Immigrant Autobiography Journal

  • Death of parents

    Death of parents
    When I was 15, my parents died. I was left alone to take care of my 3 siblings. It was tough to get money to take care of everyone, so I decided we should leave China and go to California. We sold all of our belongings and took only what we needed.
  • In California

    In California
    In California, I worked as a farmer. My siblings helped too. We worked for about 13 hours a day and got an average pay of $1.05. We were all treated kindly by the people who owned the land. They gave us a nice room and board and 3 meals a day. Life was peaceful there.
  • Disaster Struck on farm

    Disaster Struck on farm
    A huge thunderstorm came and destroyed everything on the farm. The owners sold the land and gave us some of the profit they made. After that, me and my siblings traveled to Pennsylvania. It took awhile to get there though.
  • Moving to Pennsylvania

    Moving to Pennsylvania
    We paid for a small house, and I later opened my own restaurant. It was a small business at first, but eventually it became world famous. Many rich people came and ate there. Some were even food critics.
  • Sibling dies

    Sibling dies
    My youngest sibling died from TB. Fortunately, she died in her sleep. Everyone in my family cried. We made arrangments for her funeral, and then later cremated her body.
  • Start of a new family

    Start of a new family
    I later married a nice American man. Eventually, we started a family; had 1 daughter. Our household became very large after that. I was so happy, but many people gave my family dirty looks because I didn't marry someone of my "own" race. My family had to experience so many racial comments and people. Luckily, none of us really cared what others thought for we were happy with our lives.
  • Meeting someone new

    Meeting someone new
    I was working in my restuarant coming up with new dishes to serve, and then I see this German girl about my age outside looking through the windows. She walks in and orders something, and we just start talking to each other. She said her name was Arabella. I was very happy to have met someone new and become friends with. We did many fun things together when we hung out with each other.