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Good morning. It is 10:15am on Friday, October the 22nd, 2021. I am here on behalf of the Houston Asian American Archive.

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Today I'm interviewing Ms. Luzviminda Pendon on a video call. Thank you, Ms. Pendon, for joining us for the oral history collection.

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My pleasure. All right, let's get started. So, can you tell us where and when you were born? I was born in Orani, Bataan. That's in the Philippines.

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And I was born on January 26, 1942, right in the beginning of the World War II in the Philippines. Can you tell us the story behind your name? Okay, my name.

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My parents named me Luzviminda, and Luzviminda stands for the three big division of the Philippines and the Philippine Islands: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. So, the first syllable, it's a division of the

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Philippines. So Luzviminda became sort of a common name there. Because we were under the Japanese time and war suppression in the Philippines, my parents felt patriotic, and named me for Luzviminda.

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And which, by the way, I was born in the mountains, because we were running away from the Japanese. Because immediately after the bombing of the Pearl Harbor, in December of 1941, they invaded the

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Philippines. And Bataan is close to Manila, they invaded Manila first and then went to Bataan. And so the townsfolk, all the people in the town, were running up in the mountains.

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And as third—so I was born in the mountain. Was that like, seeking refugee? During— Yeah, we were—yeah, we were—the whole family and siblings were all—my mother already had two

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children then, I was number three of 10 kids. So, she was pregnant with me and we were all running with all the other relatives, we were taking shelter because the Japanese were going to town and burning the town, so we were

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running up to the mountains, and of course my—was, you know, already—my mom was, you know, went into labor in January and I was born. No hospital—it’s just there's some relatives that know

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how to deliver babies and with the help of, you know, others—so, it's kind of historical the way I was born, not in the hospital setting, but up in the mountain, and I survived.

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So, God put me here for a purpose. So how would you describe the household you grew up in? Household, in the—when I was growing up, I said, because I was born during the war.

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So yeah, just from the stories, of course, it was hard, the hard times, because there were—as the story goes, as I heard it from my parents, as they were running from one place to the other, there'll be somebody, you know,

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other relatives on the watch out. If Japanese would—they’ll form a—they would stop in there, they'll make a makeshift hut, yeah, just shelter for us in the evening.

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And then when they would know the Japanese would be coming again, they'll dismantle the nipa hut and then go to other places. So we were just constantly on the run. And that's from the stories, and it must have been a hard times, until, you know, we

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got liberated, until the war was over in 1945. So, in my early, yeah, 2-3 years, I don't remember much. But yes, from the stories I heard from my parents, you know,

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it was hard just going from place to place until it got settled, and we went back to town when—and soon build a house in town again. Yeah. And you returned to the town that you were born in?

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Yeah, that town at the—that's the same, you know, Orani, Bataan in the Philippines. And yeah, I grew up—I was there until—well you asked about growing up. So I was just there until I was five years old.

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And then at five, I went to Manila. And as the story goes, it’s like, I think when I was five my parents were saying I was kind of

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losing weight, no appetite and all that. And they wanted to take me—my father took me to Manila, where my—I have a grandaunt and that's in Manila and is a faculty member of the Philippine Women's University.

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They said they’ll take me to Manila so we can, you know, go to the doctor and see the pediatrician, and check you out, because we were about like, three or four hours drive from the province where I was born to–to the city.

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But as soon as I got to the Philippine Women's University where she was, my grandaunt was residing, I kind of fell in love with the place and I’d like to stay there, so I asked her if I could just stay there.

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So, my growing up is I grew up mostly at the, in the city, the Philippine Women's University, where my grandmother was–was teaching, and–and from—and I just was an intern.

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Yeah, like boarding, yeah, it's a boarding school kind of thing. Yeah. It was part of my growing up. Most of my growing up is from five years old on, to

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high school and freshman in college. I was in the Philippine Women’s University with my grandmother. It's really a—really a grandaunt. Yes.

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During that time, did you often go back to visit your parents? Yeah, I would go on–on the summer, on—when—summer breaks and just in the summertime. So, I grew up

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there and I went to school there, so it's a prestigious university. And—but the summer times, the two months vacation that we have on the summer, I've always looked forward to, you know, going back to the town, to the

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parents, it's a small country town. And so, it's kind of living a kind of double life. My life is different when I'm in the university, in Manila, in the city, then versus being in the

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province on the summertime, but I've always looked forward to, you know, being here with—staying with my parents during those, you know, two months of summer vacation when I’m out of school.

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And the way I got—there was also, yeah, the way I got to that university. Yeah, as I said, I was five, and then I said I wanted to stay there, so my grandaunt asked me, “Well, if you go to the university president and ask her permission to be

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staying in the university, if she allows you to stay, I'll let you stay.” So that’s it, I went to the president of the university and asked, “I like it here, may I stay here?” so I was the youngest of all in there.

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It's kind of, you know, it's a boarding school. I was the youngest one to stay there. The first two years there, they set up a bed in the teachers room where all the other faculty members were staying, and

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then on my third grade, they transferred me to the other dorm where all the other–the other older kids, yeah, were staying. So that's—I grew up in a different world, going back to the country with simple living, and then living in

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the university with, you know, the big buildings and yeah, and all of the facilities of the university, so that's the—my growing up years. Would you describe that as a traditional way of learning in the Philippines?

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Not really, you know. It was—the–the–the university where I went is kind of, you know, like I said, a boarding school. The, you know, usually rich people's

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kids would, you know, be—bo-board in there, you know, from the different parts of the Philippines. They want their kids to go to the city, and then mostly

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also relatives of faculty members, you know, were my–my friends that were living in the dormitory with–with us. So, while you were growing up, what were your parents’ occupations?

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Yeah, they were—they stayed in the province. My father was sort of a businessman dealing with the, you know, fish pond owners. You know, seafoods.

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Yeah. And he was kind of like the distributor. He would go to the market early in the morning, all the fishes that were caught, he would sell back to business women that will take it to other markets in other parts of the Philippines.

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So, he did that, yeah, just—and they had rice fields to tend, you know, just about fishing and farming were both the predominant occupation in the province where my parents

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were. And my mother was a housewife but she did her part in helping out with the family, she would be cooking like delicacies to sell, and she had a little store in the house, that she managed, so that’s how

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they were living. So, what were some of the values that your parents and your great aunt emphasized in your upbringing? Okay, well, it's always, you know, I—just from their example, I

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know they all are work–work hard to make a living and make it–make it comfortable for us. And, you know, they’re very devoted to the family values.

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They told us, you know, we went to church, and get good Catholic family background. And they just saw that—yeah, my grandaunt is a professor and teach us to just

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be the best that you can be. And growing up, I always–I always remember her telling me, “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.” So the value of hard work is in there,

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and to really focus on that, and then being the best that you can be. And then dream on, and you can be whatever you want to be. Great, that's wonderful.

