Mercedes Martínez
The person I interviewed is Mercedes Martínez, who is a forty-seven-year-old woman from the Dominican Republic. She was born and raised for most of her life in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic with six siblings. Mercedes recalls her childhood being a very good experience full of love ones and many happy memories. She met her husband as a child, and began dating when they were late teens. Mercedes went to college in Santiago where she studied and became an executive secretary for a major bank firm in her hometown. She had her first child when she was twenty-five years old, and was at a happy stage of her life. However, she had to make sacrifices that at the time were difficult, but helped determine her future. At the age of twenty-nine, Mercedes packed her bags and left to the United States in search of a brighter future for her and her family. She left behind her husband and son whom she later brought to the United States. The United States was a cultural shock for Martinez, but as she spent more time and began to work as a Home health-aide, she began to adapt to her new life. She recalls not being able to speak the language or communicate with people that tried to speak to her. All of these challenges helped her push forward and grow into the woman she is today. She is now happily living in El Barrio, Manhattan with her husband, daughter and son. She hopes to continue achieving more goals, and help her kids have a bright future.
“Fue un poco diferente porque aquí hay diferente culturas, pero después yo me fui acostumbrando a la diferente clase de personas. So no he tenido ningún problema con eso, me llevo bien con todas las nacionalidades y los diferentes tipos de culturas.”
Mercedes reflecting on interactions with people in NYC.
Click here for the full transcript of Yeffrey’s interview with Mercedes.
This experience was very interesting, it made me realize how similar and different everyone’s experience could be when they come from a different country to the United States. The interviewing process was intimate and straight to the point which is something I enjoyed doing. Having a moment to talk about things you don’t talk about everyday was something both Mercedes and I reflected on after the interview was done. I wasn’t expecting to see some of the reactions and answers she had to some of the questions I asked which made it a fun project to do. I would definitely do this project again, and collaborate with someone that has a blog. It’s very interesting to see individuals reflect on their lives, this is exactly the reason I enjoy studying Human Services at BMCC and plan on continuing a career in sociology with social work intentions at Hunter College.
Yeffrey reflecting on his experience with the project.
