Community Voices

We add written and video stories from community members to this webpage as they come in. To submit a story, click here.

Wine Tasting with Max & Kenya

Max Murphy and his wife, Kenya, the founders of Tozi Imports, led us through a wine tasting accompanied by information about Mexican wine regions, history and culture. We tasted an interesting lineup of six Mexican wines, all of which are available from Burlington Wine & Spirits on the Middlesex Turnpike.

Click here for a recording of the tasting

Marley

I will tell the story of my dog Marley. He was born on June 26, 2016, in Brazil. My daughter really wanted a dog, I went to the house of a person who wanted to sell and asked me to go there to find out which one I wanted. When we saw him, it was love at first sight. From that day on, when he was 3 months old, we never separated. In 2018 we decided to move to the USA, and we never considered the possibility of leaving him in Brazil. As my son had a health problem, his doctor (neurologist) gave a letter, so that the dog could be an emotional assistance dog, because my son could not have this anxiety of not having his dog around. Marley traveled to USA with the whole family. He is very loving, and serious, and if he thinks of himself as a human, he really feels that he is my son and brother of the children. I believe because he came from a warmer country, he doesn't walk in the snow or in the rain. After Marley came into our lives, we were never sad again!

Written by Priscilla C, YMCA ILC Level 1 Class

My Roots

My family is made up of many women. My grandmother Pedrilha is 82 years old and is a housewife, she loves to dance, travel and fish. My mother is 59 years old and is a nursing technician and works at a hospital in São Paulo during the night shift. She is a good daughter, a dedicated mother and a loving grandmother. My youngest sister Dayane is 29 years old and a person of many talents, she sings and makes fun and a great confectioner. My niece Lanna is 12 years old , she is a singer, loves ice cream and acting. She studies theater in Brazil and is part of the cast of “Charlie Chocolate Factory”.

I am 42 years old, I have a degree in Psychology in Brazil and I want to get my certification here. I have a small family compared to my original family.

I, my husband and my son Matheus. He is 18 years old and plays soccer at school. He always competed in Brazil, won many medals and here in the USA, in 2020, he was elected one of the highlights of the All Stars Cup that rewards the best players in the championship. Even though my son was raised by me, he has his father's face. We came to this country in search of a better future for my son and my niece, so that they can choose what they want to be in life.

Written by Keila O, YMCA ILC Level 1 Class

My Love Story

My history is about my husband and I. We met in El Salvador in July 2014. It was love at first sight. I did my social hours to graduate from university and he worked where I would practice them. We saw each other secretly for a year, then he started receiving death threats, he worked helping children get out of gangs in El Salvador. He traveled here in March 2016 and since then we had a long-distance relationship. It was very complicated. On February 14, 2017 we got married secretly, our family did not believe in our relationship at a distance. We had no wedding party, we had no guests. But it is our favorite day. I tried to get my visa many times to be together but there were many difficulties. I finally came here in 2020. We could be together and in 2021 our baby was born.

Written by Georgina G, YMCA ILC Level 1 Class

Woburn Unites AAPI Vigil Responses

As a person of Asian origin with a foreign-sounding name, I of course get the usual, "so where are you from?" And a bit of the surprised look when I open my mouth and speak with a perfect American accent. But that's the benign stuff. We know the online world is fraught with all kinds of characters, but my posts (Twitter, Facebook) have often been met with "go back to where you came from"...presumably on the basis of my name and complexion.

I think the best thing any of us can do is to not pre-judge when meeting someone for the first time, who may have a different name or physical appearance. AAPIs carry the burden of so many stereotypes when they enter a public setting...let's not exacerbate that. Go out of your way to make the person(s) feel welcome and included...all the more important in today's world of online meetings."

- Anonymous

My family went on an outdoor recreational rope course in Maine. It has many levels of climbing and hanging. It was August 2020.

While we were at a lower level, twice, we felt liquid dropping on our faces from above. But people were not supposed to bring water to this climbing apparatus!

So, we started to alert the security guards by asking loudly, “why liquid is coming on our faces?”

