Peruvian Dinner
Okay--I now promise to REALLY start writing on this blog, especially since I've told my friends about it.
Last night I went for dinner at Daniel's house. Daniel is a 50-year-old doctor from Peru whom I'm tutoring in English. I volunteered to help him hook his computer up to the Internet, and in return, he and his wife, Rosario, cooked me a Peruvian feast. We started off with papa a la huancaina, a Peruvian appetizer that consists of slices of baked potato covered with a green sauce and topped with pieces of hard-boiled egg. (By the way, did you know that the potato is native to Peru? They didn't make their way to Europe until the Spanish explorers set foot in South America.) For our main course we had a beef dish (I don't remember the name) with white rice, and for dessert, a lovely fruit salad.
After dinner, Daniel, Rosario, and I sat outside and talked about the difficulties of learning English and adjusting to a new country. Rosario, a CPA, has a work visa because she was sponsored by a local parish. She needs to take some additional classes in order to be a full-fledged CPA in the U.S., but in the meantime, she at least has a job as a parish accountant. Daniel, however, is still trying to get a work visa while he studies to pass the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam). He has been waiting for three years and still no luck. It is very frustrating because money is tight, and he cannot get any kind of job to earn some extra money to help support the family (they have two children).
It is so frustrating to me to sit here with all these rights I've taken for granted for so long and to watch as Daniel and his family struggle. I know immigration law was made even more strict after September 11 to protect those of us who live here, but I don't like to see it affect nice, honest people who have come here to make a better life for their children. Imagine going from being a professional with a pretty nice comfortable life to someone who can't even get employment serving french fries at a drive-through.
Any immigration law experts out there who can explain this to me?
Last night I went for dinner at Daniel's house. Daniel is a 50-year-old doctor from Peru whom I'm tutoring in English. I volunteered to help him hook his computer up to the Internet, and in return, he and his wife, Rosario, cooked me a Peruvian feast. We started off with papa a la huancaina, a Peruvian appetizer that consists of slices of baked potato covered with a green sauce and topped with pieces of hard-boiled egg. (By the way, did you know that the potato is native to Peru? They didn't make their way to Europe until the Spanish explorers set foot in South America.) For our main course we had a beef dish (I don't remember the name) with white rice, and for dessert, a lovely fruit salad.
After dinner, Daniel, Rosario, and I sat outside and talked about the difficulties of learning English and adjusting to a new country. Rosario, a CPA, has a work visa because she was sponsored by a local parish. She needs to take some additional classes in order to be a full-fledged CPA in the U.S., but in the meantime, she at least has a job as a parish accountant. Daniel, however, is still trying to get a work visa while he studies to pass the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam). He has been waiting for three years and still no luck. It is very frustrating because money is tight, and he cannot get any kind of job to earn some extra money to help support the family (they have two children).
It is so frustrating to me to sit here with all these rights I've taken for granted for so long and to watch as Daniel and his family struggle. I know immigration law was made even more strict after September 11 to protect those of us who live here, but I don't like to see it affect nice, honest people who have come here to make a better life for their children. Imagine going from being a professional with a pretty nice comfortable life to someone who can't even get employment serving french fries at a drive-through.
Any immigration law experts out there who can explain this to me?
posted by Chicago Spinster @ 1:21 PM
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