{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/086348h44w/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Memories of Migration Episode 10: Terminals"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2019-08-12 (released)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Natalie Milbrodt (Host)","Frank Fortino (Interviewee)","Alfredo Cornejo (Interviewee)","Solange Baptiste (Interviewee)","Thara Madathody (Interviewee)","Tony O’Reilly (Interviewee)","Luna Ranjit (Interviewee)","Stephanie Fortino-Gonzalez (Interviewer)","Gonzalo Passano (Interviewer)","Ying Zhou (Interviewer)","Nusaiba Ally (Interviewer)","Eileen Sprague (Interviewer)","Pat McCluskey (Interviewer)","Meera Nair (Interviewer)","Adriene Lara (Producer)","Elias Ravin (Composer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis is the Queens Memory Podcast, a selection of personal histories from the borough of Queens in New York City. Our first season collects stories of migration. In the tenth and last episode of this Queens Memory Podcast season on migration, we turn to the topic of terminals — where we’ve arrived and where our stories go from there.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFROM THE ARCHIVES: Storytellers whose oral histories we feature in this episode, with links to full interviews and timecode outlines\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/vital/access/manager/Repository/aql:22093\"\u003eFrank Fortino\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Stephanie Fortino-Gonzalez (2017)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/tb0xp6vf3g\"\u003eAlfredo Cornejo\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Gonzalo Passano (2016)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/3f4kk94d89\"\u003eSolange Baptiste\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Ying Zhou as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://queensmemory.org/memories-of-migration-making-a-talking-family-story-quilt/\"\u003e\"Memories of Migration: Making a Talking Family Story Quilt\"\u003c/a\u003e workshop series at Flushing Library (2018)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/kd1qf8jr5s\"\u003eThara Madathody\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Nusaiba Ally (2015)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTony O’Reilly, interviewed by Pat McCluskey and Eileen Sprague as part of the\u003ca href=\"http://www.qcirishstudies.org/new-page\"\u003e Irish in Queens Oral History Project\u003c/a\u003e (2017)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/qf8jd4qj76\"\u003eLuna Ranjit\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Meera Nair (2016)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOUR GRATITUDE GOES TO…\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e... all who listened to these stories, who joined us at our live listening sessions, and who reflected with us on the many deep connections of our histories. Let’s keep listening.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVoice narration, editing, and supervision by Natalie Milbrodt\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eProduction, writing, and research by Adriene Lara\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMusical composition by Elias Ravin\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eListen to the episode on \u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/queens-public-library/memories-of-migration-episode-ten-terminals\"\u003eSoundCloud\u003c/a\u003e, as well as any other platform you find your podcasts. Give us a like if you want, and comment to share your thoughts with us. Find more from \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/queensmemory\"\u003eQueens Memory at QueensMemory.org\u003c/a\u003e, on \u003ca href=\"http://facebook.com/queensmemory\"\u003eFacebook at Queens Memory\u003c/a\u003e, and on \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/queensmemory\"\u003eTwitter at @QueensMemory\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis audio piece was produced by the Queens Memory Project and is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License. For inquiries, please contact queensmemory@queenslibrary.org.\u003c/p\u003e"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis is the Queens Memory Podcast, a selection of personal histories from the borough of Queens in New York City. Our first season collects stories of migration. In the tenth and last episode of this Queens Memory Podcast season on migration, we turn to the topic of terminals \u0026mdash; where we\u0026rsquo;ve arrived and where our stories go from there.