March 12, 1926
Papa came to us during dinner time, to announce that we will be living for America in a few days. I felt very excited, America is a country filled with many opportunities and jobs, and I wanted nothing more than to live “The American Dream”. Papa does not have a very stable job here in our village of Imaicho, and we are worried that we will have to starve and live on the streets, because we don’t have much to eat to begin with. I, Aki Hoshino, am just 11 years old, my little brother Aoki, who is just 7 years old, my mama Kiyoko, and papa Hansuke, want nothing more but to prosper and live in a stable household. Papa’s restaurant is going to come to a close, so we must leave our village and head to Hawaii.March 15, 1926
On our way to America, we were on board with a lot of other immigrants, mostly children my age and younger. None of us wanted to leave our village in Japan, and leave everything behind, but we were all hoping for that “American Dream”, we all wanted better lives. I could see the sadness in their eyes from leaving their life in Japan, but also the excitement that was also within me to explore America, and help our families prosper and live a more stable life.
April 29, 1926
It’s been some time since I’ve arrived here, in a small Japanese village in Maui County, Hawaii. Papa took a job as a day laborer to put food on the table, and mama was working as a piano teacher, while Aoki and me went to Japanese-American school during the day. When we came home from school, we had to help mama clean the house, and set the table before our tired papa came home from work. Papa’s dream was to once again open up our family business, a Japanese restaurant, but he had to earn enough money as a day laborer first in order to make that happen.
August 17, 1926
It’s been some time now that my family and I have arrived in America. Papa finally earned enough money as a day laborer to open up a small restaurant, and we all help out in the family business, and business is doing very well. Aoki turned 8 years old last week, and we have worked hard enough in the restaurant to have been able to have enough money to have a birthday party with all of our friends from school! I still dearly miss my family and friends that I left behind in Japan, but even with all that was lost, I am proud of my family and I to have been able to work hard enough to be living the “American Dream”.
I like how you chose to have your characters move to Hawaii, as this was a very realistic event for many Japanese immigrants. People often forget about this part of Japanese-American history.
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