Then, the liquid stopped dropping. We sanitized our faces in fear that they were spits.

- Anonymous

Here is an article on reasons why Asian American community is being attacked and what people can do to eliminate racism.

The next two applies to all racism

Other things that can be done to combat racism is to "Call in" a person who has said something hurtful or disrespectful. Professor Loretta Ross explains further in this article.

And lastly, be prepared to support a person targeted by racially-motivated aggression in this YouTube video titled "Don't be a Bystander, 6 tips to responding to racial attacks."

- Anonymous

My Arrival

In 1995, I came to this beautiful country from Puerto Rico with 4 children and fear because language was unknown to me. I tried to study English but it was impossible because I had to work. Now, my 4 children are all graduated. Now in my retirement is my opportunity to study. I want to help myself. When I arrived in this country that welcomed me and showed me their love for others. It’s already been 25 years here, a lot of work and effort. Thank God for this beautiful country. Blessing.

Written by Elizabeth F, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

Gimjang Culture

Gimjang is preparing kimchi for the winter in Korea by making and sharing kimchi with neighbors. It is a big event in every house in November or early December. Especially, before generations it was a special culture for a long cold winter season that had not had enough vegetable flesh for the family, and almost all of them lived with their parents and many family members. Therefore, In the past, they had to make much more kimchi than nowadays. Big families made over 300-500 heads of kimchi and other different kinds of kimchi. I remembered when I was a child, my house made 200 heads of kimchi. Kimjang is too hard work for mothers, so most mothers around the neighborhood helped out on each other’s kimjang. Their work was not easy, but they were laughing and chatting like a party while they worked. My mother was ready for lunch while neighbors worked. There were special hot foods that were homemade boiled pork slices, hot seafood and pollack stew(dongtae jjigae), steam rice, salted cabbage and mixed seasoning. After that my mom always gave them a little pack of kimchi. That meant we could also taste our neighbors’ kimchi. In late fall vegetables and seasoning materials for kimchi are the best, so kimjang kimchi is the best kimchi with good quality stuff.

My father was also busy digging the soil of the backyard of my house to put down crocks (like jars) into the ground that makes the taste of kimchi keep long at the same temperature because we didn’t have a refrigerator in the house over 50 years ago. Fortunately, these days most houses use a kimchi refrigerator instead of crocks into the ground. I live in an apartment without a backyard, so I had to use it.

Recently, kimjang culture has changed a little with small family members and living in small houses or apartments. I usually make kimchi over 10 heads of kimchi for the winter. However, there still go on traditional kimjang culture in rural areas, churches, big groups of communities, and restaurants. Our church members are gathered together doing kimjang as an annual late fall event.

Kimjang culture has created many kinds of food with kimchi like kimchi stew, fried kimchi, fried kimchi rice, kimchi pancake, kimchi dumpling, etc in Korea.

Written by Seung, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

My Haiti

My name is Pierre Andre Francois. I was born, and grew up in a small town (city) called Verrettes or city of Dumarsais Estime. It is a commune (city) that is part of the Saint-Marc Arrondissement in the Artibonite Department ( state) of Haiti. The city’s 106,000 plus population., The city of Verrettes has a lot to offer. Not only does it provide a vibrant and lively nightlife but it also offers security to its residents and visitors. A number of restaurants, clubs and other entertainment venues are available in Verrettes, making music popular in the area. Though it has an active nightlife, people have nothing to worry about when it comes to safety. In the city nature is very present. The inhabitants live there in peace. There is an exuberance of tropical vegetation, a green nature protected from urban bubbling. I was living with an extended family in a big yard where we were regrouped in four families each has their own house in the same yard.

