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Steve Inskeep: Each Friday morning, we bring you another installment1 of StoryCorps, the oral history project that travels the country, collecting the stories of everyday people. They interview each other. Excerpts2 are archived at the Library of Congress. This week's installment comes from a mobile StoryCorps booth in Los Angeles. There, Blanca Alvarez talked with her daughter Connie. Blanca remembered coming to Los Angeles more than 30 years ago; she came to join her husband after illegally crossing the border from Mexico.
Blanca Alvarez: We were walking and walking through the mountains.
Connie Alvarez: And the desert.
Blanca Alvarez: Uh-huh, and, uh, the man, he told us to take our shoes off, because it was a lot of rocks and he said I don't want no noise because the dogs are very, very good to detect every noise.
Connie Alvarez: Oh.
Blanca Alvarez: And he said, I'm gonna whistle and you are gonna duck. And it was the point where he whistled, you know, we went out on our stomachs and we stay there, oh my god, I can see ants, big ants crawling and I was so scared, and he said when the border patrol change shifts,
Connie Alvarez: Yes.
Blanca Alvarez: you know, you gotta run. I remembered there was a torture in those rocks without shoes. So I, we ran as fast as we could and then he said you are gonna walk through that bridge, I'm gonna walk behind you. And you are gonna give me the money there, and then from there you are on your own.
Connie Alvarez: What kinds of jobs did you have since first arriving in the country?
Blanca Alvarez: We were gardeners and we were cleaning offices.
Connie Alvarez: I remember the offices.
Blanca Alvarez: You remember that? We had the night shift, cleaning. That's why you know we had to take you, you and your brother. I didn't have a baby sitter.
Connie Alvarez: I have memories of running into everyone's office and eating candy from their candy dishes, I remember being with my brother in our pajamas3 with the little plastic feet. And I also remembered you would always buy us a cup of noodle from the vending4 machine--
Blanca Alvarez: Right.
Connie Alvarez: --like a snack, and then, put us to bed on people's office couches and then you carried us to the car when you guys were done cleaning offices. I remember that. Did they ever know, did your bosses ever know that you took your kids?
Blanca Alvarez: No, I don't think so.
Connie Alvarez: Is there anything that you've never told me but want to tell me now?
Blanca Alvarez: When we first came here, we went through a lot of things like nut-eating. I guess for six months your father lost his job, and but we never told you that.
Connie Alvarez: I do remember a lot of beans, bean tacos.
Blanca Alvarez: But when you asked us why, why the same thing. Remember? I didn't want to tell you why.
Connie Alvarez: Um, if you could do everything again, would you raise me differently?
Blanca Alvarez: I would dedicate more time, I guess. You know, I was so busy to, going to school to that, I guess I neglected you a little bit.
Connie Alvarez: Now, for me, watching you go to school with two kids and trying to make ends meet, that was the biggest inspiration for me to finish college. I thought there is, there is nothing that could stand in my way that didn't stand in yours more. So, it's the most important thing for me, uh, having gone to college and I feel like anything I do from here on out is ok because I've already achieved my dream. Everything else is icing on the cake.
Steve Inskeep: That's Connie Alvarez speaking with her mother Blanca at StoryCorps. Connie graduated from UCLA, if you'd like to learn more about StoryCorps, make a reservation for your own interview or hear additional stories, visit NPR.org.
Note------------
taco: a type of Mexican food made from a corn tortilla that is folded in half and filled with meat, beans etc; （墨西哥）玉米面豆卷
icing on the cake: the icing on the cake
something that makes a very good experience even better.
Blanca Alvarez: We were walking and walking through the mountains.
Connie Alvarez: And the desert.
Blanca Alvarez: Uh-huh, and, uh, the man, he told us to take our shoes off, because it was a lot of rocks and he said I don't want no noise because the dogs are very, very good to detect every noise.
Connie Alvarez: Oh.
Blanca Alvarez: And he said, I'm gonna whistle and you are gonna duck. And it was the point where he whistled, you know, we went out on our stomachs and we stay there, oh my god, I can see ants, big ants crawling and I was so scared, and he said when the border patrol change shifts,
Connie Alvarez: Yes.
Blanca Alvarez: you know, you gotta run. I remembered there was a torture in those rocks without shoes. So I, we ran as fast as we could and then he said you are gonna walk through that bridge, I'm gonna walk behind you. And you are gonna give me the money there, and then from there you are on your own.
Connie Alvarez: What kinds of jobs did you have since first arriving in the country?
Blanca Alvarez: We were gardeners and we were cleaning offices.
Connie Alvarez: I remember the offices.
Blanca Alvarez: You remember that? We had the night shift, cleaning. That's why you know we had to take you, you and your brother. I didn't have a baby sitter.
Connie Alvarez: I have memories of running into everyone's office and eating candy from their candy dishes, I remember being with my brother in our pajamas3 with the little plastic feet. And I also remembered you would always buy us a cup of noodle from the vending4 machine--
Blanca Alvarez: Right.
Connie Alvarez: --like a snack, and then, put us to bed on people's office couches and then you carried us to the car when you guys were done cleaning offices. I remember that. Did they ever know, did your bosses ever know that you took your kids?
Blanca Alvarez: No, I don't think so.
Connie Alvarez: Is there anything that you've never told me but want to tell me now?
Blanca Alvarez: When we first came here, we went through a lot of things like nut-eating. I guess for six months your father lost his job, and but we never told you that.
Connie Alvarez: I do remember a lot of beans, bean tacos.
Blanca Alvarez: But when you asked us why, why the same thing. Remember? I didn't want to tell you why.
Connie Alvarez: Um, if you could do everything again, would you raise me differently?
Blanca Alvarez: I would dedicate more time, I guess. You know, I was so busy to, going to school to that, I guess I neglected you a little bit.
Connie Alvarez: Now, for me, watching you go to school with two kids and trying to make ends meet, that was the biggest inspiration for me to finish college. I thought there is, there is nothing that could stand in my way that didn't stand in yours more. So, it's the most important thing for me, uh, having gone to college and I feel like anything I do from here on out is ok because I've already achieved my dream. Everything else is icing on the cake.
Steve Inskeep: That's Connie Alvarez speaking with her mother Blanca at StoryCorps. Connie graduated from UCLA, if you'd like to learn more about StoryCorps, make a reservation for your own interview or hear additional stories, visit NPR.org.
Note------------
taco: a type of Mexican food made from a corn tortilla that is folded in half and filled with meat, beans etc; （墨西哥）玉米面豆卷
icing on the cake: the icing on the cake
something that makes a very good experience even better.
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1
installment
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| n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期 | |
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2
excerpts
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| n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段 | |
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3
pajamas
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| n.睡衣裤 | |
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4
vending
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| v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明 | |
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