Draft#1 Essay 3

by ja132921

Immigrant

Although I don’t want to go, I’m on my way to the North

I carry everything and anything

I carry my roots because I was pulled out of the land that God had chosen for me

I leave my husband, my children, my parents and my friends

I leave my people, my culture and my country

I have not much but

I still have faith

I still have hope

I still have the dream to get to the North

And I have a heart full of sadness

I have big dreams, the same as all immigrants

Get back and return with my family or

Have the opportunity that they come to me

And live, as God wants every human being live

 

 

photo

I am on Roosevelt Avenue and Warren Street, one of the busiest parts of Queens, New York.  It is best know among the Ecuadorian population here as “Guayaquil” because of similarities with that Ecuadorian city.

Here on these two blocks you can find almost everything you could buy in Ecuador like CDs of a famous Ecuadorian singer, t-shirts of the most popular soccer teams in Ecuador and traditional food from Ecuador’s coastal and mountain regions.

Here I found a food vendor from Cuenca, Ecuador, who has lived in New York for 20 years.  She’s never had the documents that would allow her to visit the home of her culture and family.  For her, the warm fritada that she prepares and sells help keep her cultural traditions alive every day right in the heart of Queens.

Nancy, the food vendor, parks one block from the Junction Boulevard subway station.   She lives with her three children Maria, 16, Pedro, 6, and Lucia, 3, in East Elmhurst.

pork

The corner where Nancy parks her truck is shared with about a dozen other women and men who also sell Ecuadorian style breakfast and lunch.  She works here seven days a week from 6:00am to 9:00pm and on weekends she works even later, usually past 11:00pm.

She is a small woman that covers her head with a light blue hat.  She prepares her dishes by putting a handful of corn, pork and mote on a foil container and adds a measure of seasoned onion sauce, as well as a side of blood sausage and torta de papa, also known as a llapingacho, before carefully handing over to customers.

photo(1)

What is behind her face and behind her apron?  What did she have to endure to become a street vendor?

She is a small business owner struggling to make ends meet.  She is an immigrant.  She works long hours under harsh conditions.  She works all year long, through cold, windy colds and hot, blazing summer afternoons.

Before she owned the food cart, she sold food from a shopping cart on Roosevelt Avenue.  Back then she was arrested several times for selling food without a permit.

4 Responses to “Draft#1 Essay 3”

  1. Darius says:

    Jessica,
    In addition to the input we gave you in class, I would like to suggest you spruce up the narration of this interview with some metaphors and similes. You don’t have to include them, but try a few of them and see if you like it or not. You could even try asking your questions that will lead into metaphoric answers, if you so desire. I think it will help turn this essay into more than just an interview, something more like a creative conversation. I look forward to seeing what ideas this might spark and which ones you finally decide to settle with.

  2. Jessica,

    I love where you are going with your essay. I feel as though you have an outline of what you want to do, you just need to fill in the blanks.

    I believe the interview will add a lively touch to your writing. Some things you may consider:
    -conversations/interactions with the customers
    -a little bit about her background (I wouldn’t go in depth with her past because you are more focused on her establishment and possibly where she is going unless you are planning on doing otherwise)
    -information on her children
    -how it feels to have established herself
    -and some other questions we discussed in class.

    I would really narrow down where you want to go with this essay. What exactly are you trying to say about this woman and immigration?

    To answer your question, I am interested in this woman because we see these vendors on the streets everyday and you are shining a light on something we don’t put too much thought into.

    I also love the black and white images. It adds authenticity. I would keep them black and white, something about those colors add drama and suspense!

    I can’t wait to see who this woman is and where you will go with your essay!

    GOOD LUCK!

    Andrea

  3. Hi Jessica,

    I have always wanted to write stories about the taco vendors. Personally, I think they have the best job out there: You don’t work under anyone, you get to make new people and most importantly cook and being appreciated for the food they make.
    I really like how you start the essay with a poem and I think it resonates very well with your essay. Plus you have done an amazing job of interpreting it.
    I really would want to know what she does for fun. She works such long hours and that makes me wonder what about her individuality. What does she do that makes her different from others? I might be stereotyping here, but my hispanic neighbors love partying and loud music. Does she go shopping? Does she go for movies? Or is she just too preoccupied by her work and her need to safe money?
    As far as development of the story is concerned, I think we are on the same boat. I am still interviewing people for my essay and my draft is not at all indicative of my final outcome. do you have a certain direction in your mind that you want this essay to move towards? Keep working. Looks like a great project.

    Tenzin

  4. ah 144048 says:

    Hi Jessica,

    I know I am writing a late response to your beautifully composed essay. However, I can’t resist my wish to contribute in your lovely creation with a few words.

    I encounter Junction Boulevard 14 times a week. Now you can guess, by this statistics, how much I am familiar with this neighborhood. Even though, I barely get off at this station, reading your essay is now provoking me to take a brief stop at this Hispanic neighborhood and find out that ”small, hard-working” woman.

    I love the way you open up the essay with a translated poem. ” I carry my roots…I leave my people, my culture and my country,” these two lines struck me most because I am an immigrant as well. Who will know better than me how it feels to be foreign in a foreign land? Since I relate my situation with your essay, I bet millions of people can also relate themselves to your writing as well. It’s very relatable.

    I just want you to consider few things: please capture at least a whole day of her busy life from dawn to dusk, as you are doing a audio version of it, you can try using some background music that may add an extra appeal to your audience. Just a thought.

    Overall, it’s, I believe, going to be a creative work as you are putting a lot of thoughts into it.
    Good luck with that. And I am very much looking forward to reading and listening your written and audio-recorded essay.

    Sincerely,
    amzad