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Transitioning into sort of your nursing schooling. So, what college did you attend for nursing? Well, as I said, I was in Philippine Women’s U for the longest

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time, but then it is—my grandaunt and I, was all the way to freshman in college already at the Philippine Women's U, and we had sort of a serious conversation: “What do you really want to do for a living?” And then she was,

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at the time, she was hearing about all this opportunity to go abroad if you're in the medical field. So, at first, I wanted to be a lawyer, but I did an aptitude test: no that's not it.

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So, my freshman year we were in a freshman division class. We're doing all the liberal arts education, but I was focusing on education. I said, "Well, maybe I'll be a teacher.” Then we had the conversation,

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"Do you really want to be a teacher? Or do you want to get to healthcare field?" So, I said, "Well, I guess healthcare because since I love people, would fit my personality,” but at that time, they were not offering nursing

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at—where—in my school at the Philippine Women's University. So we shopped around for another college and I moved to St. Paul College of Manila. This is close by, and I

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started my nursing, because they just started a nursing division right there. And so, I took the entrance exam and then I got in their nursing program. We were the first group to have the Bachelor of Science in Nursing in, you

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know, it's a five year program at the St. Paul College of Manila, so—and it was a blessing because I became more serious in my studies when I was in college. Because I had all the good time that I had, you know, growing up

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with the same group of people throughout my elementary and high school years. It was—once I got exposed to taking care of patients, I loved nursing and graduated from St. Paul College of Manila in 1963.

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And I was proud to say that my grandaunt and my parents are all proud of me because I did graduate. I graduated cum laude, on the

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top of the class. I graduated with I think with three medals: one for clinical efficiency and then one for leadership skills. So yeah, graduated with three medals with my, you know, my Bachelor of Science in

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Nursing. And immediately after that, well my—I was offered scholarship to go to a master's program in nursing, so I never did work after this my clinical in

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the Philippines. I did work, I went directly to the University of the Philippines, got a scholarship because of my undergraduate plus the school where I graduated from, St. Paul's College Manila,

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wanted—was grooming me to be a faculty in that school. So the dean gave me some money to scholarship, to go to master’s. So, I went on to the University of Philippines in—yeah, just immediately after graduation, you know,

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registered for work on my Master's in–in nursing, in the University of the Philippines. So never did do work in the Philippines. When did you

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decide—when did you decide that you wanted to do nursing as a practice and not just teaching? Yeah, when I—what has happened is because I didn't work at all in the Philippines, and I had this

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opportunity, you know, well, it is—my–my—well, I already had a job waiting for me to be a clinical instructor at my school. And then my best friend in nursing also had a job already.

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We were just one afternoon just walking around. Yeah, starting around by the boulevard by beach in Manila. And we saw a sign in a window that says,

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"Do you want to go to America?" So we said, “Oh, just for curiosity, let's go in and find that out.” So we went in, it happened to be a travel agency. So, we went in and said, "What is this all about?" Said, "Oh, well, you know,

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the medical centers in the United States are recruiting nurses. They're short on nurses in the Philippines—short of nurses in the US. They're recruiting nurses,” and said, “Do you all—,” you know,

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they encouraged us to go ahead and fill up the application. So out of curiosity, let's go just fill up the application, see what happen. So, it's me and my best friend, and we just left the application form with him.

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And then in—within a week, we got a call. And they were ready to interview us. He says, “Report to this—a Methodist Church.” Because this was a Methodist Hospital here in the Medical Center

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in Houston that was recruiting nurses. So report to this Methodist Church minister at—for an interview. So I said, “Okay, let's go!” So we did an interview.

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And then the Reverend Mosley, I think was his name, he was, you know, we felt comfortable talking to him. He was, you know, he was impressed with our background, even I said, “I don't have any clinical

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experience yet. I've just been in school,” but that's fine. And then my friend too. They were both–they were both—he was both impressed with our credentials.

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So they accepted us, said I will—“You'll hear from us soon.” And then I said, well, so we did. And then—and our parents didn't know that we were doing this, and we said, “Well, maybe it's about time to tell them what we've been up to, that we've applied

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thinking—to get accepted.” So we did, went home and told them that, you know, we've applied for this. And then we finally got a call and said,

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you know, “Get ready to leave.” And, you know, and we get the acceptance letter from the Methodist Hospital. So, the biggest hurdle for me then was telling the dean, Mother Madeline, that sent me to the University of the

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Philippines, that gave me the scholarship, to tell her that, "Sorry, I want to go to America first." But I—she was, you know, when I—and my grandaunt said, "You better go talk to her face to face.” So, I went into the St.

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Paul College of Manila and talked to her, and I said I have this opportunity. And I said I can probably—I'm sure I'll be a better teacher if I have some clinical experience. And this is just two years anyway, so I'll be back, and I'll be

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back. But at the same time, I did—my grandaunt said, you know, return the money so you're not obligated. So gave me money to return the money that the university gave me. So, I was kind of free.

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But she understood. She said, "Okay, I just wish you luck.” And then in fact, she wrote one of the reference letter for me to this hospital. So that's–that's how I got to the States under the exchange

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visitors program. So it seemed like earlier, your mom sort of nudged you into nursing as a way to get to the US. Was that your intention when you started nursing?

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Or started studying nursing? Mhm, that's right. Yeah, because back then, there's a lot of—they were recruiting nurses and there were a lot

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of people in the medical field, and when we got to, in 1964, we got to—most of the people in the medical center, you know, from the Philippines, we were a small group of probably 200 or more,

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mostly around the medical field that are doctors and nurses being recruited. But that was an exchange, we were on the program called exchange visitors program and our visa was just for two years.

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So, after two years, your term—completed the program, you either have—or the State Department would give visa to us. The stay is just two years, so either, you know, go to Canada, and some of the nurses from the Philippines went to Canada

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and, you know, got application there, or go home. And after two years, under the exchange program because that’s all the visa would allow. But—and I—the reason I got the stay is I met–I

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met my husband. And he came to the state as a student to go to school at Texas A&M at about same time as I did, about—earlier, in ‘64 also.

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We met and then we decided to get married. I was able to stay, and there—the student visa, you know, under him kind of thing. So that's–that's how I got to stay. How old were you when you first came to the US?

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I was 22. Yeah, so we are—back then the educational system in the Philippines, we went to—the elementary was one to six, and then you're already in high school from seven to 10—that's already

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high school. So, you know you're like 16 years old. You're already in college. So yeah, by 22 I already had my master's in nursing.

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So yeah, I was 22. 22 and single, coming halfway around the globe to work at the Medical Center. And I was happy I did,

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mhm. So, you mentioned that you had a friend that you applied to the program with, were there any other family or other friends that also moved with you? No, in fact, you know, she was the only—we were the only two that knew each other.

