Italian and Nepali Immigration From Foreign Birth to American Life, by Salina Oli

Italian and Nepali Immigration From Foreign Birth to American Life.

As a Nepalese immigrant, I never imagined that other immigrant groups would have encountered such difficulties. My family and I immigrated to America when I was only six. Each one of us had different expectations of America and our American dream. My sister and I saw a rich lifestyle widely publicized online, and new materialist things that we would own. In contrast, my parents saw employment opportunities, a new place to live, and a chance to see my grandparents again. All of us were excited to begin our new lives, but we had no idea how difficult the road ahead would be. Although I was aware that other groups, such as those from China, Mexico, and India, were also entering the country, I did not know enough about Italians who, like us, left their hometowns in search of a better life in a new country. During this course, I discovered the similarities and differences between my immigrant family’s experience and those of Italian American families. 

The process of coming to America began when we received our official papers that “congratulated” us. My parents say, “There were certain time frames for each requirement, one for vaccinations and the other for payment, and so on”. After that, we boarded the bus and headed towards Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. We were kept in a cell-type room where there were multiple bunk beds for approximately 4 months. Food, a medical clinic, and a portion of the building that was gated were provided to us. When watching the scenes of the movie, Golden Door, I witnessed a group of Italian Immigrants going through a similar process. I was very interested in those scenes as they brought back so many memories. Just like how the characters were taken for check-ups, we also had weekly check-ups. However, our check-ups were not as bad as shown in the movie scene; their situation seemed much harsher than ours. There were doctors there for regular health checkups. We were always with our clothes on and with our parents at all times during the check-up. The movie scene where everyone was getting checked naked was surprising to me, my experiences with the checkups were not that intense.

During the four months, our schedules were pretty much set, the workers would have time slots for each family to pick up their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We would all sleep when the lights were out and many woke up to the morning light. Another similarity I found with both immigrants was that they were always cautious and scared. For example, during the check-ups, many people along with my parents would fake not getting sick and act like they were perfectly fit and fine to come to America. In their head, if the officials found any issues with any one of us, like weakness or hygiene problems, they thought we would be sent back, which was most definitely not an option. My mom says that she made sure my sister and I got a short haircut, so they could prevent any lice or issues with our hair popping up during the weekly check-ups. With Italian People, many were also scared during the process before getting to America. Similar to Nepali immigrants, most Italian immigrants had also left everything they owned so they could use that to afford the cost of travel. Going back was something none of the immigrants could have borne. Not only had they left their homeland, but they also left family behind, while others like my parents were eager to finally reunite with their families. This process was their only hope and chance to come to this new country. 

As it was time to say goodbye to the new friends we had made in the last few months, we all were relieved that we were finally coming to America. The officials boarded us onto the plane and wished us a blessed new life. I remember being excited to see the tall buildings and big cars that I imagined would pick us up. However, my dreams were crushed once we arrived at the CVG airport in Ohio. We were picked up by our family in some old-looking cars and the buildings were not tall. The highways were not magical, there were no flowers, nor were there many famous people around. As a Matter of fact, America was not the same magical America of my dreams. The moral of this experience was that immigrants hold many massive imaginations and delusions of America, and when they come here, their worlds get turned upside down for a while. I learned that America is what you make out of it. Not everything is perfect, and the ones who happen to live luxurious lives also have faced a harsh reality to achieve what they have. The struggles of America are not as popularized as the fun and happy life of America, which is believed that everyone has. In fact, due to high expectations, people go through higher struggles, stress, and pressure. The pressure of living your dreams and fulfilling a good life for your kids can sometimes emotionally drain an individual.

My parents were on a similar boat. Once they arrived in America, they saw other members of our families thriving and doing their best. However, for us, it would take some time to get used to the lifestyle. To achieve the life we dreamed of, my family and I had to go through a major barrier that separated the Americans from us. Being from Nepal, where Nepali was the only language that was predominantly spoken, coming to America, we were thrown into another world where no one but our family understood us. The language barrier was the most challenging part of immigrating to a new country for many people. We were forced to attend school and jobs however, we never got any lessons in English. We were left all alone, and such separation was never talked about. Italian Americans also went through related struggles. While some knew a little English, many were not completely fluent. In my family, my dad was the only one who knew a little English. However, he only knew broken English. 

