Melting pot still a global one
In all the stories about immigration, the most common face is Hispanic. However, people from all over the world come to the United States to look for better lives.
One-year-old Soren wobbles over and falls down next to where Tatiana Fox is sitting on the beige multi-colored rug.
"My role of mother and wife is more traditional of Russia," she says as she pulls her long hair into a ponytail before placing Soren on her lap. "However, Aaron and I try to keep things equal as much as we can."
Fox lives in Talent with her husband, son and their two dogs, 12-year-old Sammy and 2-year-old Eddie. She went to college for three years at Almaty State University in what is now Kazakhstan before receiving a scholarship that allowed her to study in America. Her goal was to travel, see more of the world and have more opportunities.
Originally Foxwas supposed to go to the University of Washington but at the last minute her school assignment was changed to Southern Oregon University.
"It was hard for the first month; I had no friends or family here," Fox says. She could have transferred to UW after her first term, but she started making friends and ended up loving it here so much she decided to stay. After her third year in Ashland she decided that this was her new home. She received her bachelor's degree in international studies in 1996, and hasn't been back to Russia in 12 years.
It has been a welcome change of lifestyle. She says it's hard to get anything done in Kazakhstan if you don't have connections. For instance, she couldn't just go to the market to buy clothes, more often using the black market or other connections.
"People who have connections live somewhat above the law," Fox says. "Cops could stop you for no reason on the road and give you a ticket or let you pay them off. You never know if they had stopped you for a real reason or just to get money."
Since living in America, Fox says she has become Americanized. She eats out at restaurants, goes to the movies, and goes shopping. It wasn't common at all for her to go to the movies or shopping in Russia. Yet, she still keeps some of her native culture alive by speaking Russian to Soren and to her mother, Faina, who followed her to the United States five years after Fox arrived. They have become even better best friends and see each other almost every day.
"It wasn't a conscious decision, having the two cultures blended like they are," Fox says.
Although Fox immigrated from Russia, she doesn't think of herself as an immigrant. "This is my home now, this is where I belong," she says. "My home is so integrated now, I have an American husband and an American son. I don't feel like an immigrant."
Fox says she has always felt welcomed and accepted in the U.S.
"I never felt like people were saying 'Go back to where you came from,'" she says. "If my English wasn't up to par or I didn't have a job, then things would be different. I've been doing my part all along."
Fox met Aaron in 2000. They married two years later. They met in Ashland, although Aaron was visiting from Portland. They decided to live in the Rogue Valley because there are fewer people here than Portland, Aaron's mom grew up here, and there are lots of outdoor opportunities such as hiking and river rafting.
Tatiana is in the process of attaining U.S. citizenship. Because of her marriage, she is on the fast track, which is three years. Tatiana took the citizenship test on June 27 and is now awaiting the results of her background check. She wanted to become a citizen to end her constant fear of being sent back to Russia for reasons beyond her control.
"What if I hit a car and the person died? Would I get deported?" she asks. "I'm just sick of the constant nagging."
In 1997, Tatiana was hired in the Government Documents department at the SOU Library as a digitization technician for Southern Oregon Digital Archives. The following year she was hired as the government information specialist and held that position until the first week of July 2006. Now she is back in school full-time, pursuing a degree in nursing. It's one of those opportunities she came here looking for.
Tatiana decided in June 2006 to quit her job at the library so she could spend more time with Soren and put more focus into her schooling. "There's a certain quality of life I want for my kids," Tatiana says, "I want to be there for their activities."
Like Tatiana Fox, Gloria Noh experienced the transition to a new culture. But memories of her first year still bring tough memories. As Gloria sips her coffee, she thinks about the life she has created in America. Her dark eyes are full of contemplation as she glances up to the ceiling.
"I was homesick and cried a lot for the first year, but got over it with time," she says. She decided to adopt the American culture because she knew she was going to settle down here.
"I loved it here and wanted to be a part of America," she says, "Once I start something, I don't give up. I'm very persistent."
Noh lives in Medford and is from Busan, South Korea. She came to America in 1972 to be with her sister in Portland. While living in Portland, she worked at White Stag, which is a tent factory, as she came over with no money.
Noh became a citizen just one year after being in the country. It only took her six months to complete the process.
"I had decided to stay. Busan is the second biggest city in Korea. There are no yards and you cannot walk around the neighborhood because there are cars everywhere," Noh says as her small frame walks back to the table from the kitchen. "I like open areas with trees. It's nice to have a yard." Still it took her about 20 to 25 years for America to finally feel like her home.
Since Noh became a citizen, she says she doesn't think of herself as an immigrant anymore. In terms of the immigration issue, she feels that the U.S. needs immigrants.
"That's why this country is so strong, because we have so many different cultures and so many people can succeed," she says. "A lot of other countries don't accept immigrants."
After her job at White Stag, Noh moved on to Tectronics and then began a career in real estate. After living in Portland for about 20 years, she moved to San Francisco and then to Medford a year later. She went back to Korea about every year to visit her family.
In Korea, people work seven days a week.
"People are very motivated and strict," Noh says. Arranged marriages are also common. Noh had an arranged marriage here through her sister when she was 27 years old.
"My sister had a friend who knew him," she says. But the marriage only lasted three years because they didn't have much in common. Noh had one daughter from that marriage who is now grown and has a child of her own.
Noh's father taught elementary school and university. Her mother owned her own seafood market. Together they were landlords. "I didn't grow up poor, but there were a lot of poor people around me," she says. "I think it's better to grow up poor than to grow up rich."
Following in her parent's footsteps, Noh now owns her own real estate business. She owns four houses, a duplex, a five-plex, and a commercial building from her business.
"I enjoy the freedom in this country," Gloria says. "You can do what you want."
