Even though I was born in 1960, my parents didn’t raise me in the same way most children in the 60’s were raised. There were many different influences in their decisions and I am just becoming aware of some of them, and the contradictions that flowed rampant through my life.

You know how we inherit beliefs, behaviors- including violent behavior, as well as physical characteristics from our ancestors? It’s said that sexual abuse and domestic violence get passed down through generations. I’ve paid attention to some of those inherited things such as red hair and body shape, but I’ve never thought to try to figure out just why my parents behaved the way they did. I know some things came from the times they lived in, but it is only with this study of Proust and my writing of my memories, did I begin to wonder- Where did that idea or behavior come from?

I decided that it might give me some understanding or insight if I looked at the times and events of my parents and grandparents lives. I know something of my parents’ history, and I know next to nothing about my father’s parents, but I do know about my mothers parents.

Elmer

Collective family memories and stories about my grandfather, Elmer are plentiful. The basics: he was born in 1897- location unknown, married at 46 to my grandmother Martha, age 15 in 1943. They had their only child less than a year later, my mother.

Family stories tell us that Elmer’s parents had moved West with many others, taking advantage of the Homestead Act which provided free land to citizens and they had settled in the Great Plains by the time of his birth. As a child he worked on his family’s ranch as a laborer and a cowboy. Conflicts with the Indian Tribes were still occasionally occurring, as the natives were forced to assimilate or move into poverty ridden reservations. The stories told by Elmer, describe a childhood of loneliness, beatings and demanding physical labor from a very early age.

Shortly after he turned 16 (an age that varied between 13 & 17 depending on the story he was telling), Elmer left home to find his own way. He often said that if he had to work this hard, he would work for himself. New technologies were emerging and he went to work at a Steel Plant. After several years, he “ran into the law” and had to leave town. We never knew exactly what he had done, but this was a theme throughout his adult life.

In 1901 President McKinley was assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt became president. Elmer saw a demonstration of jiujutsu given by some men from Japan, and decided that he wanted to learn to fight this way. (Dr. Kano, the founder of Judo, visited the United States and gave several demonstrations to Roosevelt and the surrounding community.) Elmer searched for a school, (there were very few) and finally found one. In the process of looking, he spent time wrestling and learning to box. Proving to be a rather vicious fighter, he earned his living fighting in public matches. He told many stories of “running into the Law” and having to leave town.

World War I brought many changes to the United States. Unprepared for war, the military was small and the weapons were few and those were outdated. The draft began in the spring of 1917, Elmer had already volunteered, taking along  his personal rifle. He was 20 years old. He fought against Germany and France. Raised as a strong racist against the Native Indian and the Black man, he learned to despise the German and French people as well. Especially the Germans. But for some reason, not the Japanese. Maybe it was that he admired their fighting style.

Coal was the major source of energy and with the sudden increase of munition production, it soon became in short supply and a crisis ensued, not because there was a shortage of mined coal, but because the rail yards of the East Coast were jammed with 44,000 loaded freight and coal cars they couldn’t move. Finally in 1918, the government nationalized the coal mines and railroads for the duration of the war.

At the conclusion of his Army service, Elmer looked for work and found it in these coal mines in the Mid-West. He also resumed his sideline of public fights.

Martha

Martha was a middle child of 17. She was born in Washington State in 1928. When she was young, the family moved to the Seattle area to find employment. What we call the Great Depression, had begun.

Large parts of today’s Seattle were filled with tar paper shacks, built with whatever materials the residents could find. The communities were utterly without sanitation and the sewage spread across the ground. Martha’s family crowded into one of these shacks with paper walls and a dirt floor, which they all slept on. When it rained the sewage would flood in under the doors and soak everything they had. They had no beds and only a few possessions.

In May of 1931, the Seattle Mayor Edwards started warning the City Council that the unemployed men, could mean an increase of the cities communists. The unemployment rate had tripled in the prior year. Edwards told the City Counsel.

“If you are willing to work to the best interest of our citizens, whom we have the honor to represent, I recommend that the legislative and executive departments join hands in a most serious effort to provide decent and proper relief of the unemployed by pushing forward such municipal work as will require the maximum of labor”

Edwards soon lost his position. In 1935 Charles Smith tried to force unemployed residents to work for food assistance. The Downtown Local Unemployed Council compared the practice to slavery. They blamed the “machinery of production” for replacing millions of workers and creating this crisis of unemployment.

