Narrator: Fabi
Interviewer: Zachary
Spring 2021

Fabi Olsen, a woman who immigrated to the U.S and began a new life here. Where she only

spoke Spanish, and went to college and got her degree in nursing. She overcame her hardships and had a family of her own.

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Describe the moment you realized when you wanted to go to the U.S?

I was excited I was happy. My mother was already here in the U.S and it was a special moment coming here and spend time and live with her.

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Did you immigrate with anybody? If so, with who?

I did.  I came with my older brother Victor and my sister Noemi.”

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Did you leave anybody behind?

I left my maternal grandfather, an aunt, and uncles which I consider them my brothers my sisters because I grew up with them. I grew up at my grandparents’ house back in Mexico.

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What was the process like immigrating to the U.S?
It wasn’t too bad, considering the fact that there is.... (takes a breath) Here in the U.S, there’s a

large population of Hispanics so culture-wise it wasn’t too bad. People speak Spanish, there’s a lot of groceries at the supermarkets, with the... you know Spanish spices and....And ingredients and all the stuff. So it wasn’t really that bad.

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What did you expect the U.S to be like before you got here?

(You hear baby noises in the background) That’s when you are little you watch a lot of those Hollywood movies, so (she laughs a bit). I expected it to be beautiful, I lot of green with big houses and people well dressed, nice clothes (she laughs some more). Just.. Just different.

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How was your experience like going to college in the U.S?

After high school, when I finished high school I put myself in college. It was hard at times, with some of my classes, I used to study a lot; pretty much day and night. And when I didn’t understand words or phrases I always carried with me an English to Spanish dictionary, and that becomes very handy. And it used to help me with things that I didn’t understand. So it was pretty handy.

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How did people treat you when you first got to the U.S?

I didn’t really see any or feel any difference. In college, I used to want to be friends with people with different backgrounds in mind. I wanted to practice my English. I know I used to watch TV a lot in order to understand and speak the language and umm. I also wanted to understand other people’s race, beliefs and learn from them.

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Why did you choose to become a nurse in the U.S?

I started working in the healthcare industry, right after college ummm. When (stutters a bit) when I went to college there was a waiting list to go to the nursing program and I just got tired of waiting in a way. So I started working at the healthcare industry in surgery and umm my coworker and along with my boss encouraged me to go back to school to pursue my nursing career. Which I did and I worked at it for almost 20 years.

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Did you miss your family when you came to the US?
I did I.. miss the others are left behind but we.. we keep in touch. They come here to visit and I got over there once a year or so.

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This oral history was completed as part of Mr. Sepulveda's English class in Spring 2021. The narrative is shared with the narrator's permission and has been lightly edited for clarity. 

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