داستان کوتاه انگلیسی

5-What holidays did you celebrate growing up?

There was nothing like a Christmas Day traditional Lovo while growing up. The smell of fresh lovo in the morning was something very special to wake up to. During those times, the whole village would prepare a large feast. Lovo is a traditional Fijian way of cooking different dishes underground. You make a large pit, start a fire, and leave large rocks on the bottom to contain the heat. Once dishes were marinated, they were left upon the hot coals and covered with the remaining dirt. Last, we would cover the pit with large banana leaves to seal in everything. There was always a hustle and bustle about Christmas morning and our parents made it special for us. Our Mom was able to have gifts ready for us and we would sometimes receive baby dolls and pots and pans to play with.

During Ramadan my sister and I used to watch our aunts make sweets for the big festival of Eid. We weren’t allowed to always help out with the process but we would watch closely. Then, my sister and I used to sneak in all the ingredients and a kerosene stove into a room and hide and make sweets for ourselves. We would mix all of the ingredients to make Lakdi Methai which are “sweet sticks”. We would make a dough, cut the shapes out, and fry them until they are golden brown. Then, we would make a syrup to coat the sweet sticks with. This is the type of activities that we would keep busy with as children.

6-What was your first impression of America?

I remember being so scared when I saw how many roads and freeways there were. Fiji only has 2 main roads that go around the whole island so to see so many for the first time was shocking for me. I thought that every taxi car was a police car and everything was so new to me. I was newly married and had a little 7 month old daughter to share all of this with. In comparison to Fiji, everything looked so big and clean in America. There were multiple places to do your shopping and I couldn’t believe that there was so much to do in California. Communication was also different in America because there was a time difference now if I wanted to talk to my family back home. We were accustomed in sending letters or recorded audio tapes in the past. Now, I could place a call by purchasing a calling card and talk to my relatives back home.

7-What was your first job in America?

Oh my goodness, my first job in America was such a long time ago. There used to be a paint shop in Redwood City a long time ago, andI had a part time job there as a merchandiser. From there, your dad was interested in learning how to make pizza so I got a job at Round Table Pizza. I had various jobs since then and have worked in a grocery store and then with Unisil. Unisil was a mechanical manufacturing company and I would help assemble parts there. Times were hard and in between my pregnancies I had stopped working. Your father had a work injury which led him to change careers as well. Since then, I opened up my own business and would sell blankets and curtains at wholesale prices.

I tried having my own spices brand and would items such as turmeric, masala, and whole spices as well. I used to be involved in the local Polynesian community and would sell trays of food after their church services. One thing I learned while navigating through life in America, was that there was always a means of income if you just put your mind to it. I did begin to take computer classes at one point but I could never finish or pursue education because our lives were so busy raising five children.