Later in 1935, the city was able to offer paid employment due the increase of Federal WPA money for public works. The unemployed were hired to grade roads, repair sewers, build new water and waste systems, and develop parks and public places. They built a 16-hole golf course in West Seattle, Improved Green Lake, Boeing Field, Woodland Park Zoo and the University of Washington grounds. Women were also put to work, sewing clothes and serving meals to school children.

Martha’s family benefited greatly from the WPA public works program. Her father went to work on the roads, her mother sewed. Even the older children in the family found employment. Martha started serving lunches to school children when she was 11. Her younger siblings were finally able to attend school. When she described her childhood, Martha told stories of deprivation and hunger, of not having any shoes, only one dress and a desire to go to school. The stories she told of her parents were always positive, how hard they tried and how much they loved her.

The family finally purchased a home and moved out of the shack. Martha was working and enjoying her new found wealth. Every week she was paid and whenever possible, her mother gave Martha spending money. She bought a few dresses and went out for fun with friends after work.

One day, Martha and her friends decided to go to a place they didn’t belong, a fight between a boxer and someone who said he could beat any challengers- that was Elmer.

Sneaking in along the edges of the crowd, Martha and her two friends worked their way to the front where they could see. Men, cheering and placing bets surrounded them,  ignoring the girls. The main event- the fight between Elmer and the boxer started. It was over fast. The boxer punched in and Elmer pushed his fist aside. Laughing he dodged another; and then he caught the next one. Pulling the boxers arm forward, he threw him to the ground, and jumped on him. The boxer’s arm broke and the fight was over. Elmer was the victor.

The men surrounding the girls started to yell in protest and a punch was thrown. All of a sudden Martha and her friends were surrounded by a brawl. Elmer, celebrating his victory, suddenly noticed the girls. He grabbed them and pulled them into the ring and away from the fight. Once clear, he escorted them home. When they arrived at Martha’s home, her parents were upset with her and very grateful for Elmer’s assistance. They invited him over for dinner and soon, with her parent’s approval, Martha started dating Elmer. In 1943; they were married. Martha was 15 and he was 46.

While they were dating, very little was said about Elmer’s past. Martha noticed that he was quick to anger, but also settled down fairly quickly. Her life changed shortly after the wedding.

They lived in a rented room, and together they had only a few possessions. Elmer smoked cigars and liked to spend his evenings out, at jujutsu practice or looking for someone who would fight him for money. Martha continued working for a while. When she arrived home from work, she took care of the room, the laundry and made dinner. One day, she was late coming home by a few minutes. As she walked through the door, Elmer grabbed her and slammed her into the wall. Screaming at her, he demanded to know where she had been. Unable to give him an answer he would accept, she finally passed out from his assault.

When she woke, Elmer was gone and she had many bruises. The most noticeable one, a black eye. Giving in to his demands, she quit going to work. She quit visiting her friends, and she quit seeing her parents. Her world now revolved around Elmer, and only Elmer.

1938 saw the beginnings of Hitler and Nazi Germany and on March 11^th Hitler invades Austria. Joe Lewis knocks out Nathan Mann in 3 for the heavyweight boxing title. The World News is broadcast on CBS radio for the first time. The US began requiring blood tests for marriage licenses in an attempt to stop the spread of venereal disease (An increasing problem since World War I). Japan declares war on China.

Kimberly

In October 1943, as the world is heading towards another World War, my mother is born. They are now living in a Seattle apartment. Martha rarely leaves her home and when she does, it is only to walk to the grocer. She works hard to maintain the apartment and keep herself looking nice. In later years, she talked about hiding part of her household allowance to buy a lipstick, so Elmer wouldn’t get mad that “she wasn’t put together like a lady.” Martha and her daughter Kimberly are inseparable. She teaches her how to act and how to be quiet when her father is home. How to obey anything he asks.

Kimberly is 3 when her mother discovers her naked in bed with her father. Martha doesn’t quite understand what he is doing, but warns him that she will go to the police. The next morning Elmer is frantic. He starts throwing everything they own into the car. Screaming at Martha, he tells her that they are moving, “getting out of town”.

