Broken English

For our 9th episode I sit down with a woman from Argentina named Josefina! Her incredible story starts off in Buenos Aires and ends in Naperville, IL. While in Argentina she convinced her company to send her the U.S. and she learned English from a friend before moving here. It's an incredible story of innovation, hard work and failed bribery. I had great time recording this episode and I'm sure you will like it as well. Thanks for listening!

I have another South African on the show this week! They just keep volunteering and I couldn't be happier. This was a fun interview with Beryl who is from Johannesburg, South Arica. She moved here after living in Europe for a few years and hasn't looked back since. She paid for her plane ticket here with money won gambling on horses and lived on a horse training facility in Tampa, Florida when she first moved here. A minister helped her create a new life in the US by teaching her how to live illegally. She essentially had a fake identity once she acquired a Social Security Number and a bank account. She had to change her entire backstory to get jobs and work her way up through companies. We talk racism, Trump, Immigration Reform, 9/11, and what it takes to survive in America. Thanks again for listening to this show, it means the world to my guests and I.

This time around I interview my first Middle Eastern guest named Ali from Iran. Ali immigrated here as a teenager and ended up in Massachusetts. He and his family got his Green Card through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. They were randomly picked lottery style to move here so they packed up and headed the US. It's a heartfelt story of a young ambitious comedian now chasing his dreams in Chicago. Thanks for listening!

This week we've got an excellent interview where I sit down with Ramiro Lynch from Argentina. His parents where political activists and he found himself studying criminal law before moving to the US for his work. Immigrating to the Chicago suburbs and trusting strangers while learning the language was an everyday task for Ramiro in his path to becoming an American. It's an episode of love, loss and finding a home. Thanks again for listening to these incredible firsthand immigration stories week after week. Please feel free to let us know how I'm doing through our website brokenenglishpodcast.com 

I've got another insightful episode of Broken English for you! This time (actually a few months ago) I sit down with a couple from South Africa and get their immigration story about moving to Chicago from Johannesburg, South Africa. Their firsthand account of their move is a bit different from the others we've heard from so far and I get to learn a little bit more about the Green Card process. Thanks for listening and don't forget to check out the website brokenenglishpodcast.com 

Hey! Another episode here and this time it's a co-worker of mine named Fernando from Bolivia. He immigrated here as a teenager without knowing a single word of english and lives here in Chicago holding down a job with me. We talk of other immigrant bullies at school, how cocaine isn't as popular as I thought it was down there and his plans for the future here in America. It was recorded back in the summer before Trump was elected so if the references sound dated... They are! Thanks for listening!

Adam Burke is a Stand Up Comedian and regular on NPR who was born in Australia, raised in Ireland during their civil war and lived in London to then immigrated to the US in his mid-twenties. It's a great episode full of soldiers, heartbreak and weird accents. We talk politics, border ideologies and immigration officers thinking Australia is French Polynesia. Thanks again for listening!

This episode I sit down with a woman who immigrated from South Africa named Alet and talk about her experience moving to Chicago as an Au Pair.  She shares a little bit into the life of living in South Africa along with the hardships of living in the United States without any of her family.  It's a tale of a little girl who grew up watching America on her TV and following her dreams has led her to actually living here.  Thanks for listening to Broken English: Firsthand Immigration Stories!

Hey! Welcome to the first episode of Broken English: Firsthand Immigration Stories!   This episode I sit down with a friend of mine who illegally immigrated to the US from Mexico at the age of 12 and has slowly become an official resident. The story is filled with laughter and struggle as Miguel describes an incredible journey from the heart of Mexico all the way to Chicago with his parents. Being my first episode I learn quite a bit about what it takes the average person to make it across the southern border. I must say, it's not for the faint of heart.   *Warning! This was recorded before Trump was elected so the interview may seem dated as far as the election portion goes.* Thanks for listening!