Due to the lack of English, many immigrants faced discrimination and a sense of alienation in this new community. When I was in second grade, I struggled more in comparison to other classmates. While they were learning advanced vocabulary, I was given filler words and basic stuff to learn. I did not mind that, at the end of the day my main goal was to learn how to speak English fluently. I wanted to be able to communicate with my classmates and make friends. However, without English that was not possible. For immigrants, the majority of the people they met were of other races. For that reason, they only had a few people whom they could talk to or even reach out to for help. That’s another part of immigration that people tend to overlook. We did not have others to help us. We were to figure things out ourselves, whether that be with knowing English or not. Many immigrants would use hand signs to communicate with others while some would isolate themselves, away from this unknown place. Due to that, many people including myself, felt like I did not belong here, I would get looked down upon and stared at during lunch for bringing the “unpopular” and “smelly” food to the table. Other kids in my class would talk behind my back, they thought just because I couldn’t understand them, I had no idea of what was going on. I would come home crying to my parents about how mean everyone was and how I wanted to go back home, back to where everyone understood me and made me feel wanted. Although the six-year-old me had given up already, my parents never gave up. Nor did they make me feel like they were going through the same thing but twice as bad as what I went through. 

No matter how hard the challenges were, from adapting to the new lifestyle to financial instability, Italian American and Nepali Immigrant parents never gave up on their American dream. For instance, in the movie Christ in Concrete, even though they faced a very bad financial situation due to the Great Depression, the main character never gave up. Instead, he found other ways to try to bring food to the table for his wife and kids, such as working in dangerous conditions and being okay with any chance he got to work and make money. My dad was also the only one working to provide for our family; he would pick up extra hours to work so we could have food on the table. Because we did not have a car, he would take his bicycle and go to the stores. He would cycle for over thirty minutes to get to the store and come back with a load of groceries hanging on the left and right handles of the bicycle. What I realized about both Italian and Nepali parents was that they both were very hardworking and determined. They did not let anything get to them and never complained about the struggles they went through. Although many Italians worked in construction-like jobs due to the lack of education and language, Nepali people worked in companies, welding auto parts or working with metals. Both jobs are dangerous and tiring. However, they were happy to be working and earning so they could build a path to their dream. 

In Italian American culture, there is a stereotype of women, of which is believed that they should be stay-at-home wives, taking care of the children, cooking, and cleaning. Throughout the different movies we watched, we witnessed the evolution of women characters overall, from going from caretakers of the family to being the money-makers of the family, women characters are striving to change stereotypical views throughout the generations. Learning about this was interesting to me because although in villages in Nepal, many women are still bound by family and cultural responsibilities, my family was different. As I began 4th grade and my sister began 6th grade, my mom started working with my dad to try to help aid him with the responsibilities. In my family, it was never like only the women cooked or did house chores; it was equally both my dad’s and mom’s job. That’s why when I watched certain scenes in different movies, I felt uneasy because it was completely the opposite for my family. My parents believed in helping each other out instead of assuming that certain tasks were only a man’s or a woman’s responsibility.

Italian and Nepali immigrants have faced a few similar experiences in their journeys; however, there are also many differences. For instance, the timing of the immigration was different among these groups. While Italian immigrants started to immigrate to America in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, Nepali immigrants started coming to America in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Italian immigrants settled in places called “Little Italy,” where they lived with people who shared similar ethnic and cultural values with them. Their motivation to come to a new country was to seek better economic opportunities and to build a better life for themselves. To do so, they worked in places like construction, factories, and small restaurants. They also introduced their cultural dishes to the markets, such as pasta and pizza. Nepali immigrants, on the other hand, settled in places around the states, such as New York, Ohio, and Texas. They came to America looking for a better education, a stable job, and a place to resettle from being a refugee. They work in places that pursue manual labor, caregiving, or other public service jobs. Nepali food is also very popular in different parts of America, including foods such as momos, different types of curries, sweets, and traditional dishes like dal bhat. Overall, their differences make them unique in their ways. 

Moving on, my parents have struggled through a lot to be where they are today. Because they never gave up they were able to achieve their goals and give us a beautiful life. Throughout my journey and through the content I learned in this course, I learned being an immigrant can be very stressful, no matter what part of the world you came from. These two groups have managed to overcome the struggles and make an important impact in American society. As they both hold strong family values, share the importance of food and culture, and are committed to hard work, they strive to work together in the community to help others struggling and to build a community full of love and support. Going from not belonging in this new country and facing hardships to adding a new layer to America’s diverse population, both Italian and Nepali immigrants have come a long way and still aspire to do better for themselves, their families, and their communities.