20 years service and worked for General Motors. My mother was a traditional mother — she stayed home, cleaned house and took care of the family.I have two brothers and two sisters. They are all older than me. My oldest brother is 13 years my senior and sister who is closest to my age, is 5 years older than me. Karen, who is the one closest to me in age, tortured me. Of course, I wanted to be with her every second of the day. This created conflict and I usually ended up crying and Karen ended up in trouble. Of course, now we are very close.

I went to public schools. My best friend, Janet, went to Catholic school. I wanted to go to Catholic school with Janet, mostly because I liked the pleated skirt that she wore.

The neighborhood was almost entirely made up of Catholic kids. Most of us went to public school together all week, then CCD on Saturday morning and we saw each other at church on Sunday. When I got to the Junior High School, I was absolutely shocked to find out that there were many other kids who were Protestant and Jewish.

The core group of kids that I played with were my best friend Janet, her brother Joey, and Bernard who lived in between us. We played all kinds of games: tag, hide and seek, red light/green light, mother may I?, as well as weird games that we made up. The more hurt we got, the more fun the game.

Janet and I also played Barbies. We were very serious about Barbies. I remember when we were 12 or 13 having a serious discussion that we were too old to play with our Barbies and we should put them away. It was tough. We also played make-believe games. The favorite was “Teenagers”. Of course, our fantasy life of how teenagers lived was no where close to reality, but we had fun anyway. It seems our fantasy teenager games closely resembled the fantasy life that our Barbie dolls had. Rich, famous, glamorous careers, and a boyfriend in the background.

In high school Janet and I had tons of friends. There was always something going on. Looking back I’m amazed that we did as well as we did in school, because socializing was a big part of what we did.

Working

My parents were big believers in making us earn our own money. I started babysitting when I was 12 and have worked every since. When I was 14, I started working for my sister’s boyfriend. He has a landscaping business. I used to keep the garden beds weed-free. Then I worked in a record store at a flea market for several years. The best job that I had was working at the 7-11 convenience store. The 7-11 was on the way to school and we’d stop there for candy on the way home. And Daddy always stopped there for cigarettes or milk. Sometimes he’d buy us Slurpees. Well, I got a job there when I was 18.

Joe, the owner, was the best. He was from Sicily and he literally lived at the store. When he needed a shower, he’d go to his niece’s house. Joe was a real easy going guy. He wanted to be sure we had fun while we were working. He especially liked me. He used to call me his daughter. Sometimes he’d send me down to the nearby liquor store to buy amaretto to make our coffee more interesting. I worked for Joe until just before I graduated college. I loved it.

Cultural Heritage

My mother’s parents immigrated from Poland to the US around the 1910s. My father’s family goes way back to colonial days. Apparently some of my father’s ancestors were Germans hired by the British to fight against the colonial rebels. Even though a couple of distant cousins from my father’s family have done extensive research in our geneology, we didn’t talk too much about family history. My mother’s parents died when she was 10 years old and she and her sisters and brothers just didn’t talk too much about their family. I think it was mostly because of the grinding poverty they lived in; they just didn’t want to talk about anything from their childhood.

Living Lowell

My husband and I moved to Lowell in 1997. Lowell and Lawrence were the only towns we could afford to live in when we moved here from Georgia. I liked what I saw in Lowell — it was a city that was improving and had a lot going on.We bought a house in the Highlands. I love it. It’s just like the neighborhood where I grew up. Lots of working class families, kids who play out in the streets and the people are friendly.

In just the five years we’re living here, we’ve seen our property values go way up. I think much of that has to do with all that’s going on in Lowell: baseball, hockey, theater, art galleries, the National park, the Textile Museum, the Quilt Museum, Boott Mills, etc.

I’ve been very impressed with some of the renovations that have happened in town: the artist lofts, the buildings on Merrimack St. and the library. The festivals are fun, too: Winterfest, Be a Tourist in Our Town, the Folk Festival. They are all great. Family and friends come and visit to particpate in them.

Present Days

I wish I could say that my days were routine. My job with Habitat for Humanity has me on the road quite a bit. I am the regional representative for eastern New England so I travel to the local HFH affiliates up and down the coast of New England. I am also involved with church activities and I help some are nonprofits in my spare time!