They move, and then move again. Martha continued to try to protect her daughter, but was unsuccessful. Kimberly was able to go to school, most of the time. The records of her elementary education show 27 different schools, spread out across the country. Martha’s father dies during World War II (Specific dates unknown) and her mother followed within days of being notified, having not seen her daughter for years and never meeting her granddaughter Kimberly.

In 1956, Elmer moves the family to Northern California. He joins a jujitsu club and opens a filling station and car repair shop. Kimberly goes to High School and Martha is finally able to work outside the home again. She gets a job on an assembly line and begins to put money away “for the future”, without Elmer knowing. The family settles down and the violence was contained for a while. Elmer begins coughing a lot and seems weak and ill. He refuses to see a doctor and works out harder at the “club”. He still smokes cigars and drinks regularly. Kimberly appreciates staying in one place and gradually joins in the fun and outings at her school. She makes friends and even dates. But she pays a price for every date she goes on, time in her father’s bed.

By the time Kimberly is 16, she is rebelling. She no longer tells her parents where she is going, she dresses in pants and does improper things for a women (according to her father), such as roller skating. Walking into the house each evening she is ready for the beating. And they are often. In 1960, Kimberly discovers that she is pregnant, and the panic begins. Elmer violently kicks her out of the house and not knowing what else to do, she runs off with her friend Walter who is 26, and they get married. Kimberly moves into his apartment.

The baby is born, a girl. Kimberly is both excited and worried about this. She was named Lani. They buy a house in California, and her mother buys one a block away. Life is going well, Walter is in school to learn to become a machinist: Kimberly is at home with the baby. Elmer has opened another Service Station and Martha is still working on the assembly line. Lani is dressed like a princess and the world revolves around her. Then Kimberly gets pregnant again. They needed medical coverage and since Walter was on military reserve, Kimberly applies. She discovers that she isn’t his first wife. In fact, she isn’t considered his wife at all. Walter has a wife and daughter, in Chicago where he grew up.

What does he say when confronted? “I forgot about her.”

Kimberly demands a trip to Chicago, to meet her mother-in-law and this “real wife.” Within a couple of weeks arrangements are made and everyone, Kimberly and Walter, their daughter, Elmer and Martha are on the way to resolve this issue. Walter and Elmer spend considerable time talking while they take turns driving. Kimberly and her mother sit in the back seat, playing with the baby. When they arrive, no time is wasted visiting Walters parents, he is taken directly to a lawyer and divorce papers drawn up.

Soon it was resolved. Walter would have no contact with his first daughter, she would not be told who her father was. Walter’s mother would be available if there was a need for contact. All military benefits and a substantial settlement would be paid, but no child support. As soon as the courts approved the divorce, Kimberly and Walter would marry again, and this time it would be legal.

Returning to California, most things turned back to normal, except now, Walter and  Elmer are friends. Walter joined the jujutsu/ Judo club and began his training. Along with physical training, Walter was introduced to Elmer’s views on women and their place in the world. These were strongly reinforced by the teachings of the club, where women were not allowed.

The post-war era of the 1950’s and early 60’s also contribute to the evolving belief by Walter that women belonged in the home, controlled, quiet and subservient to the men of the household, and the way to keep them there was through violence and sexual domination.

My brother was born when I was just 15 months old.

To Be Continued

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to let everyone know that I would love to receive peer feedback for any of my papers, or journal entries.

Obtaining a response from my usual reader, is not possible with the writings in this program. They are too personal and it upsets him greatly.

So, If you have time, even a few minutes, I would love to know-  Is what I wrote at all interesting?  Does it make sense? Flow?  Missing important information? Too much detail included? Any other suggestions?

I understand that my subject matter my be uncomfortable for some people, but I wonder if these stories are ones that are interesting and clear.  Are they worth writing?

Fine detailed proofreading is not needed. I know that there are some errors and will be correcting them. I’m more interested in your response to the writing.

Thank You

Cheryl Kokolani

It’s funny to be studying memory now.

I worked at a bar last summer. One night after we closed my co-workers and I were sitting at one of the tables, talking about nonsense. It was probably 3:30 in the morning. Somehow conversation turned to when people you know die. They were all relating stories to each other and I mentioned that nobody super close to me had ever died. “Knock on wood” I added, rapping on the table.

“Knock on fucking wood, dude” my co-worker said. He knocked too.