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFROM THE ARCHIVES: Storytellers whose oral histories we feature in this episode, with links to full interviews and timecode outlines\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/vital/access/manager/Repository/aql:22093\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eFrank Fortino\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Stephanie Fortino-Gonzalez (2017)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/tb0xp6vf3g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAlfredo Cornejo\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Gonzalo Passano (2016)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/3f4kk94d89\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eSolange Baptiste\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Ying Zhou as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://queensmemory.org/memories-of-migration-making-a-talking-family-story-quilt/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\"Memories of Migration: Making a Talking Family Story Quilt\"\u003c/a\u003e workshop series at Flushing Library (2018)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/kd1qf8jr5s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eThara Madathody\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Nusaiba Ally (2015)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTony O\u0026rsquo;Reilly, interviewed by Pat McCluskey and Eileen Sprague as part of the\u003ca href=\"http://www.qcirishstudies.org/new-page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e Irish in Queens Oral History Project\u003c/a\u003e (2017)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/qf8jd4qj76\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLuna Ranjit\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Meera Nair (2016)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOUR GRATITUDE GOES TO\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e... all who listened to these stories, who joined us at our live listening sessions, and who reflected with us on the many deep connections of our histories. Let\u0026rsquo;s keep listening.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVoice narration, editing, and supervision by Natalie Milbrodt\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eProduction, writing, and research by Adriene Lara\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMusical composition by Elias Ravin\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eListen to the episode on \u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/queens-public-library/memories-of-migration-episode-ten-terminals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eSoundCloud\u003c/a\u003e, as well as any other platform you find your podcasts. Give us a like if you want, and comment to share your thoughts with us. Find more from \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/queensmemory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eQueens Memory at QueensMemory.org\u003c/a\u003e, on \u003ca href=\"http://facebook.com/queensmemory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eFacebook at Queens Memory\u003c/a\u003e, and on \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/queensmemory\"\u003eTwitter at @QueensMemory\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis audio piece was produced by the Queens Memory Project and is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License. For inquiries, please contact queensmemory@queenslibrary.org.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/138/757/small/Screenshot_%2851%29.png?1642089459","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61533/file/138757","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - qmpodcast_s1e10_3.Mp3"]},"duration":1409.95519,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/138/757/small/Screenshot_%2851%29.png?1642089459","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61533/file/138757/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61533/file/138757/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/138/757/original/qmpodcast_s1e10_3.Mp3?1641894181","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":1409.95519,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61533/file/138757","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61533/file/138757/transcript/35160","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61533/file/138757/transcript/35160/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Queens Memory Podcast\nSeason 1 Episode 10\nTranscript (English)\n\nINTRO\n\nNATALIE MILBRODT, narrator: For full transcripts, translations, content notes, and resources from this episode, follow along with us on our show notes at Queens Memory dot org.\n\n[INTRODUCTORY MUSIC BEGINS]\n\nNM: This is the Queens Memory Podcast, a selection of personal histories from the borough of Queens, in New York City. This podcast comes to you from the Queens Memory Project, based in Jamaica, Queens at the Queens Central Library. I'm Natalie Milbrodt, Director of Queens Memory, where we record and preserve contemporary history across the borough. We grow our archives by collecting oral histories, photos, and mementos shared with us by community members. Local volunteers, who train with Queens Memory staff, facilitate and record our oral history interviews.\n\nWe feature oral histories from our archives so we can reflect on and engage with the histories we listen to and tell one another. How do we carry each other’s stories? What shapes our personal and family histories? How did we get to the neighborhoods where we live? And where are we in relation to each other's histories?\n\nAs part of New York City, Queens has long been a point of entry to the United States. Thinking about the borough in this way, we searched through our archives to gather stories of migration for this first season of the Queens Memory Podcast. These stories cross continents and move through decades of the past century. We share these oral histories to reflect on the histories of this borough, of this country, and of ourselves.