In Haiti, each city has its special events. In my town (the city of Verrettes ) on September seventh and eighth, we celebrate the patronal feast of our Lady of the Nativity. It was very important for me, and It is totally different to where I'm living now. On this occasion, a series of activities took place from September fifth to eighth, the town was buzzing with animation which had attracted a good number of tourists. Between the fair, festival, ball, and masses of thanksgiving, the few thousand inhabitants and visitors, come from all over, for the festivals took place everywhere. In the downtown jazz, Ambiance, and other musical groups and DJ's performed in front of thousands of spectators The crowd kept getting bigger every minute, even despite the rain, the party was very beautiful, we were having fun like crazy. In the meantime, on a street of Barrage a little further from the center city, the atmosphere was in full swing. In the morning, the gastro-craft fair that had been launched the day before and it continues to attract crowds. In the premises of Dumarsais Estime high school, nearly thousands of merchants exhibited their artisanal and agricultural products on the stalls. It was very good memories for me.

Written by Pierre Andre F, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

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In Haiti, I have a wonderful family where I grew up in a small town. I have two sisters and a half-brother. My dad was married to a lady, but she died with her first daughter, leaving him the boy. God bless my dad with 3 daughters, as did with his new wife (my mom). I have extended family near me, especially my mom’s family. I grew up without my half-brother because he was sick so he quitted to the best hospital, and he still lives.

Among the celebrations, Easter is more important to me, because we are together with all the people I like. Also we do special dinners or go on vacation for every member’s birth in the family. My country’s nature is gorgeous, but the people don't know how to care for it, mostly the forest… where I live now it is completely different from mine. Some sage said ‘’we are not in the car for the evolution.’’ My name is Esny F. A passionate art, dreamer.

My favorite country’s food is ‘’Mais a la bonne femme’’ (corn or maize to the good woman).

Written by Esny F, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

My Country

I am from Haiti in a large town’s name Gonaives, department Artibonite. My native language is Creole but I speak French too. I grew up in my family with my father, mother, two sisters and my one brother. My grandparents' house is thirty minutes from my parent’s house and every last day of year all my family reunites for waiting the new year’s day.

In my country, every first of January, we celebrate Independence Day. The date is important for us because it is the first free black Republic in 1804 and to celebrate it all Haitians make the soup’s name : soup Joumou in Creole , squash soup in English. But the favorite and native food from my department is rice and lalo. it is a vegetable. They cook it with spinach, either beef pork or goat and also crab, shrimp. It is organic food and very delicious.

Written by Suzeline J, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

China

I am Tao. I am from China. I want to show you a kind of Chinese food—dumplings. They are very popular in China. Almost every Chinese person has eaten them. They have two parts: dumpling wrapper and stuffing. The stuffing has some different kinds. You can make the stuffings you like. You can boil them and eat with vinegar. I like the traditional Chinese food, because that means that you are together with your family.

Written by Tao, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

My Story

I came to the U.S. in 1998 with my two daughters. I landed in New York on November 1st. This was my first time seeing such a big city, airport and bridge. It was very hard for me because I didn't know the language. I saw snow for the first time I felt too cold and I was thinking about how people drive. I learn new things every day.

My home country is India. I have five brothers. I have grown up in a large town in a different city. I have three daughters. I have an extended family and my niece lives in California. The rest of my family is in India.

We miss all celebrations but one thing I miss the most is Raksha bandhan. Raksha Bandhan is one of the most celebrated festivals in India. A sister ties a bracelet on her brothers to protect them. It represents the special bond of respect and love they share. It is special that I have five brothers.

My favorite food from my native country is paneer aloo tikki.

Written by Vinita P, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

My Journey from India to the US

When I first came from India to the US in 1996, I landed in LA. I came with my husband and older son when he was 1 years old. I lived over there for two months in a hotel. LA was very different compared to my country. Then I moved to Ohio. I lived for 8 months in an apartment in Findlay. I missed my family in India because we were kind of alone. I moved two more times and then ended up in Massachusetts. Then in 1999, my second son was born. My husband was a software engineer and created a company to call my family from India to the US. A lot of family here so I’m happier. My older son works in Finance now and my younger son is graduating soon. I moved to Chelmsford in 2000 and bought a house. Everything is going well and I’m so happy with my family.

