Immigration Blog Post #2: Conducting the Interview

On Sunday April 7th, I sat down and interviewed my Dad on his immigration journey to America from South Africa on December 16, 1985. I asked 15 questions about his experience that I had previously prepared. I made sure these questions would provide me with lots of information about his immigration story and tried to include many “green light” questions to get the most information.

What I learned from interviewing my Dad is that when he immigrated to America, it was difficult for his family financially, emotionally and physically. Although my Dad was excited to live in America, he also had to move in the middle of 5th Grade and he was nervous about making new friends.  I found the interview really interesting because I was able to learn how someone may feel when they immigrate.

Overall, I learned that immigrating is hard and takes a while to adjust to a new country. I also learned from my Dad’s experience that one of the reasons why people immigrate to America is to hopefully build a better future for themselves.

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