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Far Away Family “A world of opportunity,” this phrase is often used by immigrants to describe the unknown plateau called the United States of America. In the instance of Irma Delapeña’s trek towards America, this phrase was quite accurate. Irma was born in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Her homeland foods were adobo, sinigang, pancit, and lumpia. At the age of 29 in 1979, she set foot on American soil for the first time. Though life in America was different than in the Philippines, Irma enjoyed the majority of her experiences in her new land. Irma’s expectations for America were high, independence and freedom. In her homeland she never encountered these two values much. As a 29 year old, she still lived with her parents. She longed to free herself from the strict hold of her family. In addition, she was sick and tired of the Marcos regime. She yearned to speak her mind freely without getting prosecuted. American culture served as an obstacle for Irma, but one not difficult to overcome. Due to the weather change, Irma had to endure winters. In the Philippines there were only two seasons, wet and dry. She had to adapt to winter, summer, spring, and fall.
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