Two weeks later my very recent ex-boyfriend killed himself. The night he died is engraved upon my memory. I remember finding out. I remember calling my mom. I remember drinking pink wine while someone put on the first episode of Sons of Anarchy to distract me. I tried to hold it together but “Fools Rush In” by Elvis played and I ran into the bathroom and lost it.

I was afraid to go to sleep because I didn’t want to wake up in the morning and have this new knowledge flood me. I also thought I would be wandering through the world and be accosted by memories of our time together. Instead I found I couldn’t remember anything. I tried to summon memories of him.  They weren’t coming.

All I could summon was a memory of one of our first days together. It was the second time we met. We agreed to meet at a corner when we were both coming home from different parties. I remembered walking up the street and seeing him waiting for me on a corner of the neighborhood I grew up in, a lone figure illuminated under a streetlight. His back was turned, he didn’t know I was coming.

We spent years together and I never thought of this moment while he was alive. After he died, this was the only memory I could will to mind for a few weeks.

Memories are weird, yo.

“Perhaps they are inseparable from love; perhaps everything that formed a distinctive feature of our first love comes to attach itself to those that follow, by virtue of recollection, suggestion, habit , and, through the successive periods of our life, gives to its different aspects a general character.” ( (Proust, 562)

I think this passage is saying you either gain or lose from love and from either of these outcomes you bring what you have learned into your future relationship and it forms a general look/ character of the type of love you want/ are looking for in a lover/ relationship. I guess this coincides with my last journal entry, the aspect of learning from your mistakes to ensure your future.

This makes me wonder about the similarities between the narrator and the last volume we read “Swans Way.” A lot of people in seminar were saying that the narrator and Swan have the same obsessive personalities. Like on page 560, “…I failed to catch a glimpse of them, not knowing the cause of their absence I sought to discover whether it was something fixed and regular, if they were to be seen only every other day, or in certain kinds of weather, or if there were days on which they were not to be seen at all. I imagined myself already friends with them, and saying: ‘But you weren’t there the other day?” “Weren’t we? Oh no of course not; it was a Saturday. On Saturdays we don’t ever come because…’ If only it were simply a matter of knowing that on a black Saturday it was useless to torment oneself.” The narrator and Swann both like to create scenarios to freak themselves out and i find it quite amusing, yet its such torture for the character. I also  see other comparisons between the characters and it makes me wonder, if this aspect of learning from our past will follow through and give the narrator what he wants.

“For just as it is not the desire to become famous but the habit of being industrious that enables us to produce a finished work; so it is not the activity of the present moment but wise reflexions from the past that help us to safeguard the future.” (Proust, 538)

—-I think Proust is saying that, our passion for doing what we do is what drives us, not the fame for it. And the trials or tribulations of the journey into securing a life that we want is what we reflect and learn from, so we don’t make the same mistakes.

—-I think, could someone let me know if I’m on the right track with this thought?? lol

I consider Haruki Murakami my favorite author. Over the last 8 years I’ve read every book of his. Except one. I have a thing for cats and wells and pretty ears. One day in lecture I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes by him, from Kafka on the Shore: “The pure present is an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future. In truth, all sensation is already memory”.

When I was choosing classes this quarter I knew that I definitely wanted to take In Search of Lost Time. I assumed I was so drawn to it because of my interest in literature and history but as class goes on I’ve begun to suspect I’m way more into memory and perception than I thought I was. It’s one of the reasons I love Murakami’s work so much, too. I feel like the connection should’ve been obvious but I certainly didn’t figure it out for myself until very recently. I’m also discovering delightful parallels between Proust and Murakami.

The only book of his I haven’t read yet is 2011’s IQ84. Maybe I found the 984 page length daunting, or maybe the underwhelming reviews I heard from both my friends and actual, professional critics (though I tend to love many things that are poorly received by critics. Like Pootie Tang). Sitting alone at my favorite bar last weekend, thinking of all the non-required reading I’m looking forward to doing when I have more time, IQ84 came to mind. And out of nowhere I remembered that I’d heard, somewhere, that Proust was involved in this novel. Being impulsive, I ordered IQ84 from Amazon. It arrived the following Monday.

In the novel, it turns out, a female assassin goes into hiding and is given only the entirety of In Search of Lost Time to occupy her. Behold, this hilarious exchange I stumbled upon from IQ84, presented without context because I haven’t actually read the book yet:

“I think I have everything I need”

“How about books and videos and the like?”