\n\n[BACKGROUND MUSIC CHANGES]\n\n[INTRODUCTORY AUDIO COLLAGE BEGINS]\n\nFRANK FORTINO: All I wanna say is that, I do wanna thank my parents of havin’ made the decision to come here\nALFREDO CORNEJO: I used to dream about going back - those dreams, they change\nSOLANGE BAPTISTE: My blessing - has been - as living in this world\nTHARA MADATHODY: Now I can - gather some people - whatever little thing I can do\nTONY O’REILLY: It’d just be for a brief moment - I would look at - life there and say - “I’m missin’ out on - that life”\nLUNA RANJIT: I’m - trying to make sense of the last - 11-and-a-half, 12 years - what can I take from it - for the next - phase of my life\n\n[PAUSE WITH MUSIC]\n\nNM: In the tenth and last episode of this Queens Memory Podcast season on migration, we turn to the topic of terminals — where we’ve arrived and where our stories go from there. We’ve listened to oral histories from our archives, reflecting on the relationships we have to our own and to each other’s histories. In our oral history workshops, we suggest volunteer interviewers end their interviews with reflective questions like, “Is there anything else you’d like to share?” We ask these questions to build mutual trust and responsibility when we record our oral histories, and to encourage those being interviewed to tell their stories how they want, from beginning to end. This episode is a collection of those stories. We’ll hear from: Frank Fortino, Alfredo Cornejo, Solange Baptiste, Thara Madathody, Tony O’Reilly, and Luna Ranjit. While we listen, we ask: where have we been? Where are we now? And where are we headed?\n\nLet’s listen.\n\n[BACKGROUND MUSIC FADES OUT]\n\nBODY\n\n[FIRST ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with FRANK FORTINO]\n\nSTEPHANIE FORTINO GONZALEZ, interviewer: I thank you for your participation!\n\nFRANK FORTINO: Oh, you're welcome!\n\nSFG: Okay, um... Is there any other things you would like to share?\n\nFF: All I wanna say is that I do want to thank my parents of having made the decision to come here. It was the best decision they could have ever made. I would have never had the life I have here that I have in this country. Um, I would not have had- I wouldn't have the job that I have, I wouldn't- I just- all around, I would not have gone to college, uh... I mean, I speak four languages, which I would have never done that over there. Um, yeah! It was- I just- I think that they made the best decision in the world, to immigrate, although probably for them it was the hardest thing in the world to do, but I know they did it for us and I'm thankful.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nSFG: So to, to close up, um, perhaps to ask you, um, how do you think being an immigrant has defined or shaped the person you are? Um, how has it- or did it change your life, being an immigrant? Do you think that it has played into the person you've become today?\n\nFF: Well, absolutely! It has to change! It has to change your personality. I mean, you're yanked out of one country where everything is familiar where you've known all your life, now you're thrown into something else. Yes, it shapes you differently, um, than Americans, than the Italians who stayed there. Yeah! You're a different- you're like a bridge between two cultures, you understand both. Um, um... of course. I can't actually place- put it in words but, yeah, most definitely, it has made me different than, say, if I was born here, um, than a person who- or if I had stayed there, I would, I would be a totally different person. I would have different ways, different ways of speaking, different mannerism. Um... [CLAPS] Yeah! It definitely has- has molded me into a different person, yes.\n\n[SECOND ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with ALFREDO CORNEJO]\n\nGONZALO PASSANO, interviewer: In your opinion though, what is the American Dream, in your opinion? Because a bunch of people have a different opinion on the American Dream itself!\n\nALFREDO CORNEJO: Yes. Yes. To me, the American Dream is the chance that I had that I would never had no place else but here. That's, that's the, you know, my dream come true. [TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Unsure of a few words here] I didn't want nothing for free, I wanted, you know, to, to learn, I wanted to, to work, you know? And I had it here. And if I did something good, I was promoted, and many times, you know, in other countries, they don't promote you because, you know, they -\n\nGP: Yeah.\n\nAC: - eh -\n\nGP: You're an average Joe or something.\n\nAC: Yes. That's it. Yes. Correct, yep. Here, I had many opportunities that I know I would never have someplace else.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nGP: So most of your working experience came from here, not Peru?\n\nAC: No! Here. [TAPS] Everything, I learn it here.\n\nGP: Yes.\n\nAC: Everything, hundred percent, yes. That's why I consider this- this country so great because I got, I got a- I learn so much that I would never- nobody would give me a chance, I think, you know? In my home country. I love my country and I used to go two, three times a month- you know, eh, two, three times a year, to visit my parents, my sisters, my brother. And I always dream about, you know, going back. Eventually, I got married and those dreams, they change.