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They were recruiting in groups. So, there was 12 of us that got accepted, but I mean, we didn't know the rest of the team and we all just met in the airport. And then of course we bonded, you know, up there.

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Yeah, we're all going to the same place and we're all, mostly all nurses, so we all bonded. Plus, we were about the second group that came to Texas, so there were already Filipino nurses in the medical center, and that was a big

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help because they were the ones that met us at the airport, and the older ones were already about to leave because their two years is up. So they made accommodations, they arranged, you know, where we're going to stay in the apartments,

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who's going to room with whom, and you know, they furnished us with the bedsheets and pots and pans, you know, to get started, and they’re leaving. So that, you know, that was a plus for us because there were already

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Filipino nurses here. Yeah, meeting us in the airport and getting us all settled and acclimated, and we kind of bonded, yeah, very well. And we were a close knit group.

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Yeah, because we all knew each other because there was like this—just over 200 Filipinos, they're all concentrated in the medical center. We all had the same, you know, most of us lived in the same, you know, at the Park Towers Apartment, it’s a high rise

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apartment, so yeah. And some of those, you know, rental and duplexes, they were all renting, you know, and, you know, we didn't need car, it was right around the

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medical center. We just walked to the medical center. So did that group of the Filipino community help you acclimate to living in the US? Or help combat homesickness in any way?

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They sure did, yeah. Because we were always, you know, supporting each other. That's the other thing too, that that probably, here—and it's, of course very

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worthwhile mentioning is, Methodist Hospital provided us with good orientation, acclimation to the States. Plus, they also, with—in conjunction with the Rice University in fact,

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the Institute of International Education way back then, which is, you know, under the Rice University, they had, I guess they recruited young couples in the Houston area to serve like—well they gave us an afternoon tea, so they

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invited these couples to come to Methodist Hospital and they paired us one to one. Like, I met—they kind of gave us like a foster parents kind of thing, but the idea is just for the aft—in an

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afternoon tea to show you around Houston, and then the couple—and I guess another of God's plan for me, I met this couple. Their name is Mr. and

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Mrs. Rufus Pribble, they're young couple, they had just one–one daughter who is already married and out of the house. So they were by themselves, they came and they were there, and I was the one, they were assigned to me

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and I was assigned to them, that kind of thing and so we sort of, you know, we just met for that afternoon, but then we bonded. They drove me around Houston, and they took me to their house, and there was that immediate

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bonding. And then they said, "Can we see you some more?" I said, “Sure!” And then since then, they became—they are very, very close to me. They became, you know, I call them Tutu and Gramps. That's how their grandchildren will call them.

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Tutu is Hawaiian, I think, for “grandma,” and then Gramps, you know—but that's how even their daughter calls them, because that's how the grandchildren, you know, calls them: Tutu and Gramps.

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And they were very nice to me, and they would visit me when I'm off or when I'm, you know, on weekends off I'll stay with them at their house. They had me invite my friends to their house, so they treated me just like their own daughter.

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And when I started dating, I introduced them to Greg, they checked out Greg. They really acted like my parents through the years up to, you know, when I got married, you know, took care of our wedding.

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And because my parents were in the Philippines and we got married, they couldn't come here, I didn't have any relatives here. We got—decided to get married in Houston. So Gramps was the one that took me down the aisle

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and, you know, to get our wedding, and even the traditional rehearsal dinner was supposed to be the groom's side, and they also took care of all that. And then up to—well now they've passed, but they acted—when I started having children, they acted as,

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you know, grandparents for my kids and they would come to—we moved to College Station already, or we moved to Freeport, they would come to Parents Day, you know, Grandparents Day for my children’s school.

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And, you know, went to graduations and birthdays and it's just like a real—they adopted me. And I adopted them. And yeah, they’ve now passed, but that

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relationship continued. My sister—foster American sister is still alive, and they're now their children and grandchildren, my grandchildren, that we're all still considered family. So, even to this day, we know we still

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have close contact with them kind of thing, this—the young, the younger generation, because they both have passed away already. So that was one of the help too, that I got acclimated to the

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American culture. Because my very first Christmas, they invited me and they asked, they said I could take my best friend with me. We went to her daughter's place which is

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in Hamilton, Texas. And that's, yeah, and that–that's where I saw how, you know, Americans celebrated Christmas. So that was a big help for me in transitioning to the US life.

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Because I was fortunate enough to have an American parents too. I guess I've never did— sorry. Oh, you're fine.

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That was wonderful to hear. During this time, did you experience any major cultural shocks? Anything that was surprising? Yeah, I guess.

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I guess what I can think of, I didn't know much about segregation, didn't hear so much about that. And that was the 60s. So, at Methodist, our experience, and we would just kind of laugh

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about it. It’s like the cafeteria, the basement, it says “For blacks only.” And then the cafeteria—this is at Methodist Hospital in 1964,

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the cafeteria on the second—on the main floor is for whites only. And then you know, nobody told us in orientation where the Filipinos belong. We didn't know, but—so we went to both places, and nobody told us not

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to. Just wherever the food was better, we would be. So, but yeah, it's kind of weird. And we didn't pay much attention to the segregation that was going on because we—they love the

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Filipino nurses. So, we get along with the blacks, we get along with the whites, and we all had good working relationship with our supervisors who are mostly, you know, white American supervisors and coworkers.

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So yeah, that was kind of a strange thing. And then what else can I remember? Oh, some of the little things like, we didn't have—a little kind of funny story

00:30:39.290 - 00:30:54.390

with my grandchildren also enjoys hearing about is, on the first few weeks, we were out taking care of patients. My patient called and I went in there. And then she said she wants Dr.

00:30:54.390 - 00:31:05.010

Pepper. So, well, there's no Dr. Pepper in here. So I went–I went—immediately I was thinking Dr. Pepper is a physician. So, I went to the nurse's station

00:31:05.010 - 00:31:15.690

and pick up the telephone, you know, was going to page to Dr. Pepper! Everybody was laughing, they said Dr. Pepper was a drink. I didn't know, we didn't have Dr.

00:31:15.690 - 00:31:26.390

Pepper in the Philippines, so that was kind of funny story. Yeah, that’s these kind of things. And yeah, even like, well, foodwise we didn't have broccoli. I said, "What is this

00:31:26.410 - 00:31:38.410

green thing?" So, yeah, that kind of thing. So those are, yeah. But yeah. We just kind of laugh about it. Funny anecdotes.

00:31:41.470 - 00:32:01.790

But mostly we got along with coworkers within the—I personally did not feel any, you know, much of being ostracized, because we're different. Thank you. That was great.

00:32:03.240 - 00:32:18.420

I would like to hear more about the challenges that you faced in your immigration process. I know that you were able to extend your visa once you married. Can you elaborate more on that?

