Hello, my name is Maria.

I’m from Matamoros, Mexico. I was born on August 14, 1968. I lived in a house with my mom, dad, three brothers, and two sisters. I got married in Texas in 1993 to Alfonso. Now I have three children.

I was studying to be a teacher in Mexico. I want to be a teacher in the U.S. When I arrived in Minnesota I started to teach children in my church. Right now I have 8 years in Minnesota.

Always I loved children. When I was 11 and came back from school I put my backpack in my house and went to my neighbors to play with a little girl. Then when my nephews were born I took care of them because I was single.

My name is Sofia.

My country is Honduras. It is in Central America. It is next to Nicaragua, Guatemala and Salvador. It is very hot. It has mountains and rivers. I lived next to the Toca River. The river is very big and beautiful. I went swimming and fishing in the river. I lived with my mother, father, brother, nephew and grandmother. Now I live in Chaska. I have three daughters and my husband. I have a job. I go to English class too.

My name is Hung.

I was born in Vietnam I live in a small city. I have big family. Nine members are in my family. I grew up in Nha-Trang. I was happy in my city but I needed to move to USA because in my country had no jobs. In November 2001 I came to USA with my sister but I have a problem because I don’t speak English. I can’t move until I get my drivers license. Now I’m happy because I have my driver license and I’m learning English. I think USA has nice jobs and all.

No Pony for Pammy.

When I was five years old, I wanted a pony (a young horse) more than anything! My grandfather had a farm with many animals, but no horses or ponies. I begged my parents for a pony. Finally, they promised I could get one and keep it at my grandfather’s farm. I had many cousins who could ride the pony, too. I waited and waited, but my parents just said I would get my pony “someday.”

One weekend, when my family was at my grandfather’s farm, I visited all the animals. I played with the puppies and kitties, chased the chickens, and fed a baby lamb with a baby bottle. But I still wasn’t happy because I didn’t have a pony to ride. While looking at the pigs in the corral, I got an idea. “Maybe I could ride a big pig,” I thought. So I jumped off the fence and opened the big gate. All of a sudden, the pigs started to run out of the pen! I jumped out of the way. They frightened me because they were so huge! Some of the pigs weighed almost 600 pounds! I was lucky I wasn’t killed.

My parents and grandfather heard all the noise and ran to the corral. They were very angry, but also relieved I wasn’t hurt. The pigs ran all over the countryside. It took my grandfather two weeks to find all his pigs. I never got my own little pony, but I did learn to rides horses when I was older. I still love to ride horses whenever I can.

My name is Omar.

I was born in Mexico. The city is Orizaba, Veracruz . God give me a beautiful family. My father’s name is Raul, my mother’s name is Martha, and my brother’s name is Alfredo. I am happy with my family. I grew up in Orizaba with my friends. We liked to play soccer every afternoon on the street. Some days we liked to go to camping or hunting with my best friends. This is my history about my friends but I miss my parents. They are the best parents because every Sunday we go together to church and after the church we go to a restaurant to eat. So now my life has changed because I’m in another country. I am learning English with a nice and sweet teacher. I love my teacher because she always helps me and I am learning because she is to smart. God bless my teacher and her family. I am working hard in the school because I have a wish to some day go back to Mexico and teach English in a school and help people to learn English. But now I need time to learn more and time for work and to come to school. I live in Chanhassen with my brother. We are happy here because we have jobs and this is my history here in Minnesota. But some day I will go back to Mexico to be with my family and my friends and my country. I love my country but I’m learning to love this country because this country give me many opportunities.

Hello my name is Viviana.

I want to tell you about my dog Skippy. He is a Chihuahua. He is 7 months old. I’m from Mexico. I was born in Morelos, Cuernavaca. in 1982. I am 21 years old. I live in Chanhassen with my family. I’m single. I’m working at McDonald’s. I came to Minnesota two years ago.. I go to adult English classes. I am learning to read write and speak (ingles) English because I want to get a better job. I have a very nice teacher.

My name is Fadumo Adan.

I am from Somalia. I was born in Mogadishu in 1963. In Somalia I lived in a house with my mother, father, 3 brothers, and 4 sisters. In 1979 I got married to my husband. We have 7 children, 3 daughters and 4 sons. Five of my children were born in Somalia and 2 were born in Kenya.