\n\nGP: Ah!\n\nAC: [LAUGHS]\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nGP: Do you enjoy living here in America?\n\nAC: Yes.\n\nGP: You do.\n\nAC: I enjoy living here. I see how my children, you know, are at the- getting better and better. My older son, you know the first one with my second wife, oh... He got a presidential scholarship after being in the top honor roll, all high school, and eh, and really, I save a little bit money, you know, to pay for his school, but was not need- needed. Because, with the, with the scholarship he had, everything was paid for.\n\nGP: Oh wow.\n\nAC: He became a biologist, and he's looking to study fighter jet [TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Unsure of a couple words here]. Yep.\n\nGP: Wow! So it sounds pretty good right now, then!\n\nAC: Oh yes, hundred percent!\n\n[THIRD ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with SOLANGE BAPTISTE]\n\nNATALIE MILBRODT, co-interviewer: So is there anything that you wanna talk about before we end?\n\nSOLANGE BAPTISTE: My blessing has been- as living in this world. Knowing so many beautiful people. I have a great life. Those poor souls [TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Unsure of a couple words here], we lost so many people. That's part of life. We come from a very poor country, my parents work very hard. And when I came to this country, there's no place to raise children because people aren’t safe, they- I was worrying, to get married, to have kids. But, I have to get kids! So... That mean you chose in life whatever you want, the way you want to live. And we love other people so we always have to share with others, no matter the test or word [TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Unsure of a couple words here] I can say to someone, or to [TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Unsure of a couple words here]. To let people know, life can be beautiful. [TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Unsure of a couple words here]\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nSOLANGE BAPTISTE: I come from- I used to go to work, 4 o'clock in- in the morning, I get home 12, 1 o'clock, 12 o’clock in the morning -\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\n- and I have low seniority because people used to work for 40 years there! And for me, started, and I have to work off the money, take my children to school because they never had a babysitter, because we didn't want them to! What they say about children [TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Unsure of a couple words here]! We want to pass the family values, our Haitian tradition to them. So take them to school in the morning, go home, cook, prepare everything [LAUGHS], and go back to work. Because in Haiti, if you can pay for it, you can have someone make your bed. You don't do anything! But the beauty is here to come to this country and find out, I can do all the stuff! I can clean my house, I can do my laundry, I don't have to- do someone to press my clothes.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nI have one of my cousin, she was la- she went, travel to Canada, she was a teacher. And she find out she had to make her bed. She find a good job, she said, \"No, I'm not going to make my bed in the morning, I'm back to Haiti!\"\n\n[LAUGHING IN BACKGROUND]\n\nShe went back to Haiti because she never learned how to make her bed!\n\n[LAUGHING IN BACKGROUND]\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nIt was such a blessing for me, and I take my kid to school, go to work. In one day, I can do all those stuff, and still be happy!\n\n[FOURTH ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with THARA MADATHODY]\n\nTHARA MADATHODY: I won't say proud, but I am feeling, uh, really happy that I'm a self-made woman right, today. Because, whatever the acquaintance [TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: Unsure about this word], we need it! [LAUGHS] I really worked hard for that. Wherever I have to put my voice -\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\n- if I have to put in a idea, they would surely sit and listen to me because they think, \"Okay, this lady can speak something, or she talks sense.\" So, to- but, initially when you have to go, stand for an election, talk to them, get the votes, it is hard.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nWherever I go, I just want to be holding some particular authority there, otherwise there is no point in doing something.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nI want to be in, uh, what you say, a president or um, whatever. Whatever you post you have, I would like to do that, so. But it was not easy. Though I got, uh, elected -\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\n- this is the third term I'm being member. Now I know I have accomplished something.