00:32:19.070 - 00:32:33.310

Yeah, I got married, I was staying under my husband's—it was J-1. So, I was J-2 extending. So, staying under the visa. We said the original plan was after his PhD we would go back to

00:32:33.310 - 00:32:44.470

the Philippines. But then martial law. Our president declared martial law. There's a lot of political turmoils in the Philippines, in our—then my in-laws

00:32:44.470 - 00:33:00.790

visited us and told us, you know, you're safer here. So, we started the process of applying for the immigration. So, we applied and then, you know, sent in our papers, and we just went on to work and kept focusing on our

00:33:01.940 - 00:33:18.290

career. But the process was–was long yeah. And we—then we got a call that we were going to—in the early 70s, I already had three kids then, that we were going to–to the

00:33:19.290 - 00:33:31.850

to the immigration office, and we got summoned, and then the judge was there. And then they told us that we were overstaying, that we were deportable. And so that was a shock, because—so

00:33:33.510 - 00:33:50.310

then—but we can–we can again appeal the decision because in the three—that we've overstayed our—so again, we are—by then we started here hiring an immigration lawyer and did all the

00:33:50.360 - 00:34:07.690

paperwork again, and all those—we went on with life and went on with our careers and work, and yeah, having children, and—but we never heard from them. We still didn't have the green card that they were saying.

00:34:08.940 - 00:34:22.440

So, it was a long process. And then finally we got called in the office again and an inspector told us we were deportable because we overs—we were working illegally. I said “How can we work illegally?” Every time they asked for

00:34:22.440 - 00:34:36.130

papers and proof of our work, our bosses would write them letters and papers and all that, that we were legally working. So, this went on for forever.

00:34:37.670 - 00:34:55.860

And then finally, I guess our file got lost somewhere. It was not until the 90s, yeah, when we were granted. Well, we were granted the green card, supposedly green card, and then had to wait

00:34:55.860 - 00:35:11.190

another five years to get the citizenship. So, the citizenship didn't come until 1993 or so. But all this time, you know, we paid our taxes because we were both working, so that kind of thing,

00:35:11.190 - 00:35:30.080

but it was just kind of a long process of getting through the hurdles of immigration and then losing our–our files got lost, and got into this or somewhere, that they resurface and until our attorney kept

00:35:31.530 - 00:35:50.210

asking them, so. But yeah, so it was all worth the wait. And you said during that entire process that you had an attorney? Yeah, we—yeah, an attorney, yeah.

00:35:50.210 - 00:36:03.180

An immigration lawyer. Attorney Williamson, that is specialized in immigration, that kind of thing, yeah. Got an attorney to help us really hurdle all this

00:36:03.400 - 00:36:19.210

paperwork and interviews and all that kind of thing. Were they able to help with that lost file in any way? Yeah, they—yeah, he was able, you know, he pursued and

00:36:19.950 - 00:36:32.510

pursued and pursued them. And then finally, when they found out that is real, because by then I had all this approval, but we were in a waiting kind of thing approval.

00:36:32.510 - 00:36:48.550

Yeah. This complicated immigration process, but we were just waiting, so—but they finally got it done. And then as soon as we got the green card and you just wait for five years, you know, because we immediately applied for

00:36:48.550 - 00:37:09.540

US citizenship. One of the things that you mentioned in your file is that your children—you didn't want to be deported because your children had been so ingrained in US culture.

00:37:09.620 - 00:37:22.910

Can you elaborate on that? Yeah. Because you know, one of the–one of the things that your defense of wanting to stay here is would it–would it produce difficulty on, you know, extreme difficulty on the

00:37:22.910 - 00:37:33.550

family. And I said, yes, because my kids were already born here. They were studying here and they're acclimated to the US already, so one of the things

00:37:33.550 - 00:37:48.810

that I had to write about and to explain to the court is it will be difficult for us to, you know—if we’re deported, of course, we'll take them with us. But at the point we were thinking it is difficult for them to get adjusted to the

00:37:48.810 - 00:38:03.540

Philippines because they were all born here, they have their friends here and there. And the living conditions back home were not as good then because of martial law, and then standard of education was

00:38:04.740 - 00:38:17.560

substandard, so—but they were already used to going to school here and they're doing well in the school here. So that's one of the differences, that is it will produce difficulty on the kids, and then I

00:38:17.640 - 00:38:33.900

had all the supporting documents too. My employer were helping me, they were calling senators and congressmen and had all the supporting letters. I even made it the point that I wrote a letter to President Reagan, who was

00:38:33.920 - 00:38:53.110

president then, explaining a case kind of thing. But that was some of our defense. Because I wanted them to have their life here, because as I saw it—because I grew up in the Philippines, I knew it will be

00:38:53.280 - 00:39:04.010

difficult for them. I want them to have all the opportunities of living in America so we tried really hard to get settled here and raise our children here.

00:39:06.210 - 00:39:23.360

Yeah. Were your children aware of the ongoing challenges you faced with the immigration experience? Yeah, they were aware because they took—we took them to court with us, you know, because—wherever we

00:39:23.450 - 00:39:37.630

were going. When there was a hearing, we took them and then they knew I was writing letters, you know, they're, you know, "What is that?" I said, “Well, just writing letters to make sure,” and I would show them the letters that

00:39:38.090 - 00:40:03.830

my boss, and copies of letters to the senators that my boss made. So they–they were aware, but they also knew that we were trying our best to get them here. Since getting your citizenship, have you gone back to the Philippines?

00:40:04.310 - 00:40:19.860

Yeah! We have the—because it’s easier to travel having the US passport. So we've been—prior to pandemic, we were going home every—at least every two years or so. But the very, very first time that we went home to the

00:40:19.920 - 00:40:32.850

Philippines was like—we never did until 25 years later, then after, when we get the citizenship, then we're, you know, we had to travel back and forth, and we've been visiting family. Of course when my parents died, you know,

00:40:32.940 - 00:40:47.910

we went home for the funeral of my mom and my dad, and my in-laws same kind of thing, we did—we took everybody home and we did a 50th wedding anniversary of my in-laws, so they get to go to the Philippines, the

00:40:47.910 - 00:41:06.710

kids, yeah. How strange was it going back to the Philippines after being away for so long during that first visit? Yeah, it's kind of an adjustment.

00:41:06.710 - 00:41:21.560

We've had the—you saw—we saw the progress, yeah. Philippines made some progress too. But, you know, I kept in touch with the friends that I grew up with from grade school on to college, so I get in touch with them and they would meet me, we would get

00:41:21.560 - 00:41:34.660

together. And in fact to this day, those childhood friends of mine, you know, we're all in our nearly 80s and we are still keeping in touch, and with the pandemic we would Zoom.