Written by Archana T, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

My Life In the US

I'm married and I have two daughters. I’m from Aleppo, Syria. I came to the United States in 2017. When I first came, I went to Florida to visit Disney World. Then, my daughters went to school and I started working at a school cafeteria. After a while, I started to learn English. One of my hobbies is cooking Syrian food and I have a lot of recipes. During my free time I meet my friends and we have a good time together. I also like the summer because I like the sun compared to the winter which I’m not that happy or energetic. My goal is to speak good English and to have a better social life.

Written by Nour B, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

A Little Bit of My Country

I am from Brazil, I have two sisters and my mother. I have a future wife, and two dogs names Chico and Estopa, I love them. My country is very beautiful, with a tropical climate and beautiful beaches, rivers and lakes. In Brazil, we have in the month of June, festa juninas, festivals of popular saints or mid-summer celebrations. These are periods centered on the summer and winter solstices and, more specifically, on the northern European celebrations that take place between June 19 and June 25. The exact dates vary between different cultures.

Fetas that are celebrated in schools from all over the country with dances and typical foods, such as broths, popcorn, love apples, hominy (dried corn), boiled corn, hot dog. My family and I love this party, where we can get together and celebrate together with a great bonfire, and enjoy typical Brazilian food. Brazil is a county that if there wasn’t corruption and violence would be a wonderful country to live in.

Written by Waine F, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

About My Life

When I was a child, I loved playing with dolls, my favorite time was playing in the garage of my house in Brazil. I liked to cut my clothes and make clothes for my dolls.

My house is different here than it was in Brazil. I lived with my mother, in the city of Belo Horizonte MG. My mom and dad were divorced, and my dad soon remarried. I grew up in the presence of my mother and my sisters, my father lived a long way from my home, I didn't see him much. Today my father is not alive, and so much time has passed and I still miss him.

I visited my mother two summers ago in Brazil, and she was happy to see me. My older sister had a barbecue for me to celebrate my arrival. When my mom first met my husband, she said she expects him to make me very happy. We were scheduled to go to Brazil this year, but our trip was canceled because Brazil has many cases of coronavirus. I hope that next year we can go, I miss my family a lot.

Written by Jordana C, YMCA ILC Level 2 Class

"My ChildHood" Stories

I grew up in Ahmedabad, in the west part of India. It is a large town. I lived with my parents and my family and two elder brothers. I played outside with my friends.

I miss my school days and teachers. After school I came home. My mom prepared delicious food for me and my brothers, and then I played outside with friends - jump rope, hide and seek, and bike riding. I really miss my childhood. My mom was making delicious food. My friends came to my home, and they ate my mom’s food. They also miss my mom’s food.

Written by Namrata P, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in India. It was a very big town. I lived with my whole family. I miss all the times I spent with them. Most of the time after school, my friends and I got together and played until dinnertime, without any adults around. We walked or rode our bicycles to each other’s homes.

Written by Rekha J, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Belo Horizonte is a large town in Minas Gerais. I lived with my mom, dad, 2 brothers and my sister. I played with my dolls, Barbie, and I played outside with friends. I miss being a kid, with no responsibilities and no worries. I miss my Dad. He passed away 9 years ago, and I miss my mommy.

Written by Renata M, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in Jamsil, Seoul, South Korea. Jamsil is a large town and close to Kangnam. It’s one of the centers of education. I played hide and seek, rubber band play, and etc. with my neighborhood friends when I was a kid. I miss childhood friends.

Written by Jayoung K, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in Recife, Brazil. It is a middle size town. When I was a child I lived with my grandmother. I had fun with my cousins. We played jump rope, went to the beach, and played soccer together. Sometimes I miss my family, the culture and the weather.

Written by Joelma K, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is a large town and a big city. I lived with my parents and brothers. For fun, I played soccer, went to the park, and swam. I miss my childhood, the best part of my life, with no responsibility, no preoccupation, just play.

