interview with Perez

Interview with Genaro Perez Kelsey and Candice

Name: Genaro Perez
Country of birth: South Mexico
Age: 50
Occupation: Janitor at UNCG
How did he get to the USA?
Traveled from Southern Mexico to Northern Mexico, crossed a river, took off his clothes and then traveled through the desert for two days. Then he knocked on doors and finally came across and Indian man in Arizona and he gave him food. Perez then traveled by bus to Texas and got a job at a car dealership making one hundred dollars a week.
Family:
Perez left behind his three children in Mexico. The children’s mother and him are separated, yet they still keep in contact. Two of the children came to America a couple years later.
Life in America:
Jobs:
Job in Texas in car dealership
Maine picking blueberries
Florida picking tomatoes
New Jersey picking blueberries
Pennsylvania working in construction
Picking apples in Pennsylvania
Firewood company in Pennsylvania
North Carolina working at the Biltmore Hotel and Homewood Suites
North Carolina inspecting pills
North Carolina as a Janitor at UNCG
How did he adapt?
Learned language and customs of America through his girlfriend who was an English teacher at an apple farm. Also watched peoples faces and ate American food.
Challenges:
Only got jobs through word of mouth from fellow Mexicans. He missed his family incredibly, however he said that he was never discriminated against by fellow Americans.
Goals/Intentions/Dreams
He longs for his home country and would like to go back there in the next five to ten years after he retires to be with his mother.