What will become of my multicultural-ness after I marry an American?

by maryhall | Nov 19, 2018 | Culture Shock, Our Staff

By Mary Hall, Medill, Immigrant Connect Not much gets past my journal. October 12, 2018 “We can’t keep having the same fight, Mike, ” I say, my voice low, yet persistent enough to be heard over the hum of the subway taking us toward downtown Chicago. By this point...

A human connection is just the right antidote for immigrants and lost students

by kaishayoung | Nov 18, 2018 | Culture Shock, Our Staff

By Kaisha Young, Medill, Immigrant Connect A crisp June breeze grazes my cheek as I close my apartment’s gate behind me. Google Maps instructs me to head north on South Woodlawn Avenue, then proceed to the Lake Park and 47th bus terminal. When I turn to walk left, the...

A misunderstood Uzbek community stands by the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

by Jack Doppelt | Dec 5, 2017 | Culture Shock, Identity

By Zhejun (Eunice) Wang, Medill, Immigrant Connect Like many other American citizens, New Yorker Sitora Ashrafova was shocked and grieved when she heard about the terrorist attack in Lower Manhattan on Halloween. A man plowed a rented truck down a crowded bike path...

We can learn from a ten-year-old Egyptian immigrant if we’re listening

by Jack Doppelt | Nov 20, 2017 | Culture Shock, Our Staff

By Hannah Wiley, Medill, Immigrant Connect She orders the only item on the menu she can eat—oatmeal, with orange juice. I have an egg white omelet and coffee. We sit across from each other in an IHOP booth, before the afternoon showing of Moana. We are in the middle...

For refugees in the U.S., politics is a luxury

by Jack Doppelt | Jun 30, 2017 | 100 Days for Immigrants and Refugees, Back Home, Culture Shock, Ethnic Media Series, The Migration

By Kathryn Karnaze, Medill, Immigrant Connect As a widow with four kids, Amal faces extreme financial, emotional, and physical stress. She and her kids, all under the age of fifteen, have been living in Skokie, a Chicago suburb, for the past seven months. Previously,...

Hate is tracking in the Korean American community

by Jack Doppelt | Jun 29, 2017 | 100 Days for Immigrants and Refugees, Culture Shock, Family

By Matt Zdun, Medill, Immigrant Connect “We saw 900 instances of hate across the country against Muslims, Asians and other groups in the 10 days following the election,” Brandon Lee estimates. As Communications & Research Coordinator for Asian Americans Advancing...