“I can’t think of anything I particularly want.”

“How about Proust’s In Search of Lost Time? Tamaru asked. “If you’ve never read it this would be a good opportunity to read the whole thing.”

“Have you read it?”

“No, I’ve never been in jail, or had to hide out for a long time. Someone said that unless you’ve had those kinds of opportunities, you can’t read the whole of Proust.”

“Do you know anyone that has read the whole thing?”

“I’ve known some people that have spent a long period of time in jail, but none were the type to be interested in Proust.”

I think there’s some truth to this. Not that only criminals and assassins would read all of In Search of Lost Time but I also highly doubt that the average person can read all of In Search of Lost Time without some outside circumstance, like jail time, or a class at Evergreen. I’m a super nerd and I really doubt I would ever get this far in ISOL on my own. Now that I’m this immersed I’m pretty sure I’ll go back and read it in its entirety at some point in the near future.

It almost feels like we’re all in this weird, secret Proust club.

Now I kind of wonder if IQ84 was poorly reviewed because there’s Proustian tie-ins that book reviewers aren’t picking up on. I’m really suspecting that there are not many people in the world that have read the majority of In Search of Lost Time. I’m pretty sure Haruki Murakami has, though.

I’m looking forward to reading IQ84 and seeing how much Proust comes into the story. I feel like it will be a much richer experience after having studied In Search of Lost Time. I’ll let you know what I find out.

Jessie Nace

Journal Entry 2

The vivid description of the Hawthorne fields that the narrator gives us, almost puts the reader in the field. It reminded me of a trip I took when I was around 6-7-8. We went to their grandparent’s farm. They had raspberries, blueberry, strawberries, the smell of all of them were so delicious and it trapped itself in my mind that whenever I smell  homemade jam I am taken back to that summer in shorts, clothes on the line and my friend running free in the fields. What we hold in our memories from our childhood is amazing. Sometimes I can’t remember why I came into the kitchen, but I can truly remember the smell of those strawberries when I was 7 years old.

Jessie Nace

April 2, 2015

Journal Entry 1

While watching Boyhood so many emotions went through my body love, hate, anger, and forgiveness. I know what it’s like to be a young mother trying desperately to provide for her children. Unlike Olivia I did have my husband for support. However my husband and I were both young when my son was born, and learning how to discipline, give up bad habits and focus on what needed to be done was harder for my husband to do. This made our relationship stressful, and on many occasions in the first few years I thought about just calling it quits. I feel that I can relate to Olivia in many ways, struggling for many years to get her degree, being real with her kids, not sugar coating life. In the scene where Olivia gets home and Mason Senior is hanging out with the kids, and nothing has been done she gets upset. I have been there, coming home to nothing being done, when my husband had been home longer than me. Routine is so important and time sneaks up on us and by the time homework, chores, dinner, bath and bed for the kids is doing its ten o’clock at night and you yourself have homework. I  Sometimes in the past, I have felt alone, like I was doing it all by myself. I also feel that I think too much, like at night when go to bed my brain doesn’t stop. Do I have everything ready for tomorrow, did I lock the door, are the light all turned off. My husband goes to bed and fall asleep in five minutes. In the scene at the end where Mason Jr. is leaving, Olivia starts to cry, and thinking about the future. Her whole life has been her kid and they are all gone now. I haven’t had any kids leave the nest yet, my son is 21 so it’s not far away, but time has gone by so fast, and as I get older I am thinking more about when they were little. The movie Boyhood left me thinking about my future how fast my kids have grown up, I am sad and excited all at the same time.

Ever had so much to do, so many responsibilities that when put together, seem impossible to complete in any sense of good time? That’s where I am right now.

