“Because you know, when you are the oldest in your family, you do a lot of things. You play every-, yo jugaba mucho afuera pero yo desde los ocho años ya ya sabía como a cocinar”

Lidia Garcia, born January 12, 1963, is a mother, grandmother, teacher, and much more.  In this interview we talk about her childhood, job, and other topics. 

At a young age Lidia was a very active person and loved playing outside with friends. However as she grew she had to take responsibility for her five siblings.  Cooking, cleaning, and washing their clothes. Lidia was a very active person and loved playing outside with friends.  

Since she was little she always dreamed of becoming a teacher and later pursued that dream.  She talked to me about the difference between LA and Mexican schooling and how it was a major shift for her.  She graduated and got her AAP but had to stop there to stay home and take care of her grandchildren. Today she is a preschool teacher for PACE.

TRANSCRIPT:

Gemly Garcia: Okay, entonces te voy empezar preguntando unas preguntas y luego me necesitas a como decir que-

Lidia Garcia: Okay.

GG: Okay, estas lista?

LG: Mhm.

GG: Um, what’s the biggest- or who’s the biggest the biggest influence in your life?

LG: My mother.

GG: Why?

LG: Why, because she’s always uh hard worker, since I remember her she working, working all the time.

GG: Okay.. Como que..Like what did she do?

LG: Uh..Everything, she sewing, she selling, all the time selling or sewing or working hard for her children. 

GG: Um, how was your childhood like? Como how was..when you grew up how was it like?

LG: Uh..No se..

GG: No sabes?

LG: No..

GG: No? ¿Se te olvido?

LG: No, no se me olvido.  I don’t wanna talk…about my childhood. The only who I remember, I remember to play a lot a lot of playing games, outside in the street, playing with a lot of friends. 

GG: Mhm?

LG: Mhm.

GG: ¿Fuentes a la escuela? 

LG: Of course.

GG: How was that like? How was school like? 

LG: Like what? 

GG: Como…en la escuela como estabas? Like were you good were you bad-

LG: No I-I was [laughs] I was good! Because my mami and mi papi eran bien duros! My mami and papi was very very very  hard workers and hard all the time. Todo el tiempo eran bien…how can you say estrictos? 

GG: Um strict. 

LG: Strict? Yeah! Really, mi papi también, mucho. [Inaudible] bien..bien estrictos. Because you know, when you are the oldest in your family, you do a lot of things. You play every-, yo jugaba mucho afuera pero yo desde los ocho años ya ya sabía como a cocinar. Desde los ocho años ya cocinaba.

GG: Ni puedo ser un huevo [laughs].

LG: Desde los ocho años ya lavaba y planchaba. Y mi mama me puso a planchar mucha ropa. Por por los hermanos-

GG: Si?

LG : Por todos mis hermanitos.

GG: ¿Como cuántos tienes? ¿Como ocho?

LG: No, somos six. 

GG: Six?

LG: Odi , Yo, Rosio, Delilah, Erica, and Beto. Six.

GG: Si . Um..what’s your biggest, if you haven’t reached it, what’s your biggest goal?

LG: Biggest? 

GG:  And if you..Cómo sabes que estoy diciendo verdad?  And if you’ve already reached your goal, what was your goal? 

LG: I have in mind all the time to be a teacher, and I’m teacher.  In Mexico I went to the school and getting my diploma [inaudible] and I was teacher there too. 

GG: That was your biggest goal? To be a teacher? 

LG: Mhm.

GG:  Y como te gusta?

LG: Siempre me ha gustado ser maestra. I don’t know why . All the time desde chiquita. Desde chiquita, mi mami dice que siempre daba yo classes a mis muñecas, daba yo classes a mis- a todos. 

GG: Um, como eres una maestra, erm, have you ever had a student that has had an impact in your life?

LG: All the childs are differentes, all the childs have impacted my life but especialmente I keep in mind all the time Janice. 

[The person being interviewed did not want private information on a previous student to be put on the transcript].

LG: Y sabes por qué? Porque cuando voy por el trabajo hay paso por su casa. Y siempre digo “Ah I wish I could see Janice.” 

GG: ¿Su casa de ella o de su abuela?

LG: De su abuela pues.

GG: Um, Okay, como..si recuerdas como en México o aquí, en Los Ángeles, cómo fue tu primer día  de, uh, teaching?

LG: Of teaching? In Mexico I was- it was so different here to Mexico. It happened to me many years ago, kinda 26 years ago when I was teaching in Mexico, and you know, you have all support from the parents because it’s so different.  When the parents arrive to school, always say to the children, ‘Saludo a tu maestra chamaco!’ And then, all the people know you, all the people, vas caminando, you just walking and then ‘teacher [inaudible] teacher!” You know Mexico, ‘Buenas tardes, buenas tardes, buenas tardes, buenas tardes, buenas tardes maestra, buenas tardes maestra, que le vaya bien!’ Oh my god, sometimes you feel happy but sometimes it’s embarrassing because everybody knows you.  Yeah, and over here no, todo el tiempo las mamas se andan corriendo, even if you wanna talk about the child, ‘Oh I don’t have the time right now because I have to go work!’ or whatever, you know. It’s so hard here.  Also aya ay mucha disciplina porque los padres support their child’s support the teachers.  When the child not behave all the time all the time asking to the teacher ‘How he behave teacher? How he behave?’ or ‘How she behave?’ And over here? You can not tell them nothing.  

GG: Si, es que ya tienen más, they’re more strict, they like really want to know about their child.  

GG: Alright, y la última, sí puedes hacer todo otra vez que puedes o que quieres hacer diferente?

LG: Over here, uh, I wish I could have more [inaudible] school, but now I feel so tired. Already [inaudible] aqui, aqui. 

GG: Si, y porque, ¿aquí cuántos años fuentes a el colegio?

LG: At college I get my AAP, Almost to my BA. Almost to my BA.

GG: Y que paso?

LG: Que paso? I have to take care of my grandchilds too. That’s why. 

GG: Okay pues, gracias, y pues uh, si gracias.