Written by Marcos O, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Santo Domingo is big in comparison to the other towns of my country, but it’s small in relation to the majority of countries. I lived with my parents, my sister, and my brothers. When I was a child, children always played outside together, a lot of games. It was wonderful; time appeared to be longer. I miss all of the Dominican Republic, my family, friends, neighbors, the community, the food, the beaches, the warm weather, and more.

Written by Pura de P, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in Ukraine. I was born and grew up in a village. I lived with my parents’ family and with brothers and sisters. I spent a lot of time with friends. I miss my friends and my town where I lived for many years.

Written by Uliana G, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in Leogane, a small town of Haiti that I have a lot of memories, until now. I lived with my father, my mother, my sisters and my brothers. After the dinner my sisters and I played a hide and seek game. I went to visit my friends who stayed not so far from me in the afternoon. Strong coffee with bread in the morning I miss so much, and my childhood friends also. It was a wonderful moment.

Written by Marie Denise J, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up on a farm. I lived with my parents, my sister and my brothers. I helped my mother take care of my younger brothers. My older brothers helped my parents to express milk and take care of the farm. We planted rice, beans, and corn. Life on the farm is not easy. Everyone works hard. We were very happy, but I don’t miss it.

Written by Vanda M, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

I grew up in Beijing. It is a large city. I lived with my parents and my grandmother and one younger brother. I always jumped rubber bands with my friends after school at that time. I really miss my grandmother because she took care of me carefully throughout my whole childhood. My parents were busy working, so they couldn’t stay with me all the time. My grandmother was like my real mother when I was a child. She played with me, and she cooked delicious meals every day for us. She passed away 28 years ago. I still remember her smiling face.

Written by Yuling Z, YMCA ILC Level 3 Class

Growing Up in CHina

I was born in a small county. There are 1,500 people in my town, people know each other very well. The house is similar to the condo here.

Our town was poor when I was a child, there were no beautiful clothes or toys. I remember when I was 4th grade, I got first place at final exam, so my mom bought a shoes for me as a prize, I didn't wear it until the spring Festival day. The weather was cold, my new shoes wasn't a boot, I felt my feet were pain because of cold, but I had been wearing it all day. Before I went to primary school at 7, I played with my peers nearby, it was such a wonderful period, we always made our toys independently, which cost no money as well. We could play from morning to night until the parents told us to go home for dinner.

When I was young, the river was clear in my county, there were many fish in the river. One of my favorite things was to go fishing. I used a pot and covered with plastic and cut a hole on it, then I put a cooked bone in the pot, I put the pot into the river, after about ten minutes, I took out the pod from the river. When I covered the hole on the plastic of the pot, I felt the fish touched my palm, thought it I can judge there were more or less fishes in the pot .Next I took the fish out and put them into a jar. Over and over again like this until the jar was full of fishes. Then I came back home happily.

As a rural child, I must help my parents doing farm work in the busy season, such as planting and harvesting. Our school would be closed when the busy farming season came. Our teachers were farmers too. It was hard work for a kid, I was tired after a while. My mom let me go home to cook lunch or dinner at that time. It saved time for my parents to eat as soon as they got home.

Although there was no TV, no smartphone, no internet, no video games in my childhood, I was very happy. I still often dream about the things in my childhood, they are the treasure of my life.

Written by Cuian L, YMCA ILC Level 4 Class

Chinese Spring Festival

We celebrate Spring Festival through our whole country. It’s the most important festival, especially for the children. When I’m a little one, I always looked for the holiday. There were so many kinds of snacks for us. On December 30(Lunar Calendar), my whole family, the big family had a feast together every year. We never missed fish and dumplings which mean the good luck(nian nian you yu, tian zhi jiaozi).

Jan 1st is the important part of Spring Festival. After breakfast, our big family, more than ten persons (my aunts, uncles, cousins, my parents and I) would visit our relations. Our hamlet is small; sometimes I even thought we visited every house, because after we visited a house we would visit their neighbor, the next neighbor…. But no matter what, the kids were happy with full of candies in pockets. We always met other families on road, everyone would say "Happy New Year!”

Written by Helen, YMCA ILC Level 4 Class

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