00:41:36.210 - 00:41:50.140

So, I kept in touch with them. And then I had the last trip, we had took three older grandchildren. And I showed them where we grew up, both places, and I showed them the school where I grew

00:41:50.140 - 00:42:07.830

up. And both–both Philippines Women’s U and St. Paul's College. So, they saw where we grew up, and in both provinces, my husband's place and my place, you know, we showed them, so, and they like going there, my

00:42:07.830 - 00:42:24.740

children. Oh, I'm sure they like the food there. Yeah, they, well they've acclimated—they like food. They like Filipino—in fact, you know, when we have get together here, they still want us to have, you know, Filipino food.

00:42:25.260 - 00:42:45.250

They like that. And we give them parties for their birthdays and graduations, they will request Filipino food. So, transitioning from your immigration

00:42:45.250 - 00:42:55.880

story back to your career. What were you passionate about with your career in Houston? Okay, yeah, career in Houston, right?

00:42:55.880 - 00:43:09.890

Yeah. The first two years of my career at Methodist, I loved my work, I loved taking care of patients. I was there primarily in intensive care unit,

00:43:10.320 - 00:43:21.560

cardiovascular, because the claim to fame there, back there, is Dr. DeBakey. Michael DeBakey, who became heart surgeon, was working at the Methodist Hospital.

00:43:21.560 - 00:43:31.420

So I liked learning about cardiovascular. And then when we got married, I had to move to College Station, because that's where my husband was going to school at Texas A&M.

00:43:31.980 - 00:43:47.700

So, I work at St. Joseph's Hospital there. The orientation for the day shift for a while, and then I was working evening shift, and my first day of work as evening shift,

00:43:47.700 - 00:44:02.330

it said “S” in my assignment. I said—so I went to the director of nurses who's a nun, I said, "what does S mean?" She said, “Supervisor.” So, supervisor, the supervisor, I work as supervisor, and

00:44:02.330 - 00:44:14.010

then I work as clinical instructor for the students that are affiliating at St. Joseph's Hospital for their LPN program. So, I also have a good relationship with, you know, the

00:44:14.060 - 00:44:23.600

doctors and administration in the College Station, St. Joseph's Hospital. Then I had to move back.

00:44:24.020 - 00:44:36.940

We were having kids by then. I moved, again, an economic decision. Because my husband was going for a PhD, I was kind of putting him through school. It is

00:44:38.540 - 00:44:56.280

just very low, I think it's $200 a month stipend in graduate school or something. So, I was working I said, “Oh, I get better salary if I go back to Houston.” So I went back to Houston, and he was kind of commuting, you know, staying with us on the weekends, sometimes he’d—midweek to visit us, but by then, I already had three

00:44:56.280 - 00:45:10.360

children. And so I worked back—then this time I went to St. Luke's Hospital in Houston, with another famous doctor there, it’s Dr. Cooley. So—and I

00:45:10.430 - 00:45:26.020

applied as a nurse educator in St. Luke's. And I was interviewing, the director of nurses said, "No you can’t do that. Yeah, you can't do that." I say, well—and then I also at the same time had an

00:45:26.020 - 00:45:38.130

acceptance at Methodist as staff nurse. But then I decided to go to St. Luke's because it was a challenge when they said no, I cannot be a nurse educator. I said I want to be a nurse educator, because I'm going back to teaching!

00:45:39.010 - 00:45:52.950

So, at the end, and then within a week with this, I was working with–with LVNs, and you know, and nursing assistants, they would hear I was—how I was giving instruction to my coworkers.

00:45:54.220 - 00:46:08.340

So, the Director of Education said, "I want her in my department." So, within three days, I got my job that I wanted as a nurse educator, and I stayed in St. Luke's for another three years doing orientation for new employees, that

00:46:08.390 - 00:46:25.530

kind of thing in nursing, you know, education. And then when my husband got the job at Dow Chemical Company, we moved to Freeport. And then there's, you

00:46:25.850 - 00:46:40.590

know, I worked for the Community Hospital at Brazosport, now Brazosport Memorial Hospital. We continued to work in there 27 years. I was director of education.

00:46:41.660 - 00:46:55.760

Well, first I was under nursing and then the CEO of the hospital said, "Well, nursing should not only have the education." So he asked me to create an education department, hospital wide.

00:46:55.760 - 00:47:07.320

So, I did the hospital wide education so I could orient all the other departments, not just the nursing side. I had—I reported directly to the CEO.

00:47:08.040 - 00:47:22.170

And then, yeah, I had other departments under me and did quality improvement, that kind of thing. So, 27 years at Brazosport Memorial, so that was a good experience

00:47:23.550 - 00:47:38.210

for me and very supportive. I went on and did a lot of studying on my own and continuing education, and got certification for quality improvement, those–those types of things.

00:47:38.210 - 00:47:53.370

So I miss the bedside nursing, got away from that and got to hospital administration, but 27 years, and also gave me—a hospital gave me an opportunity, part of my job, to be involved in the community.

00:47:53.370 - 00:48:10.420

And that's where I got more passionate being of service to the community, and doing, you know, health fairs, career fairs, you know, for the community, inviting kids to hospital tours, and I was part of the hospital

00:48:11.630 - 00:48:25.580

representative to community agencies, like the county emergency planning kind of thing. And, you know, Chamber of Commerce, that kind of—so I just got more and more involved in the community.

00:48:26.180 - 00:48:38.120

And when I retired, some of the projects that I started when I was still being paid at the hospital, I just continued doing as a volunteer, so as a full-time volunteer.

00:48:38.120 - 00:48:53.310

So, the things that I’ve started when I was at hospital, just continued doing in the community. My passion was, you know, being of service to the community. Because I got a lot of blessing in my

00:48:53.400 - 00:49:10.590

life, so it was a way of giving back to the community. Thank you. That was amazing. Did you think when you started nursing that there would be so much teaching involved?

00:49:13.140 - 00:49:28.850

No, thought I would do bedside nursing. And well, teaching too, teaching one on one to the patients. But I was–I was pleased that my career led me to being able to share what

00:49:29.580 - 00:49:53.110

I'm passionate about, my knowledge and skills to other nurses and other members of the community, members of the hospital staff. Specifically with your community interactions, what organizations

00:49:53.110 - 00:50:05.670

were you involved with? Okay, well right now very much involved with the Rotary International. Yeah, Rotary is a service organization, way back then, founded in

00:50:05.790 - 00:50:18.900

1905 or so in Chicago, just by a group of professional people wanting to be of service to the community. And I became involved in–in our area, which is

00:50:19.410 - 00:50:30.470

south of Houston, in the Brazosport community. I was—originally, this is an old men's club kind of thing. From the beginning, they really

00:50:30.470 - 00:50:47.130

didn't start admitting women to the Rotary Club until, like in 1989 somewhere. I'm among the first women in the community that was a member of our Brazosport Rotary Club.