Fast Forward

As if I don’t have enough going on… I hope to start working on a Masters degree this fall. I want to get a degree in Social Work so I can better serve the low income community. If I ever stop working with Habitat, I’d like to work with young girls and find ways to help them succeed.Lowell is a great city. My husband and I have no plans to leave. We’re both very involved in the community and want to see it grow and improve.

age: 22
born: Santa Barbara, CA USA
neighborhood: downtown
speaks: English, some Spanish

Early Days

I was born in Santa Barbara, CA, a small, beautiful beach town north of Los Angeles.  In the late 1970s Santa Barbara’s popularity was rapidly increasing, and the quaint little mission village was quickly becoming a “rich man’s town.”  This left little room for a young family just starting out.  My parents decided to move our family to the Pacific Northwest;  my mom began submitting job applications for my dad in the Portland, OR area while she stayed home and took care of me, the infant, and my sister Kirstin, the toddler.  In October of 1979, my dad was offered a position as a systems administrator (computer guy) at the Beaverton, OR-based shoe manufacturer, Nike.  We left our friends and family in Southern California to move to Beaverton, a suburb of Portland.  Since I was just an infant when I made the move north, my earliest of childhood memories take place in Oregon.  Beaverton was a great place to grow up, mainly due to its high-caliber public school system and close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the Cascade mountains, and the not-too-big city of Portland.  I was a very active child, taking weekly dance lessons with my sister at a local studio and playing the violin in school.  I attribute much of my success as a college student to the quality education I received at Aloha High School, a large public school a few miles from my house.  Although Beaverton isn’t the most action-packed place, it was a great location for my parents to raise a family.  My mom has worked for various companies in the Beaverton area, but has been employed in the career center at Lewis and Clark College in Portland for the past 4 years.  My dad ended up keeping that job at Nike, and still works there today.

Working

As a high school student, I participated in so many extracurricular activities that having an outside job was not an option, but the summer after I graduated I set out to get a job before I left for college.  I ended up working as a telemarketer selling home security systems.  The job was located in a smelly converted mobile home, and my sleezy boss had us rip pages out of the phone book and start dialing.  After a day and a half, I quit and looked for work elsewhere.  As a college freshman at Santa Clara University (San Jose, CA), I worked as an office aid in the development office, filing and entering data in the computer system.  This was great office experience and a healthy balance to my academic life;  the mindless job of filing papers was a welcomed releif after hours of intense classes.  I transferred to the University of Oregon in Eugene for my last three years of school, and during two of my summers off I worked at The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club in Aloha, OR, one summer as a hostess in the restaurant, and the other as a waitress.  I worked long hours and dealt with uppity rich folks from the hills of Portland, but I made great tips and worked with fun people.  I currently work at Lowell Telecommunications Corporation as an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer.  My official title is Public Information Officer for the Lowell Community Technology Consortium.

Cultural Heritage

Both my parents come from a mixed European background.  My dad is mostly German, and my mom is Irish and English (maiden name Drayton).  Their families have been in America for several generations (since the American Revolution on my paternal grandfather’s side), and unfortunately much of the cultural heritage from outside the USA has been lost.  Because of this, most of what I consider my cultural heritage has been borrowed.  My mother’s family lived in Japan for 4 years when she was a child because her father was in the military, and my maternal grandmother adopted many ways of life from the Japanese as a result.  My parents lived in Southern California for many years, an area highly populated with Mexican and Central American immigrants.  They learned about Mexican and Central American cooking and culutre, and to this day I am spoiled by my dad’s famous quesadillas and other Mexican cuisine.  Although cultural heritage is something I seemingly lack, I come from a very strong and diverse family that I am still very connected to.  I consider my family to be at the center of my life.

Living Lowell

I moved from Portland, OR to Groveland, MA in September of 2001 to become an AmeriCorps*VISTA member.  I commute to Lowell each day to work at Lowell Telecommunications Corporation, a community technology center and community access television station.  I did not know what to expect of Lowell or the entire East Coast, as I had not been east of the Mississippi before making the trip out here.  Lowell is an amazing place for its size, and it is obvious to a new-comer that constant work is being done to revitalize the city and strengthen its economy.  I learn something new about Lowell every day, and I look forward to continuing my involvement.  The energy and dedication Lowell residents have for their community is inspirational..

Present Days

I am currently working as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member for the Lowell Community Technology Consortium, a project of the Lowell Telecommunications Corporation.  I am the Public Information Officer for the Consortium, which means I work to promote the activities, members, and events of the Consortium’s organizations.  I live in Groveland, MA with my long-time friend, Carrie, and her grandmother, Gladys.  Carrie and I drove out to Massachusetts from Oregon in late summer of 2001 with the intention of getting positions with AmeriCorps as a way to transition from college to graduate school.  The drive across the country was amazing.  We saw many incredible things and learned to appreciate the variety and diversity that exists across the states.  Although airplanes are quick and easy, driving was an enriching experience.  I highly recommend it!

