On Life as Immigrants

Family Life in the U.S.A

For both of them, immigrating to America was a jarring experience because of the cultural shock; both were not very strong English speakers and had limited knowledge life in America. I was born five years into their marriage, after my mom finally got her visa approved to live with my dad in the United States. My parents had been raised in a relatively large families, with my mom having thirteen siblings and my dad having seven siblings, but they found themselves limited in time and resources to raise a large family in America. Compared to the larger family size they were accustomed to, my parents only had one child and very few relatives here. During their first few years, they felt isolated and alone because they had very few family members and friends that spoke their language and understood their culture.

What’s Changed Over the Past 22 Years?

My parents still retain their strong ties to their Indian culture and their religion. They both still go to church every Sunday, but they choose to go to English masses rather than masses in their native language, Malayalam. They also have close friends who speak their language and see these friends as their extended family because most of their biological family still lives in India. These are people who they relied on to take care of their child when they were at work and who they still rely for every situation. To them, these friends are just as close, if not closer, than their biological family because they are bonded through the same experience as immigrants from the same part of India.