00:50:48.130 - 00:51:02.560

So—but it is a good organization to be in, because we do service projects for the community, and not just the community, but international. Like our Stellar

00:51:02.560 - 00:51:16.320

Project is the immu—the eradication of polio, to be only the second disease to be eradicated in the face of the earth. And right now, there's only two countries in the world.

00:51:16.420 - 00:51:27.540

It's a–it’s a worldwide organization. There's only two countries in the world that still have polio cases. And then this year, here to date, it’s just Afghanistan and

00:51:27.540 - 00:51:44.260

Pakistan has polio case, one each for this 2021. So, we're—soon, hopefully, can eradicate polio. So I'm very much involved in polio eradication, and now the service projects

00:51:45.430 - 00:51:59.980

that we do for the community, Brazosport Rotary Club, the community projects. And just for clarification, you're still involved with this group?

00:52:00.670 - 00:52:12.720

Yeah, I'm still, mhm. Yeah, I got started when I'm still working and still at it, and I'm still a member of the board. And I'm active also in the district.

00:52:13.810 - 00:52:27.100

The district level, we're district 5890, just about 60 clubs in the Houston and surrounding area. About 617 square miles that, you know, that we're part of the district 5890.

00:52:27.530 - 00:52:39.330

So I'm chairing the annual fund drive for–for the district here. We always try to raise fund to

00:52:41.940 - 00:52:55.340

do all these community projects in the world. The donations to the Rotary foundation helps the whole world. Now it’s near 1.2 million members in

00:52:55.340 - 00:53:10.110

202 countries, you know, and there's Rotary Clubs, so I feel comfortable going anywhere in the world. And we've done a lot of traveling, and say, "I'm a Rotarian." And I can go to any meeting anywhere around the world, to go to

00:53:10.460 - 00:53:32.790

a Rotary meeting, because there's–there's a weekly meeting of the Rotary Club, we generally meet every week. Has your community involvement changed with the pandemic? Yeah, our face to face, they mainly—we went on with our

00:53:32.790 - 00:53:45.830

projects that we could do, but our—in the pandemic, we were doing Zoom meeting, because we're obligated to meet every—we were doing meetings on Zoom. And then we transition to hybrid.

00:53:45.830 - 00:53:59.670

And then now we’re–we’re—since August, we started face to face meeting again. But people that still don't feel comfortable, they are allowed to Zoom. So we're still, you know,

00:53:59.900 - 00:54:16.980

continue with the projects that we do. That's great. Thank you for sharing. I do want to ask, while your husband was going to school for his PhD,

00:54:17.970 - 00:54:32.050

you were in Houston, raising your children while also working full time. Can you explain how you handled that? Yeah, this is a juggling time, we had help of babysitters

00:54:33.450 - 00:54:47.920

and daycares and that kind. When we were the one in Houston, I would take them real early to babysit, and I was fortunate enough that the daycare that they went to,

00:54:48.280 - 00:55:01.530

the Montessori school, I think it’s still in existence here, the University Drive, they knew that I had to be in the hospital at seven o'clock. So, I would take the kids there by 6:30.

00:55:01.780 - 00:55:13.410

The owner of the school was still in their jammies, he or she will just open for my kids. Leave the kids there until, you know, the school open, the Montessori School open.

00:55:13.410 - 00:55:29.070

So, a lot of help in there, and then I'll pick them up and then, you know, we just, we managed doing that for several years until, you know, we all got together and he found the real job.

00:55:29.070 - 00:55:43.880

Because by services —when he got through with his PhD, jobs for engineers were very hard to find at that time. He found the real job and the opportunity to work in Freeport, so we all got—had to get in and move to Freeport area.

00:55:45.020 - 00:56:08.580

And then now we live in West Columbia, which is—for years, close to years, it’s south of Houston. Do you have any advice for younger generation Asian American women trying to lead a successful career

00:56:09.500 - 00:56:25.750

while also raising a family in today's environment? Yeah, yes, just hang on to that dream and just kind of work hard, and things will work out. Just hard, hard

00:56:25.750 - 00:56:42.970

work pays , and that organizations skill too, and time management skill, to be able to raise the family and then go to work and still have time for—and but family is important, though, for family and not just work, work, work.

00:56:43.060 - 00:57:02.030

But I have time for family and–and that's what we tried to do, and be a part of what they do in school, and keep up with what's going on with the kids and raising a family. Just working hard.

00:57:05.270 - 00:57:15.670

Okay, I think that's a nice segue into our next chat about your family. So, you touched briefly on how you met your husband.

00:57:16.920 - 00:57:34.820

Oh, okay. I did come in 1964. He also came earlier even than that, he came to go to school at A&M. He has a sister that all—that was in Houston, who just came before me.

00:57:35.530 - 00:57:53.190

So, we—through mutual friends, met his sister. So, on the weekends, these Ag—these Aggies would—then it was–it was okay to hitchhike. So, they would, this, there's—the Filipino community in

00:57:54.310 - 00:58:09.360

A&M were mostly graduate students. They were mostly sent by Rockefeller Scholarship kind of thing. They're mostly in agricultural, because A&M is a good

00:58:09.360 - 00:58:19.760

agricultural mechanical school. They're, you know, from the University of the Philippines, in fact. They were all mostly scholars, and they're –they’re—so some of them were single, some had family members.

00:58:20.080 - 00:58:35.950

So, the single guys would just line up. They want to go to Houston on the weekends, they would line up in Highway Six and thumbs up. And then hitch a ride and people at the time, in the 60s, they were—people were very gracious,

00:58:35.950 - 00:58:47.640

they'll have a sign where they want to go, they go to Austin and Dallas, San Antonio, wherever they want to go, and people will come by and give them a ride. So, then he comes to Houston because his sister is

00:58:47.640 - 00:59:05.300

also working at the Medical Center in Houston. So, when he came to the sister's apartment, his sister doesn't live with me, apartment, there was a note: “Go to this—to our apartment.” Because his sister happened to be a good friend

00:59:06.380 - 00:59:17.510

of one of our roommates. That was the one that accepted us in their apartment, they were ready to leave. So, I was–I was in my apartment by myself.