I look around my house and know so much needs to be done, from cleaning to repair for both aesthetic and safety sakes. The house is half painted, the fence needs repair, the back porch needs to have the railings installed, and the garage needs to be organized before the husband gets injured…

I also have the daily living tasks that need to be done, more than a whole day’s worth, the grocery shopping, filling the car with gas, cooking for the week- I don’t have time during the week to cook-, feeding the dog- oops- I forgot to buy dog food, so another store trip. Clean up after the dogs, wash the dogs, feed the chickens, feed the husband- eat with him, he won’t eat unless I sit with him, laundry, vacume the house… maybe take a shower at some point in the day, mow the lawns, cut down the weeds…

I also have to take care of the husband, he is home alone, mostly all week, ill and unable to do much of anything without support. On weekends, he needs company and his feet scrubbed and cared for, his bedding changed, attention given. He tries to help sometimes, he started to build feeders for the chickens- couldn’t finish- and so this is added to my task list- Now, before the parts are lost. He wanted a fish pond- I built it last week to his specifications- now he wants something different- Now. Many jobs or tasks are started with good intentions during the week, while I am at school, on the weekends, I get to finish them, and they have to be done Now: High Priority.

Then the demands of the rest of the family add to my responsibilities. A son needs help paying a bill,- oops- I haven’t paid mine yet- add it to the High priority list, Another child’s car breaks down- have to take time to go get him, pay for the tow and arrange to have the car fixed. One needs to talk, another needs a ride, another is short on food, and somehow, I am the answer.

Then I have homework, and assigned reading, and more homework. I could work around the clock and not finish what is due on Monday.

So what do I do first, and when? Ive been told “Make a list and prioritize, schedule your tasks, get organized, have them do it themselves.” All great strategies, all take time to implement. So, I have to ask myself, is it worth the time to make these lists? I don’t know yet, I’ve tried in the past and the list just gets longer and longer and the interruptions of daily life happen and not one thing gets accomplished on the “list”. But I work non-stop.

Today, my strategy is to just stop for a moment, and write this journal entry for class. (Homework Category) I am going to see if I can get this ONE item done.

So how does it go?

Up and started at 530 am- guilty for sleeping in an extra 15 min.

Start this journal entry

Stop- fix breakfast, sit at table while husband eats, get his meds, feed the chickens, and feed the dogs

Back to the Journal entry

Stop- the husbands computer won’t let him read his newspaper- Why?,   go through the computer and try to figure out what is wrong, discover that it is the newspaper site that is causing the problem, tell the husband he will have to wait

Back to the journal entry

Stop- he wants answers, wants to call the paper, write the paper about not being able to read what he paid for. Take time to show him the phone number and set up email contact.

Back to the Journal entry

Stop- The washer is empty, I must start laundry, Now. I start laundry and then realize that his bathroom is messy, take the time to clean it up.

Back to the Journal entry

Stop- the dogs are barking- Why? Call them in, Chase a chicken back into the pen before they eat her

Back to the Journal entry

Stop- funny noise from the laundry room- washer leaking all over the floor, clean up the mess, investigate the cause, take apart the washer and discover the pump is broken. Empty the washer and go to the store to buy another pump, install it, refill and re-start the load of laundry. The husbands car is gone, phone left on his desk, wonder what he is up to now?

Back to the Journal entry

Stop-Husband drives up, he went shopping, car needs to be unloaded, the groceries put away, lunch started, oops- have to wash the dishes from this morning, what’s for lunch? – discover that he only bought snacks, some he is not allowed, and now wants to go out for lunch. “OK, can I have 15 min to do homework before we go?” “OK”,

Back to the Journal entry

Stop: I need help getting my shoes on

Back to the Journal entry

Stop: you better get dressed better than that

Back to the Journal entry

Stop: “I’m Hungry, It’s been more than 15 min. Let’s go”

And so my day goes. By midnight my journal entry is finally complete.

What did I get done?

• I managed to get everyone fed
• The husband took his meds, I forgot mine
• I washed 2 loads of laundry, none were folded or put away
• I got dressed
• My list got a lot longer- I think that my strategy for tomorrow will change. Instead of trying to get just one thing done- Maybe I will just run away from home.

I have decided to write a memoir about my roommates grandmother, originally I was going to write an oral history on a local tribe, and then I was going to write a memoir about my dad and his life. But then it occurred to me that would involve talking to my dad for a long period of time and it sounded unpleasant. M roommates name is Katie, he grandmother grew up in south Korea and immigrated to the united states when she was in her early 30’s. She is extremely religious and used to sneak out of temple and run to the catholic church every Sunday. I found this particularly interesting and am excited to hear the full story on that. Her grandmother didn’t know any english when she first arrived and was very poor , her story is a classic among Asian american immigrants and I am beyond excited to transcribe it.