John Lee GERON 100 – Elderly Visit #2 J. L. is a Hmong-American woman living here in Clovis, California; she is a respect woman in her family. Upon arrival, I asked her to tell me about her life from when she was a child until the present day. Thus, the topic of discussion was about her childhood, growing up, and her current life now. Currently, J. L. is 91 years old, which makes her part of the oldest-old population, according to Hooyman and Kiyak (2011, p. 19). She came to the United States as an immigrant resulting from the Vietnam War. Her birthplace is somewhere in the mountainside of China. Back then, Hmong people did not emphasize time as we know it today; it was commonly referred to as “the rainy season,” “the harvest season,” or something similar. Growing up, J. L. lived mainly in the countryside. Thus, she received no education because of the lack of teachers and schools, as well as the fact that girls were not allowed to participate in school. Hooyman and Kiyak (2011), mentioned that the “older immigrant population is less likely to be educated” (p.60). The reasons for this stems from the result of schools being so far from home, boys were given priority to go to school, while the girls stays home and do chores. The childhood of J. L. was very different from childhood today. She said that family roles and responsibilities were very important back then. Everyone in the family had a specific role to play and had to do their duties accordingly throughout the day. When she was a child, she had to stay with her grandparents and help carry out light house chores, such as sweeping and cooking. Babysitting her young siblings was her duty when she was a teenager . Once they became adults, the duties were then dif... ... middle of paper ... ...s taking medications, so she could prevent further health problems. Currently, M. L. stated that the only problem she has is one of her feet hurting on and off. She is not stressed or worried about anything else, and her goal is to just live for the moment and enjoy every day of it. From this visit, I was able to learn many things about a Hmong elderly woman’s life and aging process. M. L. comes from a traditional culture that has set ways of tradition and familial obligations. Even though she does not have the education or money to hold her position, her culture allows her to have authority based on her age and wisdom that she carries. Currently, she lives the life that she has always dreamed of and has been on the road to successful aging for a while now. M. L. hopes to continue on this road, as she believes that it is one that works for her aging process.
The Latehomecommer by Kao Kalia Yang is a beautifully crafted memoir. Yang’s distinct prose style is captivating combined with her powerful narrative about the Hmong immigrant experience in America creates an unforgettable and insightful piece. She masterfully captures not only her story as an immigrant, but that of her whole family and to some extent the entire culture. Yang’s use of voice, particularly her use of a distinctly different more child-like voice when depicting her younger self, is a large contributing factor to what makes this memoir so unique and engaging. In The Latehomecomer, Yang captures the voice of herself as a child in a way that is so effective that it inspired me to go back through my memoir and attempt to do the same.
In their pursuit of assimilating and calling the US home, they had forged a new identity of Hmong Americans. (Yang, 203) Being Hmong American meant striving to move up the economic ladder and determining one’s own future. They understood that for them to realize their American dream and their “possibilities”, it could only be done so through “school”. (Yang, 139) Yang realized her dream by attaining a Master’s of Fine Arts from Columbia University and publishing books about the Hmong story.
I thought it would be an interesting idea to enlighten and inform people about the Lao Iu Mein and our process of immigrating to the U.S. as well as the challenges we have to overcome. I interviewed my parents, Lao Iu Mein refugees who immigrated to the United States from Thailand. Through this interview, I had a chance to hear for the first time the story of my parents' struggles and experiences as they journeyed to a place where they became "aliens" and how that place is now the place they call "home."
Born in 1894, Hee Kyung Lee grew up in Taegu, Korea. Although the details of her early life are not given, the reader can assume that she came from a decent middle class family because her parents had servants (Pai 2, 10). In the early 1900’s, Japan exercised immense control over Korea, which by 1910 was completely annexed. Her twenty-year-old sister and eighteen-year-old Lee were introduced to the picture bride system, an opportunity to escape the Japanese oppression (Pai 4). Unlike her older sister, Lee made the decision to immigrate to Hawaii in 1912 as a pictu...
Prior to World War II women were expected to be housewives by cleaning, cooking, and taking care of children. Women were discouraged to work outside of the home and often judged by the rest of society. Bobbie Ann Mason gives great examples of the duties expected by women of the time period and her grandmother is a perfect model of domesticity. At one point Mason talk about a conversation between her grandmother and mom. Mason’s mom, Christy, decides to go back to work, but her grandmother disapproves and says she should be home taking care of her girls (Mason, 116). Christy on the other hand is an example of the modern woman. A woman willing to go to work outside of the home to help support her family when needed. Christy gets a job at a clothing company. Mason says that many women were leaving the farm and taking work in factories (Mason, 83). During and after World War II many women began to work outside of the home changing the idea of what it meant to be a women and the duties that accompanied.