00:59:17.510 - 00:59:32.490

Everybody was working mostly 3 to 11 shift. But I was—it was my afternoon off so I was by myself in the apartment, and then there was a knock in the door, and I opened the door, and it was him, it was him, and he said he was looking

00:59:32.850 - 00:59:47.880

for my roommate, but—who also happened to be also at working. "Well, what’s this?" He said, "Well my sister sent me here because she's working, she told me to just hang out here until, you know, until off duty." And I said,

00:59:48.110 - 01:00:04.530

"Well, your sister’s friend is also working, so—but you have no place to go, you're welcome to come in!” So, yeah, that's how we met, and we just kind of introduce each other and get to know what he's up to at

01:00:04.610 - 01:00:20.270

A&M, and then so he was there in the evening so I was forced to feed him dinner in the apartment. But that's–that’s how we met, he's kind of knocking on the door, and I saw this gentleman coming in with

01:00:20.270 - 01:00:35.920

nice smile, and he was wholesome to talk to, and we get to talking and telling me all his dreams and goals and why he's going for his master's, and he wants to be a PhD in chemical —yeah very, very impressive.

01:00:35.920 - 01:00:46.870

Yes, he’s a very goal oriented gentleman, so I was kind of impressed. So that-that's how we met. And then a few more weekends, he'd

01:00:46.870 - 01:01:01.840

come and visit me, so the rest is history. We got married before my two years was up for the visa, and then I get, yeah, I moved to College Station.

01:01:03.800 - 01:01:22.420

And then we had children, four kids. Would you like to share a little bit about your children and like your early years of marriage? Oh, okay.

01:01:23.330 - 01:01:36.580

Oh, several children—we were still, we were still in College Station. He was in school, I was working. And we shared responsibility, because, you know, I was putting him in through school.

01:01:36.580 - 01:01:55.160

So I was—when we had the first child, Gina, the oldest one, I would—he would go to school early and do all his work in school. And then I was working till 11, so he came home before I had to go to work and comes home at 2:30, so he would

01:01:55.240 - 01:02:11.000

take over the babysitting job, so we put the kids to sleep and then we only had one car, so he will haul these kids in the middle of the night at 11pm to pick me up to go back home, and then this sort of our routine.

01:02:11.290 - 01:02:26.020

I took care of the kids during the daytime when I was there, and then when I had to work, he comes–he comes home to stay with the kids, and then if he had something else to do, he could go back to the office at midnight at A&M, and a

01:02:26.020 - 01:02:39.750

graduate student, always something to do. So, he, you know, he would go and finish up. So, just kind of help each other out until they're big enough to go to, you know, babysitter,

01:02:39.750 - 01:02:50.410

daycare, preschool, that—yeah. And we just adjusted their schedule according to the needs of the children. Yeah, we had three kids while we were at College

01:02:50.920 - 01:03:13.790

Station area, and then we were already in Freeport when we had kid number four. So I kept working until kid number four got through with college, and then said, “Oh, I'm done." So I retired at 57, when kid number four

01:03:14.080 - 01:03:30.920

got through with college. Wow, that's amazing. Thinking of your relationship, what advice would you give a young person such as your children or your grandchildren? Okay, same thing.

01:03:31.870 - 01:03:50.810

You know, work hard, be of service to others, see a sort of, you know, service is also the—I heard that once, and it stuck to my mind: “Service is the price you pay for the space that you occupy.” So you are kind of obligated to, you know, just be true to yourself, have a

01:03:50.840 - 01:04:05.230

dream, you know, keep working hard. And my grandmother tells me all the time, “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.” And I—my greatest pride is

01:04:05.230 - 01:04:20.810

having–having been able to have raised these four kids. And then had the privilege of helping out with the eight grandchildren that we have, and had a very close

01:04:21.220 - 01:04:34.890

relationship with all of them. And I knew this from my own experience, how to juggle work and also—and when my oldest daughter, Gina, was

01:04:34.890 - 01:04:48.730

having kids, so I would take her kids, my grandkids, from her during when she's having some more babies, I'll take them, and they'll come to me, they will stay at preschool, then go to what—they call me Lola. Lola is

01:04:48.730 - 01:05:02.020

grandma. So, they'll come, they'll say, “It's time to go to Lola school,” so they'll stay with me for, you know, months and months, and they would call, they would call it the Lola school. Yeah, they grew up, yeah, they're

01:05:02.260 - 01:05:16.790

always looking forward to going to Lola school! That’s how the grandchildren, we had—was very close to them, every opportunity that I—we can help take care of them, you know, from when they were infant, we

01:05:16.790 - 01:05:30.040

would go—my son had kids, they were in Denver, we would go there, they were in San Antonio, you know, wherever they needed us. And then Gina was in—her firstborn, her first two kids were

01:05:30.040 - 01:05:44.190

in Belgium, they were in Belgium! So we went to Belgium, we’re just gonna help out. So, I saw all these kids growing up, and that's kind of my pride and joy in life, is able to say I raised

01:05:45.090 - 01:05:58.780

four kids, they turned out all right. Now I got these grandchildren, they're turning out really good, too. That’s—if they ask me about accomplishment, that's the first thing in my mind, is the

01:06:03.210 - 01:06:19.190

family. It was obvious that family is really important to you. What values or life skills were important for you to teach your children? Yeah, the values that I grew up with, I had the

01:06:19.330 - 01:06:37.910

best—I think I had the best of both worlds, that I was able to see, you know, what the American values, but continue on with the Philippine values of respecting the elders, and helping out, the family's important, religion is important, you

01:06:37.910 - 01:06:51.750

doings things together, you have open communication. And, you know, just—I think in the Lola School, they always—they memorize Behavior Influences Behavior.

01:06:53.060 - 01:07:09.060

Just stay positive, and when you’re positive, somebody is being negative, you have—somebody has to be positive to get the cycle going, kind of thing. So those kinds of

01:07:10.100 - 01:07:24.160

teaching them to just be Christian, yes, love one another. And do unto others as you want others to do unto you, kind of thing, and I

01:07:24.440 - 01:07:37.500

think they're living that good life. Do you mind sharing more about your spirituality since you said that religion was important in teaching your children to be good Christians?

01:07:38.750 - 01:07:52.940

Yeah, well, religion is important as well. Well, the Philippines is a Catholic country. I guess from this influence of the Spanish there, the Spaniards were in the

01:07:52.940 - 01:08:05.940

Philippines for over 300 years. So, we kind of just inherited their religion. And it's mostly Catholic, and I grew up having religion as part of the classroom curriculum. And then I went to St.

01:08:05.940 - 01:08:20.520

Paul's College of Manila with the nuns and the religion. And even in my work life, St. Joseph's Hospital was run by nuns. So then–then, you know, so,

01:08:20.520 - 01:08:33.350

religion is important to me and to our whole family, and I tried to be involved in the church, too. When they were growing up, my husband and I were

01:08:33.530 - 01:08:48.290

the sponsors of the Catholic youth organization. So, we took other kids in the youth group of the church, and we enjoyed doing that, taking them to conventions and having retreats with them, and having special classes for them.