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nI like that exposure, I like that exposure where you can talk, you can talk something sensible, and you are one of the, uh, effective member to put something in place, need be the school plan or need to be a security policy in the school, or whatever little we can, because you have the idea, but you need the time and the place to go out and tell what you want to do. For that, I think we need to, uh- Because, many people, that's what I see. Many people who have come from other countries, they have so much talent in them. They have so much power in them, but they don't have a opportunity to put it. Many parents, uh, they are well-educated, but they don't have a place to go and opinion- like or, give their opinion. So that is- that will always boost up the confidence, and that will always boost up the courage to live here. Uh, so, that is one thing I think, uh, which really is a, really something from them- from us and also, it's a great thing! We are a part- then you feel, \"Okay,\" you are a part of the community. Then you kind of like U.S. So, yeah. I think that this is, uh, that frame where I started liking this place. Uh, I- [PHONE RINGTONE SOUND] now I can, uh, gather some people, clean up the area or, uh, whatever little thing I can do.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nHuman being is a part of the society, we are social animal.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nSo only when you get into the main systems in the society, you feel that you're a part of society. Unless and until you have a voice in the society, you'll never be a part of the society. That- then you will be always alienated.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nSo these- all this, um, different form of, um, authority gives me a voice in society so now, I would say I do, uh, so many voluntary thing, and I'm so happy doing so many things, so now also once my daughter goes into kindergarten, I have a little more broader plan as to what to do, to get a good, uh, what you say. Uh, to involve with the society and do nice things.\n\n[FIFTH ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with TONY O’REILLY]\n\nEILEEN SPRAGUE, co-interviewer: What did you miss most about Ireland when you were here?\n\nTONY O’REILLY: Um... Well, I probably, you know, growin' up there, I probably envisioned livin' my whole life there, so then I would go back and I would see, you know, other young men my age, and they would be havin' a- you know, they would be movin' on with their lives. Getting married, having children. I had done the same -\n\nPAT MCCLUSKEY, co-interviewer: Mm.\n\nTO: - but, they had careers and whatnot, and uh, I kinda felt like I was missin' out on that life. Because I had just, I had just put my Irish life on hold. Immigrated.\n\nPM: Right.\n\nTO: Just for- I didn't even- when I was immigratin', I wasn't immigratin' forever. I was immigratin' just to, see the world! See what was goin' on.\n\nPM: Oh! So it was a different mindset!\n\nTO: It was a different mi- I was totally- I didn't have to go, I just felt like I wanted to go. I wanted to see some- some new, uh, sights in the world.\n\nPM: New sights and, and see about different lifestyles.\n\nTO: Different lifestyles. But I- but I didn't realize at the time, that I was saying goodbye to a whole, a whole life. And, you know, many years after that, I went back and I would feel that I'm maybe missin' out on something there, you know?\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nTO: And, you know, I would, uh, I’d be a little bit sad for that.\n\nPM: Sure.\n\nTO: 'Cause that part, that part of me never grew. It never- I didn't grow any further there.\n\nPM: It didn't, like, develop into -\n\nTO: Develop, correct.\n\nPM: - what you might have thought you would do.\n\nTO: That's right.\n\nPM: Mhm.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nES: Did you ever consider going back to stay?\n\nTO: Never.\n\nES: Never.\n\nTO: No. No. Once I got married and started my, eh, life here, I really had no- you know, those, those little, um... You know, ideas that I had when I would- it would just be for a brief moment. I would look at life there and say, \"I'm missin' out on that life.\"\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nPM: But do you still feel a little sentimentality for not having -\n\nTO: No.\n\nPM: - done that? Not anymore?\n\nTO: No, I- I love- I- I feel like I'm American -\n\nPM: Mhm.\n\nTO: - even though I have a- an Irish accent. I feel American. I feel- um, you know, there's only one flag hangin' on my house, and that's the American flag. And that's for years! That's not a decision that I made. It just happened. These things happen. If you said to me when I got here, \"Oh, you're gonna have to be American now!\" I would-\n\nPM: You'd-\n\nTO: I would resist.\n\nPM: You would resist that.\n\nTO: And so it was just- it was something that came in time, and then all of a sudden you feel like you're part of this world now, especially when I became a citizen, which wasn't very long after I got here. You know, maybe six or seven years, became a citizen. Once you raise that flag and pledge allegiance, you know, that's- [LAUGHS]\n\nPM: That's it!\n\nES: The total transformation, right?\n\nTO: Exactly, yeah.\n\nES: That's funny.\n\nPM: Your, um, your reflections on, um, your emotions over those earlier years is very interesting, and I don't think we've encountered that before in other interviews.\n\nES: Yeah, not too much.\n\nPM: You know?\n\nTO: Yeah.\n\nES: I mean, do you think part of it was because you married an American?