The subject of my interview is Rob Reyes. He has been our next door neighbor since we moved here to Indio six months ago. He is a second generation Filipino-American that was born in America and has lived in California all of his life. Rob is 26 years old and has been married to his wife Sandra, 27, for 2 years. They don’t have any children, but do plan on having some once they save more money and the economy gets better. They are not rushing it because they have 3 dogs that are their “kids” for the time being, plus they like having their friends over on Friday nights for poker and social drinks. Rob is a technician for Time Warner Cable and has been employed with them for 7 years. His wife Sandra works at a doctor’s office in Palm Springs 30 miles away, so both of them are gone most of the day and we only see them in the evening when they are home from work.
To fully understand Rob, his story, and what has shaped him into who he is today, we must go back to the Philippine Islands during World War II where the journey to America for his family begins. “Manan,” who is Rob’s paternal …show more content…
When the Americans did come, the Japanese melted back deep into the jungle highlands to fight, so there wasn’t really a lot of fighting in Manan’s village, but the Americans were so nice that she never forgot it. They brought candy, and food, and the men were so handsome, that the lasting impression that America and the American experience left on a thirteen year old girl was embedded into her forever. When the war ended, all Inez could talk about was America this, and America that, the U.S. this and the U.S. that. As she grew older into her teens she started telling her parents that she wanted to go live in America and work. Having seen the American people up close and interacted with them had convinced her America was the place for