Vineha | India | 2010
I was born and raised in Bombay, India. I moved here in 2010 to pursue my Master's degree in Computer Science from North Carolina State University (NCSU). My husband, (then boyfriend), had just graduated from USC (University of Southern California) in LA.
After graduating in 2012, I moved to California for my first job and have lived here ever since. We got married in 2013 and now live in California with our 2 dogs! Back to THREADS
Nga | Vietnam | 1971
Nga met an American soldier in 1967 during the Vietnam war and fell in love. After a short courtship, they married and had three children.
In 1971, she left her mother and her siblings to start a life in Ohio with her new family. A decade later, she became a US citizen and was able to sponsor many of her family members into the United States as well. Back to THREADS
Nimi | India | 1979
Malayalam is my native language. The meaning of my name is ‘pure gold’. I like that my parents picked that name. I was born and bought up in Bombay. That was my home for 20 years. Then I got married in 1979 to Jacob Thomas. I came to Chicago where my husband’s family lived. I’ve lived in the States for 44 years. Twice as long as I lived in India. I have dual citizenship, own dual homes, in dual countries, on dual continents, with dual cultures. “Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet….” wrote Rudyard Kipling. I prove him wrong! The East and West have met in me.
Back to THREADS
Ann | South Korea | 1981
I was given up (presumably at birth). I was born in 1981 and came to the US on September 26, 1981. My parents drove to Kansas City where a social worker proclaimed "this one's a keeper”. I don't personally remember my journey but I remember the stories being told to me growing up. I came from Seoul, South Korea.
Back to THREADS
Diviane | DRC | 1994
I was adopted from a small orphanage in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the age of two. I was completely French-speaking, and became fluent in English in two months. I am now a happy Congolese-American middle schooler in a loving family. I love fashion, dance, and laughing with my friends. There are millions of children living as orphans in Congo due to the longstanding political unrest, which is so very sad.
Back to THREADS
Bruno | France | 1977
I grew up in France. When the draft notice came — I checked the wrong box — and didn’t inform the military I was going to college. So — the draft notice arrived instead. I served eighteen months. After the military I became a reporter for a newspaper. They sent me to NYC. I spent six years being a reporter. I opened a gallery in NY in 1983. All my friends in the East Village were artists, and I thought I could be a good representative for their work. I have owned a gallery in NYC and STL for forty-plus years.
Back to THREADS
Sangam | Nepal | 2016
I grew up in the eastern plains of Nepal among rice and mustard fields. My father was a village clinician who inspired me to serve others as a nurse. I joined the military as a first responder during the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. I was eager for change and encountered young love. I moved to Minnesota where I became a mother to two daughters and married a wonderful man. I continue to work as a nurse.
Back to THREADS
Evelina | Russia | 2006
My mother moved here first. She left me at three years old. I was raised by grandparents. I immigrated at twenty-two years old to America with nothing except a degree in design.
Back to THREADS
Vera | Czechoslovakia | 1968
After graduating from art high school I worked in Prague film studios. A surprise family visit by distant relatives from America connected me with my future husband who was French born naturalized American, of Slovak origin. All of this was against the backdrop of communist Czechoslovakia, prior to the Prague Spring of 1968 and raging Vietnam war.
After getting married, and waiting long months to get my visa, I emigrated to America. My first stop on my American journey was California. I learned English, got adjusted to a new culture, and had two young children. After a few years in California we moved to Minnesota where I attended college to become a French teacher. Then my life took another turn - divorce, the need to support myself, and coming out as a lesbian. I went to graduate school at the University of Minnesota and earned a doctorate in Comparative International Education. I graduated in my early fifties and worked in higher education until retirement. All along I was interested in art, and now I teach watercolor in community education senior programs, which brings great joy into my life. I am a proud grandmother of two teenage boys and happily married to my wife. Back to THREADS
R.J. | Ukraine/Russia | 1917
My grandfather was born in Kiev Ukraine. When they came over they were German Russians. Germans had been invited by the czar to come and settle and farm that region.
He settled in the panhandle of Oklahoma and farmed.
At the time World War II rolled around, RJ was a married man with a 14-year-old daughter. However, in that year his draft notice did come up because they were starting to enlist older men and married guys.
My grandfather was a plain-spoken man. Back to THREADS
Supriya | India | 1979
My parents came to the USA from Mumbai, India in 1979. I was 3 1/2 years old. We were leaving the beloved place where I saw both sets of grandparents every day. My great-grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins all lived around me. We moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Being so far from family and in a place with very cold winters was difficult at first. But my parents filled all those gaps in my life with their attention and care. They enthusiastically participated in all my school activities. They took me to many Indian cultural events—thereby instilling pride about my Indian heritage. They also taught me to learn and respect my new American heritage. It is in this world that I grew up and thrived. Back to THREADS
Sarah | South Africa | 2016
I am originally from South Africa. When I was 27 I moved to Taiwan. After living there a few years I met a very charming and charismatic man. We dated and traveled together while burning through my savings. Then he told me his mom was sick and we had to come to America to take care of her. When we got here in 2016, I started to realize that he had lied about her illness and who he really was. He became controlling and abusive. I had no money and no support system, but I managed to escape in the middle of the night with a few possessions. I slept on the floor of an acquaintance for a while. I saw a leather coat on sale at a thrift store and bought it for $2.50. It was a quarter of all the money I had. I made a purse and posted it on social media. It went viral, and someone bought it. Someone else ordered one too, and I made another. I used the money for more tools and materials and started my business. I now have a successful handmade business that allows me to help other women in the position I had been in. I am happy, healed, and living my best life with my wonderful new husband, my dog, and my evil kitty.
Back to THREADS
Debora | Austria | 2012
I always dreamed about the US since I was a little girl. I moved in 2012 to study music and theology. My journey led me to Nashville, TN to pursue more music. While living in Nashville, I got married, and my husband and I decided to stay in Nashville! I have loved living in this city. The rolling hills remind me of my hometown Eferding, Austria.Coming to the US allowed me to pursue and realize my dreams. I now work in the Christian Music Industry as well as real estate. Nashville is my home away from home. I am very thankful to be able to live and work here in the US. Back to THREADS