“The Pastoralization of Housework” by Jeanne Boydston is a publication that demonstrates women’s roles during the antebellum period. Women during this period began to embrace housework and believed their responsibilities were to maintain the home, and produce contented and healthy families. As things progressed, housework no longer held monetary value, and as a result, womanhood slowly shifted from worker to nurturer. The roles that women once held in the household were slowly diminishing as the economy became more industrialized. Despite the discomfort of men, when women realized they could find decent employment, still maintain their household and have extra income, women began exploring their option.
Abigail came from one of the most educated and prosperous families, but she never went to school or even had a tutor like most other families. Instead, her mother taught her to sew and cook as well as do house chores. Abigail learned much social grace and etiquette from her mother and grandmother. Mr. Kem Sawyer stated, “ Abigail would inherit her grandmother’s lively, cheerful disposition…”. She read any and every book available to her. Her father taught her that respecting God was VERY important. Abigail even kn...
Throughout the book she has interviewed different women and nannies talking about their experience when it comes to the balance of family and work life. In addition, the book shows that nannies don’t try to replace the mother; however, they are just trying to be the best in order to provide for them and their families. Since, many of the nannies are either young, foreign, immigrants, or even old, they all come from different backgrounds. MacDonald taught the understanding of this powerful concept of family about how being a working mother does not really change that much in the family atmosphere. The concept of “family” can be defined as many things from blood relatives to close friends. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, a family is defined as “two or more persons who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption and who live together, as one household” (Newman and Grauerholz, 2002, p. 7). A Family can mean many things for individuals; however, the roles of the individuals in the family, such as the mother and father sometimes cannot be simply defined. MacDonald started with the Chapter on “Childcare on Trial”, which was a story about Deborah Eappen, a wife and
This source provided the unique perspective of what was thought to be the perfect household, with a man who worked and a wife who cooked and cleaned. However, it also showed how a woman could also do what a man can do, and in some cases they could do it even better. This work is appropriate to use in this essay because it shows how men talked down to their wives as if they were children. This work shows the gradual progression of woman equality and how a woman is able to make her own decisions without her husband’s input.
She grew up with her mom, dad, and thirteen siblings on a farm and enjoyed it very much. Laura and her sisters helped her mother with tend to the house. Her mother worked from home doing chores for other people and the interviewee continued on saying “That’s all married women could do.” Laura stated how there weren’t a lot of jobs for women to begin with. Most of the jobs available for women went to those who were widows or single so it was normal for married women to work from home. The women working from home not only did laundry and iron for other families for income but they also were babysitting the children of people working outside of their home. Her father never did any of the household chores, and was never asked to help with them either. He did all of the work that needed to be done outside such as farming, cleaning the barn, cutting grass, etc.. Her brothers also helped the father complete these tasks. The work they did included milking the cows and goats, cleaning out the barn, tending to the chickens by cleaning their chicken coops and gathering eggs. They then walked to the nearest store to sell their items. “Each of us had our own set of chores we had to do daily or we didn’t eat supper,” the Laura explained. “We had to dust, sweep, cook, do laundry, make beds, wash the dishes, anything to keep the house
Today, single Hmong women in their mid-twenties are living on their own, sometimes in different cities, earning their own income, and making decisions independent of both their parents and clans. However, in a community where marriage defines the moment an individual becomes an adult, these successes still have not allowed them to be treated or perceived as adults by the family and clan. Furthermore, in a culture where a woman’s role continues to be defined by the dominant male in her life – either her father or her husband – the independence of Hmong women in their mid-twenties has led to a displacement of traditional roles.
Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,
During her extended travels, Mrs. White kept in close communication with her children through letters. These letters, written in context of a missionary and as a parent, conveyed her constant care for and guidance of her children. In a letter to her at the time teenage son, Edison, Mrs. White admonishes him for wearin...
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.
Family as known in the 1800’s denoted a relationship of dependency on the head of the household states Najeeb (2012). The positions of women working in the factories became a necessity. Not only did the financial necessity become evident but the feminine need became important in textile type factories, but also in child care, domestic and laundry care. Children, especially daughters, were also important in the economic recourse for working class families and were put to work as young as ages 10-14 years to contribute to family income. In the middle-class families, children and wives usually did not work. It was not financially necessary for them to work. The children went to school and the women were the chief organizer around the home they resided in. The middle and upper-class wives delegated the jobs of the working class employees within their homes. (Abdul Najeeb, (12th December