01:08:48.370 - 01:09:07.080

So, we were active in the church to serve in parish council, we are serving in the ministries, the different ministries of the church, and to this time, you know, we still are very active in the church and trying to help out any way we

01:09:07.080 - 01:09:28.510

can. Because it's important to us and we wanted to show good example to our kids, and so that they can also do the same thing, you know, for their kids. And then, how did you expose your children to Filipino

01:09:29.150 - 01:09:46.640

culture or language while living in the US? Okay, they—I'm kind of proud of them because they—I think they are proud to have that culture. Access—living in the best of both worlds.

01:09:47.270 - 01:10:04.300

And in fact, my oldest granddaughter, she went to university up north and she became a member of a Filipino Association. Yeah, Filipino American Association over there, and she was

01:10:04.300 - 01:10:18.910

learning the Filipino dances, and she was learning the Filipino culture even in that school. So she's, you know, learning more. And we will always, you know, gravitate.

01:10:18.910 - 01:10:34.470

The Filipino community where we live is a small community, but we–but we knew each other, and we were friends, and, you know, sharing birthday parties and social events with other Filipinos as they were growing up,

01:10:34.470 - 01:10:50.980

and we were, you know, in the Freeport area, so they were exposed. But in school, they were the only Filipinos, but—so we shared with others that are in the other communities to get that culture, and we did—I think way back

01:10:51.230 - 01:11:08.500

in 70s, we did in the Brazosport area, we did—chaired a Philippine Day. Yeah, just in the museum, in—we had samples of food and cultural dances and that kind of thing

01:11:08.600 - 01:11:19.720

for the community, because we're proud to say, you know, this is the Filipino community. And we invited as many as we can that we know, to share the experience

01:11:19.720 - 01:11:34.260

with American friends, yeah, we did a Filipino day in the Brazosport art center. And they always ask—your grandchildren always ask about, “How did you do this? How did you do that?" They want—they like stories,

01:11:34.880 - 01:11:54.290

hearing stories about the Philippines, and they like traveling so they’ve been, at least went to—four of the grandchildren have been to the Philippines. Going back to a point that you mentioned earlier about visiting the Philippines, how

01:11:54.290 - 01:12:08.760

important was it to show your grandchildren where you grew up and that type of culture? Yeah, it was just my pride and joy to show them around.

01:12:09.120 - 01:12:24.980

And I had arranged with my own, my–my classmates, my—there, the people that I grew up with, to meet us and show us around. Yeah, in fact, one—in one

01:12:24.980 - 01:12:36.510

of our visit there, my university, the Philippine Women’s University, because we're all now, you know, old people and they're now in the–in the Boards of the University, the alumni association in there.

01:12:37.640 - 01:12:53.590

In one of my visits, they took advantage, they wanted me to speak about—be the guest speaker, so I took the kids and visit my university, I said, "I'll take the speaking engagement, if you will give

01:12:53.590 - 01:13:11.710

us a tour." So, so we went there, you know, they gave us a tour of the university, because it has grown, and then–and then I also wanted them to see my nursing school, so we went to the other university too, and made an arrangement to tour, so that they

01:13:11.710 - 01:13:23.500

saw where we grew up, and I showed them, you know, we went to my hometown, so they also saw where we grew up, and then my husband's hometown, too. So you can see.

01:13:23.870 - 01:13:40.600

They like going to resorts also there in the Philippines, because they’re at a beach. But they enjoy, yeah, and then they like the fruits, that, you know, the mango in the Philippines. And it's important for

01:13:40.600 - 01:14:01.610

me that they understand where we came from. And they, I guess, better appreciation of why you have to work hard to get to where you are. I know that your grandchildren call you Lolo and Lola.

01:14:03.470 - 01:14:19.200

Did you share any more of the language with them? And they know how to say “I love you,” they know. And they know how to say “thank you.” And then now, I regret not teaching them any more, but I would give them, when we go to the

01:14:19.240 - 01:14:34.530

Philippines, I'll give—I gave them a cheat sheet of the most common words, ones that they have to learn to be able to get there. Of course, they appreciate, people appreciate the “thank you” and “please,” and showing them some of the traditions

01:14:35.970 - 01:14:51.110

in the Philippines, getting blessed, like, you know, when we always say “bless you.” They have their—yeah. We grew up, we go to visit an older person, you ask for their blessing and they bless you, put the kind of your hand

01:14:51.110 - 01:15:05.820

over the forehead, kind of thing like that, and we call that mano po. I taught them. I taught them how to do that, so when there's some Filipinos in the area, they will—as a blessing, then they will get the blessing. So those little things, yeah.

01:15:06.870 - 01:15:23.990

But they're interested, yeah, they’re, yeah. And I think they're proud of their culture, that they're, you know, that they have this heritage, and they talk about it in—with their friends and, you know,

01:15:24.600 - 01:15:40.300

some of them, they look—some of them look so American and blond, but they say, “Yeah, I'm really Filipino!” Like the three older girls, that we—one time, we took them on a cruise, and the—in the cruise boat, most of the

01:15:40.590 - 01:15:53.280

staff, the people that are working there and the servers around the station, there's a lot of Filipinos in there. And there were, there were teenagers there, they will be—they'll go to the bar, they will be ignored.

01:15:53.720 - 01:16:09.090

But then they started talking, Maya, my granddaughter, started counting in Tagalog, in the Filipino language, so they were surprised, oh, they said, “Yeah, we're really Filipinos. You see my Lolo and Lola over there." And then she's then

01:16:09.410 - 01:16:30.240

in every time they see them coming, drinks, their cokes are already ready for them. So I think they’re proud to say that they're Filipinos. Alright, so we're just about wrapping up, I've got a couple of last minute

01:16:30.240 - 01:16:47.170

questions. So, what are your hopes for the Asian American and the Filipino communities in the US? Okay, well, I want them to be recognized for all their skills and talents because they do have lots of skills and

01:16:47.170 - 01:16:57.140

talents in their art. As a general rule, they're hard workers, the Asian community is hard workers. And in fact, I

01:16:57.300 - 01:17:14.500

feel proud when all these, you know, during graduations, you see these graduation programs and the newspaper, the valedictorians, from the surnames, you can see that there are Asians. I guess, because they are studying hard,

01:17:14.500 - 01:17:30.590

this is still a part of the culture that the parents tell their children. So I want them to continue with their dreams and prove to the world that they're–they're very

01:17:30.890 - 01:17:44.010

talented, skilled people. And I’ve met a lot of professionals in various occupations, even those in service organizations, they are very hardworking people.

01:17:45.260 - 01:17:56.850

They just keep on, you know, and sometimes it's hard because we are in—this is not our country, but they just have to keep on trying to prove themselves.

01:18:01.520 - 01:18:14.300

Okay. Okay, I'm going to wrap it up there. Thank you so much on behalf of the Houston Asian American Archive. It's been a true pleasure.

01:18:17.570 - 01:18:23.400

Pleasure talking to you too Jessica, thank you very much for the privilege.