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Immigration Timeline Project
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Joined Wagon Train
I am Gabriela Gonzalez. I have lived in Mexico City my whole life, but for years I have thought about other possibilities. Mexico City is crowded. People fill the streets, and I never feel at peace. And Mexico itself seems to not be the place I knew it as when I was a child. Children work and are punished when they make mistakes or try to rest. Today I joined a wagon train with merchants, headed for Santa Fe. I'm bringing all of my silver and everything I own, and I cannot wait to arrive. -
Arrived in Santa Fe
The wagon train arrived in Santa Fe. The moment I saw the city streets I was mesmerized. Santa Fe is in America, but it looks just like Mexico. I saw the differences, too, though. The market was full of people seeling the most colorful things and they were all very welcoming. Because it's summer, the market is busy and there were so many things to buy! I want to save my silver, though, so I had to walk away. It's all right, though, because I have started on a quest for a house. -
Joining the Community
I stayed with the wagon train for a while but I found a house to rent about two weeks ago. It's adobe and looks just like the adorable little villas in Mexico City. I'm only renting it, and it's just a small home that is owned by a rich family, but ti feels like home. Yesterday, I joined a church, and I have new friends in Santa Fe who belong there also, I have already begun to love America very much. -
Getting Married
When I joined my church in Santa Fe, I was so happy because I knew it would be my friends. It made me feel like I was in the community. But never did I dream I would meet my husband there! Jose came to Santa Fe with his parents when he was young, but he too is from Mexico City. We married today, on Christmas Eve! But Jose feels Santa Fe is not peaceful enough, and I agree. He wants us to think about getting a ranch out of Santa Fe. -
Wanting a Ranch
It's almost spring now, and Jose and I are still in Santa Fe. There's few things about Santa Fe that I don't love, I have to admit. My friends at church are so wonderful and even in the winter I love stopping by the market square. Los Posadas was stunningly the same but perfect all the same in America. But Santa Fe is crowded. Too crowded, like Mexico City was. When it is spring, Jose and I do plan to get a ranch. I just hope that it all works out in the end. -
New Ranch
Our church community heard that Jose and I were planning on getting a ranch, and they spoke of a village near Santa Fe that would be perfect. Jose and I traveled there and it is perfect. There is a little church and the villagers have their own tiny market. Amazingly, an old man there who owns hundreds of acres of land sold us a bit for most of my silver because he is old and has so much. Our land is perfect, and Jose used the very last of my silver for adobe to build a house. -
Going to Market
Jose built this little house out of adobe that is doing very well. I had to sell my quilt, which I have had since I was a baby, for money for seed, but it was worth it, even if it was hard. We have only two very small fields of crops, one with peppers and one with hay. Today we took them to market, though, and are currently in Santa Fe. We have already made more money than I could have thought we would and I am so happy. I never really believed I could have this life, but I do. -
Daniela is Born
José and I have had two harvests in this ranch and we now have a tiny running ranch. We have multiple adobe buildings and a cook and three hired hands to help with the crops. But the most wonderful thing happened today better than anything-I had Daniela, my daughter. It's January 1, but it is also the most special day of my life. -
Civil Rights Act
Today the Civil Rights Act was passed! This act under America says that all citizens of the United States have the right to safety and can't be denied of rights. I am not yet a citizen of this country, but Daniela, because she was "naturalized" (born) here, is. She is promised a life of freedom without opression. I can only think how different her life would be if we were still in Mexico. This act is the conformation for me that America is different in the best of ways. -
Our Community
Jose and I have lived in our village for more than ten years now, and it is almost Daniela's tenth year of living here and being alive. We have our own little ranch and friends in our village community. We go to market in Santa Fe every summer, but also just to see our friends there, who we still know. I feel more at home here than ever in Mexico. I am Mexican-American, and it is so amazing.
