For this oral history project, I interviewed Flora Go-Soco, a Filipina immigrant who now lives in Daly City. Flora Go-Soco was born in Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines, and grew up in the capital city of Manila. She earned a medical degree in the Philippines, but pursued nursing once in America. Throughout the interview, she shares her personal story and opinions about various aspects of life in the Philippines and America.
Flora Go-Soco with her two children.
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Flora introduces herself and gives an overall background of her childhood. She was born in Leyte, but grew up in Manila—in the Malate / San Andres area. She talks about her family's financial status and the background of her parents.
In this segment, Flora talks about her college experience in the Philippines, starting with her time at Far Eastern University. She expounds on her transition from being a student, to a teacher, and finally to becoming a mother. Notable quotes:
It was my mom's dream to have one kid to go to medicine and she handpicked me because I was the youngest [in my family] to graduate from high school - I graduated at 15 years of age.
If you have the means, it's easier than if you rear your children up hear, or rather, have a family here, because in the Philippines, if you can afford nannies then things are easier for you. You get to sleep.
Flora shares the motivations for her immigration to America—which started with her own mother's journey in the 80s. Notable quotes:
My mom already had plans to come over here even before I wanted to come.
During that time [80s] there were not much happening and also not a lot of people were applying. Not a lot of people could afford to go to America. And not a lot of people were interested in going out of the country because there were a lot of jobs around and the streets were safe.
At that time, just like now, they have this vision of America as greener pastures. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Even when things were good in the Philippines at that time, of course from their readings and from TV, they know that there's ... more to enjoy in America.
You want your kids to have a better education, better opportunities, so I actually looked forward to coming over. We even tried to come over even before my papers came out.
In this section, Flora talks about the initial culture shock she experienced upon immigrating, and subsequently, the changes she had to go through to acclimate. Notable quotes:
When we first landed in LA, the first change that I experienced was the weather. It was really cold. I felt like I walked into a big fridge.
The big positive thing is you are able to see the opportunities out there. You are able to expand as much as you would want to. Like I always tell you, there are a lot of opportunities out there, but you have to be prepared for those opportunities. That's why you have to study now and expand later. Spread your wings later.
Flora then shares about her experience in the workforce and tries to draw comparisons between professional life in America as compared to the Philippines. Though she was trained as a medical doctor in the Philippines, she chose to pursue nursing in the United States due to training and accreditation issues. Notable quotes:
Employers always want employees who've been trained or who have had background. Every now and then you'll encounter employers who are willing to train people, mostly because they want to pay chapter. So if you're not trained, then your salary scale is down there. Whereas if you're already trained then you have better opportunities of a higher quality pay scale.
I just got my nursing here in America. I was an MD in the Philippines, so my training as an MD didn't count because those professions are not the same. Although yes they're both in the medical field, but their jobs specs are different - entirely different. So they demand of course the nursing experience - which I didn't have.
Being a Filipino, we were educated with the English as a medium of instruction, so we weren't really - though we were not that eloquent, but we can easily adapt because we've been taught and trained using English as a medium of instruction - using English books. So it was an advantage. Challenge? Of course there's an accent, especially for an older person like me, who came here at a later stage in my life, I had an accent.
In this closing section, Flora discusses her views on identifying as a Filipino, even if she still lives and plans to retire in the United States. She talks about how the two cultures intersects, and she also shares some advice for those who may relate to her experience. Notable quotes:
I enjoy being an American and I enjoy having that Filipino cultural background.
f your heart is set to come here to America, it's not like you are giving up your "Filipinoness," but rather you're going to adjust to the America culture, right, and you have to adapt american ways, but it's advantageous for us not to forget where we came from because Filipino culture is rich and we have very good Filipino values.
Try to adapt to the good things here in America and try to still practice the good values that you have as a Filipino.
A lesson that I learned is to adapt. Whatever you learn here that's good, go do it. Adapt to it. The things that you know - your good values as a Filipino - retain them. And people will love you for the goodness in you. And the good thing is if you show that you're a good person they will appreciation your ethnicity. And you can then be proud that you're a Filipino
I never take negative things to heart. If somebody's negative to me, I just pray for that person. Lift him up to God—and the Lord will take care of you.
Summary & Takeaway
Overall, Flora Go-Soco has been able to experience a varied life both in the United States and in the Philippines. Though she has been able to find comfort in her life, she has faced her own unique struggles and challenges as an immigrant and as a Filipina. Her message to others though is to maintain clarity of thought and purpose in order to achieve the goals and outcomes that are desired. Though challenges and negativity may come up, the ideal response is to lay them aside and keep moving on. As an immigrant, she is grateful for her life in the United States, but she is also respectful and appreciative of her history and background as a Filipina.
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