In the mid-90s, we, Tricia Capistrano and Titchie Carandang had the fortunate experience of having been accepted at our dream school, New York University. Tricia was accepted to the Graphic Communications Management and Technology Program at the School of Education while Titchie was welcomed to the Gallatin School of Individualized Study where she focused on TV Production and Management. In spite of some crazy events--the blizzard of ’96 and the crash of the Asian economies--we were able to complete our Master’s degrees with the help of our parents, friends and our many Filipino relatives based in the US.
Interestingly, whenever we asked, “How can we repay you?” We were told that we should just pass on the kindness and generosity. “Sino pa ang tutulong sa atin kung hindi tayo-tayo din?,” said Tricia’s aunt.
This blog our way of sharing what we’ve learned during our transition to living in the US. It is also our way of saying “thank you” to all who helped when we were starting out.
Special thanks to the following:
1. Our parents who funded our Master’s degrees.
2. Aunty Remy who generously opened her home to Titchie during her entire stay in New York.
3. Lia Uy-Tioco who introduced us and gave us her address book to help us find people who can help us.
4. Therese Ng who started this project with us and helped us set up a web survey to communicate with other Filipino students studying abroad
5. Laarni Almendrala Ragaza and Yeyey Cruz for helping us edit our chapters
6. Our 112 survey respondents and interviewees who generously shared their stories and experiences to help their kababayans.
All in all, we heard from 47 New Yorkers, 14 Filipino students from the UK, 8 students in Massachusetts, 7 in Illinois, 6 from Japan, 6 students in Washington DC, 5 from California, 5 from Australia, 4 Pinoy students in Spain, 4 in Pennsylvania, 2 in Ohio, and 1 each in Amsterdam, Canada, Michigan, Sweden, Switzerland, and Virginia.