Fast Forward

What does my future hold?  My ultimate goal is to become a high school science teacher, but I’d like to take some time to smell the roses until then.  The best teachers seem to be the ones who have a variety of life experiences from which to draw knowledge.  That’s what moving to Massachusetts was all about for me, and I’d like to continue learning and experiencing  after my year as an AmeriCorps*VISTA in Massachusetts.  I’ll to move back to the West Coast to be near my family when my VISTA year is done, but I have yet to determine what I’d like to do when I get there.  Graduate school is in the near future, although I don’t know exactly when or where.  Ask me again in a year.

age: 12
born: Paraná, Brasil
neighborhood: Acre
speaks: Portuguese, English

Meus ultimos dias no Brasil

Olá meu nome é Filipe eu tenho 12 anos , eu nasci em Maringá Parná Brasil no dia 30 de Outubro de 1989 . Eu estudei no Brasil ate Abril de 2001 e tenho muitos amigos lá .

Eu tenho uma cachorrinha chamada Brisa que teve 5 cachorrinhos e ela esta no Brasil na casa da minha avó e avô , eles gostam muito dela e eu tanbém , ela é muito rapida por isso colocamos esse nome nela , ela é uma Pincher muito bonita .

Chegada no Estados Unidos

Eu vim para a América em Abril de 2001 e conheci a Disney [gostei muito de lá] , Miami [eu gostei da praia e do clima quente] , Chicago e muitos lugares muito bonitos aqui . Hoje vivo em Lowell e estudo na Rogers School eu estou na 6 série e sou um ótimo aluno tenho muitos amigos e na hora do recreio eu e meus amigos jogamos voleibol , oque eu gosto da minha professora é que ela deixa nós conversarmos bastante , e oque eu não gosto é que nós ficamos o dia inteiro na escola .Eu gosto muito de ler , agora estou lendo o livro do Harry Potter [29/11/01] , gosto de brincar na água , me divertir e ir ao cinema . A minha comida predileta é massas e carne mas eu como de tudo .Eu tenho um irmão que se chama Lucas ele tem dez anos e estuda na Moody school ele gosta muito de jogar video game , brincar no computador, nadar , ler livros e ver televisão [ eu gosto muito dele] .

Esatados Unidos

Eu tenho muita saudade do Brasil e dos meus parentes que estão lá . Eu nunca vi a neve e estou doidinho para ve-la . Aqui as casas são muito diferentes das do Brasil quase todas elas são iquais , são parecidas , eu prefiro as do Brasil pois eu acho que são mais bonitas e mais criativas , as casas de umas regiõens daqui tem um porão de pedra de baixo das casas por que se vier um furacão eles se escondem lá . Gosto de aprender coisas novas por isso estou nesse curso de Web Design.

age: 10
born: Parana, Brasil
neighborhood: Acre
speaks: Portuguese, English

Minha Familha

Eu nasci em Maringá ,Paraná ,Brasil no dia 7/Out/91 e meu nome é Lucas . Sempre vivi pertinho dos meus avós maternos e gosto muito deles, tenho um irmão com 12 anos muito legal

Eu estudei no Brasil até Abril deste ano e tenho muitos amigos la. Tenho uma cachorinha chamada Brisa que teve 5 cachorinhos.

Tenho um primo chamado Leonardo sempre foi um grande amigo para min e sempre brinquei com ele e gostamos de brincar de video game.

Andando e Conhecendo

Vim para a America em Abril e conheci a Disney ,Chicago , Miami e muitos outros lugares maravilhosos.Hoje vivo em Lowell, MA e estudo na Moody Schooll aqui tenho aula de educação fisica e arte, eu gosto más de educação fisica

Meu Gosto

Eu gosto de computador, video game, ver filme no video, brincar na água, ler muitos livros em Portugese, na escola tem muitos livros legais, um deles e Um Bucadinho de Inverno, minha mãe foi ler esse livro na escola,também gosto de ver televisaõ gosto de comer carne, arros, ovo, sopa, e outras coisas.

Neve

Aqui vai nevar daqui a alguns dias, hoje é dia 29/11/2001 e eu quero brincar na neve fazer bonecos de neve e castelos também mas deve ser muito frio pelo menos mas do que agora. Para fazer bonecos de neve voce faz uma bolinha de neve e rola ela no chão até ficar grande, depois faca outra do mesmo jeito um pouquinho menor, e depois uma menor ainda e fica pronto, mas faca o enfeite do rosto.

NeCasas e Internet

Aqui as casas saõ diferentes das do Brasil aqui elas saõ de madeira e tem um poraõ de pedra porque se vier um furacão as pesoas vão la e o furacão não pega elas.Aqui tem muitos sites de internet para jogar jogos como nick.com cartoonnetwork.com e fokids.com.

Eu fiz essa estoria no curso de web design.