In 1991 fighting started in my country so I moved to Kenya for nine months. Once the fighting stopped I went back until 1995. From Kenya I came here to America, in 2001. I came to America in February 2001. I moved to Minneapolis, then to Chaska. A story that I thought would be a good one to share, happened when I was 14 years old. I went outside to play, far from home. Then a lion started to chase me down, and he scratched me in the leg. I didn’t go and play there anymore.

Hello my name is Oraphan

I am married now so my last name is different. I am from Nakonrachasima, Thailand. I was born March 20, 1976. I have 3 brothers and 4 sisters. I lived with my mom and dad in a house. We had a dog named Pam, a cat and chickens. My family and some of the neighbors had chickens because we couldn’t afford a lot of food. In Nakonrachasima there were lots of gardens, trees and people. I remember crying because I wanted to go with my mother to work. My job in Thailand was to plant the garden. I planted; corn, peanuts, papaya, bananas, onions and a lot of other vegetables. I moved to Minnesota three months ago, I live in Chanhassen with my husband William. We’ve been married for a month. I enjoy living in Minnesota.

Hello my name is Nora.

I’m from Guatemala, I was born in May 1999. In Guatemala I lived with my mom, one brother, and three sisters. In Guatemala my job was Secretary in a food company. Guatemala has a lot of volcanoes, mountains, forests, and jungles. In the forest live monkeys snakes turtles many animals. Guatemala has a lot of lakes, beaches and the ocean. In Guatemala the summer is April to September. Winter is October to March. Guatemala City has big buildings, malls , a zoo, a big pool a lot play like at Valley Fair, and theaters. In the ocean are seals, dolphins, cat fish and different fish. Some of the volcanoes have fire, some have water. Many Indian people live in Guatemala. The native ancient city is Coba. Many people from the United States visit Guatemala to see Coba. Now I live in Minnesota with my family.

Hello, my name is Jesus.

This letter is for my father is in Mexico. I want him to come to visit me in the United States. My father is in Mexico but he doesn’t work. He has a farm. He plants 1000 sq. meters of corn. Every year he has some cactus plants. He takes care of his plants because they are used to make the tequila. The plant needs 5 years to grow and later some city people buy them for the factory. They squeeze and cook the plants and they make the tequila. My father lives in little town in Mexico. He has two donkeys and three dogs. He likes to visit my brothers in other cities. When my father visits family he gives them some cheeses and some fruits like mangos pitayas, ciruelas and other kind of fruits. All this fruit comes from the little town where my father lives.

Hello my name is Narunut.

I am from Thailand. I miss my country very much and my family. I have two older brothers, a younger brother and sister. I worked on the farm with my brother and sister. We had cows, chickens, ducks and two dogs. The weather was warm and the sun was out most of the day. Around my house there were trees and it was flat.

I married my husband in Thailand. I’ve been married for 10 years. I have two kids, my son is 9 years old, and my daughter is 4 years old. I live in Chaska, I have a job in Chanhassen. I am a machine operator. I have no animals in my house here. Someday I would like my family to come to America and visit me. I would like to retire in Thailand when I’m older.

My name is Phong.

I was very lucky. The year was 1982 and I was 7 years old. My mother worked in the fields every day. I went to the fields with my mother. My mother worked and I played soccer. My mother looked up from her work and saw my ball drop in the water. The water took the ball away and a big wind came. The ball went too far. I tried to follow it, but I fell in the water. I cannot swim. The water was higher than me. I shout, Help me mom, I shout many times. My mom does not hear me. I hold the tree. My head goes under the water and then out. I shout again. My mom heard me. My mom came to pick me up. I drank water, maybe 2 or 3 cups.

Hello my name is Santos.

I am from Guerrero, Mexico. I was born in November 1, 1981. In Mexico I lived in a house with my mom and dad, four brothers and two sisters. I had a dog. His name was Pascual. In Mexico my job was to paint doors, walls and houses. I have two nieces and one nephew. In Guerrero there were a lot of cars, trees, no tall buildings and a lot of people. I played soccer. I was the goalkeeper. I have played soccer for twelve years. I liked going to school and learning, I didn’t get to play soccer at school.

I lived in Chicago for 9 months and then moved Chanhassen with my brother. I work at Don Pablo’s in Eden Prairie I’ve worked there for a year. I like living in Minnesota. I don’t like the winter though.