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InterviewMy interview was Kasia Koit, a friend of mine for the a number of years. She had lived in Poland prior to moving to the United States. I took the interview very seriously and we met at a coffee shop on the corner of Hayden and Thomas roads in Scottsdale Arizona. When we sat down, the questions begin. She was very nice and answered then for me, but the main thing that was weird is afterwards she felt like we had to go home and no go out to lunch as we had originally planed. It was more formal then either of us originally had thought it would be.
My name is Katazina Elzbetia Koit. I came to America from Poland in the summer of 1992. I came over with my family, my mom, my dad and my brother. I was 10 years old when we moved and my brother Dorek was 23 years old. He wasn’t going to come with us, as he had a girlfriend and was in love. My mother begged him and begged him to come with us, and one day his girlfriend dumped him, and he came with us. In Poland, you get married young, out of school, you want to start a family and buy a house as soon as you can. I live with my mom now, she sent my father back to Poland in 2000, and she reminds me frequently that my boyfriend is not Polish. When my brother went to school, he got a degree in Criminal Justice. Today he is a probation officer in Yuma, close enough to visit, but far enough away to live his own life, without mom interfering. I am a student at ASU in my senior year, getting ready to graduate with a degree in Justice Studies, and a minor in Psychology. I don’t know what I am going to exactly, but I do have an internship as soon as schools out.
When I went to school in America, I knew some English as it was taught in school but not enough for all my classes to be in English. I was in ESL in Arizona, which was really different. Most of the teachers only spoke English and Spanish. I had a teacher come in from another school once a week who spoke polish, and taught me and allowed me to ask questions. The church had English classes on the weekends, and so I would go in the morning to learn my English better and in the afternoon to keep up with my Polish. There were other students in the English class, but not very many learning Polish with me. After three years of polish, the church did not offer Polish classes anymore, just not enough intrest I guess. By that time, I knew English pretty well, so I stopped going to classes, but I still go to church with mom every week. Mom puts ten percent of her weekly earnings to the church, after all they helped us get here. I also have started to do that with my part time job funds for the last three years.
(Kasia- or Katie in English) |
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