\n\nTO: Eh, no...\n\nES: No.\n\nTO: We- you mean, as far as-\n\nES: That trans- that evolution into feeling American.\n\nTO: Yeah. I remember feeling, in the beginning, you know, if I marry her, I'll probably never be able to live in Ireland again, and she would- you know, today she would live there faster than me, you know. I realize that later. But, you know, that's, that's the old Irish, you know. You're hangin' onto your roots.\n\nPM: Yes, we do that.\n\nTO: And I'm sayin' if I, if I marry this American, then I don't have that option anymore, because she had a career by then, and uh. So it was somethin' to think about.\n\nPM: Something to think about! Something to consider, and you've considered it seriously.\n\nTO: Not, not very seriously, but it was a thought. It was there.\n\nPM: It was there.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nES: So all in all, you're glad you came? To America?\n\nTO: Yeah! Yeah, very glad. I mean I've- well, I've- like I said, it, uh, takes you over. America takes you over after a while, you know?\n\n[SIXTH ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with LUNA RANJIT]\n\nMEERA NAIR, interviewer: And what about your relationship to the homeland?\n\nLUNA RANJIT: Um... [SIGHS] Well, officially, um, I have become a U.S. citizen now. Kinda took me a long time. 20 years since I came to get there. As I speak about, um, immigration issues, I became, I guess, a guinea pig myself of going through the immigration system, and seeing the challenges. And I'm- actually, I'm among the more fortunate ones, you know. I had the resources, I had the contacts that I was able to do it even though it took 10 years, but I know a lot of people are not and don't have that luxury either. But [INHALES] I was- I was never a very patriotic person. I don't believe very strongly in nation-states, and so- which, people found it very confusing, because I am working with a- or, I was, or have been mostly working within a community group that's, like, loosely defined as coming from one particular country.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nLUNA RANJIT: I worked with a Nepali-speaking community but -\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\n- this is a community where I had connections and where I spoke the language and I had resources to make a difference.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\n- and, I guess my relationship to [INHALES AND EXHALES] homeland as a nation-state is complicated, because I mean, it is- socially I am Nepali, culturally I am Nepali. I- I still have all my extended family there and so I have strong connections, to Kathmandu at least, to the city.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nIt's difficult to say that, like, you know- it's not that I want nothing to do with Nepal, but I also sometimes don't wanna have anything to do with the state of Nepal. So, depends on the day you ask. [LAUGHS]\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nMN: So what's next?\n\nLR: Um, explore! What next? I think right now it's, um, I'm just in this very happy space where I don't have any major obligations and I'm trying to make sense of the last 11-half- 11-and-a-half, 12 years of my life, what it really meant and- and figure out what can I take from it, what can I take from it for the next phase of my life, really. Just see, um -\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\n- what is it that I really wanna do, and what excites me, and also trying to figure out where can I have the most value added, I think. Those are the two things. But in the interim, I wanna read a lot, maybe write a little bit -\n\n[BACKGROUND MUSIC BEGINS TO FADE IN]\n\n- and create time to think about some of the questions that I've been thinking about.\n\n[PAUSE]\n\nMN: Anything else?\n\nLR: No, I think that's it!\n\nOUTRO\n\nNM: Thank you for listening with us on the Queens Memory Podcast.\n\nVisit our show notes blog at Queens Memory dot org. There, you’ll find full transcripts and written translations of this episode, and more to listen to from our archives. We’ve also added reading recommendations from Queens Public Library’s collections as well as resources from local community organizations. And, if you want your stories to join those you heard today and become part of our archives, head to Queens Memory dot org forward slash participate or to our show notes to find out more.\n\nI’d like to thank our producer Adriene Lara and our composer Elias Ravin. A warm thank you to Ro Garrido for providing fundamental collaboration and support, and to Richard Lee and Molly Schwartz for offering their guidance and wisdom. Thanks also to the Queens Public Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Services for hosting and funding this podcast. Finally, thank you to all the interviewees, interviewers, interns, and volunteers for collecting and sharing the stories that make this podcast possible.\n\nWhether you’re listening for the first time or you’ve stayed with us throughout the season, thank you. If you’re listening with others, and want to reflect together, here’s a guiding question: What's a story you would want to tell about how you got to where you are now?\n\nLet’s keep listening.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61533/file/138757#t=0.0,1409.95519"}]}]}]}