by Paige Steigerwalt
Not even a year ago Daisy moved from San Jose de Ocoa in the Dominican Republic to be with her husband, Manuel, here in Hazleton. He had moved away from Daisy and their children to America fifteen years ago to better provide for them. His love grew for the country to the point where he refused to go back to the Dominican Republic to visit his wife, children, and extended family. In order to maintain a healthy marriage, Daisy was forced to make the extremely difficult decision of leaving her children behind in the Dominican Republic to move to America to live with Manuel. She left her children, her family, and everything she had ever known behind. This is where the discord in her life begins, because even though she does not regret her decision, it still threw her entire life out of balance.
Daisy and Manuel are on better terms than they were a year ago when they were hundreds of miles apart, but it could be better. His job as an independent worker is extremely demanding; he wakes up early every day and comes home late. Manuel works hard to continue providing for his family through his success in business endeavors. And whenever he has a chance to relax, it seems as if she gets pulled away by her own job. That is, when she has one. One week she works in a TJ Maxx retail store stocking clothing, the next she is unemployed, and then the following week, she works for a meat packaging company. This is routine for her. She works hard at whatever job she finds, but sooner rather than later, she gets fired for an unknown reason and is back on the hunt.
Every job she acquires, though, seems equally laborious when it comes to her work shifts. Each of them are always twelve hours, which takes its toll but she needs the money to support her two children, which she does by remitting the majority of her paychecks back to them. In the Dominican Republic, she would only have an eight hour work day and rarely had to work overtime. Here in America, she seems to spend more time at her work place than in her actual home, which does not even remotely feel like the home she left in the Dominican Republic. The crystal clear waters and soft white sand, swaying palm trees, and the warmth of the sun has been replaced with busy streets, countless strip malls, and a cramped apartment.
A day does not go by that Daisy does not think of her two children. Between previously missing her husband, and now missing her, she finds being separated from her kids harder to cope with. It was not easy for her to leave them at home to live with her brother, but she had her reasons. She had to think of her marriage, which had been falling apart, and with her children being older and more self-reliant, she does not feel as guilty for leaving them. Both her son and daughter are still in school, and Daisy felt it would be best for them to remain in the Dominican and finish their educations there rather than giving them a culture shock at such a pivotal point in their lives.
Francesca is the oldest at seventeen years old, and has just started her first year in university in the Dominican Republic. She is aspiring to be a psychologist for a large corporation, which is extremely popular in the Dominican Republic right now. Her son, Fradey, is sixteen. He is in his last year of high school and wants to study mechanical engineering when he gets to university. She is extremely proud of both of her children, but misses them. Daisy tries to fill this gap by encouraging them to do well by funding their schooling.
This gap widens, though, with the fact that she has not had the chance to see, speak with, or contact Francesca or Fradey in any way since she left the Dominican last year. She has the same problem with communicating with the rest of her family. If she still lived back home in the Dominican Republic, she would be able to see any family member at any time, and see and hold her children every day. Right now, all she has is her husband, who she barely gets to see as it is.
Before Daisy left, Francesca was eager to come to America. Once she finishes her degree in psychology in the Dominican, she said she wanted to move in with her mother and father and to start a life here in America. Some of her other family members also expressed an interest in visiting Daisy in America. This warms Daisy’s heart and fills her with an indescribable joy. It breaks her heart, however, that Fradey has no desire to come to America whatsoever, not even to visit. So, she plans on visiting him and the rest of her family in the Dominican as much as she can. She is currently planning on travelling back this December.
Daisy’s hardest obstacle in her life right now is adjusting to life in Hazleton. Her homesickness and yearning for her children and family make it difficult for her to ease into life in America. She has only lived here a year and is still struggling to stand on her feet with a steady income and career. With time she hopes to develop an efficient system that will allow her to contact her children regularly since she does not have the resources or ability to do so presently.
Daisy thought life was supposed to be easier in America, with more opportunities or a new found happiness. She was supposed to find the perfect job and make plenty of money to send home to put Francesca and Fradey through school, so then they could come join her in America and have all of them live happily together once again. But so far, it has not turned out that way. But she is persevering.
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