<Begin Segment 14>

AI: So, I'm wondering how, how things changed after the end of the war?

AS: You mean camp?

AI: Yes, in camp.

AS: Well, almost everything was the same except that we didn't have any more school because all the, all the teachers were gone. So then this one Japanese American, she said she was going to teach us English. So a group of us Peruvians, we got into two different groups, the older, the older ones and the younger ones and then divided into two different groups because there were two, two Japanese Americans were, volunteered to teach us English, speaking it. So that was a little bit different. And then...

AI: Well, tell me about that, because why, why were you interested in learning English?

AS: Because we had nothing else to do. And being there, and we had so much time and these two Niseis wanted to, they were willing to teach, so we figured oh, might as well learn something, just, instead of just being there doing nothing. So, so we, so we went to classes and tried to learn English.

AI: Wow, what was that like? You had never spoken English before, had you?

AS: No.

AI: Or --

AS: But, you know, but see like, by that time, Peru won't take us back. They didn't want to take us back so we didn't know whether we're gonna go to Japan or we're gonna probably stay here in the States. Then we better, if we're gonna stay here, we figured we better learn English. So that's the reason we went.

AI: So, after the war ended, your father definitely did not want to go to Japan?

AS: No.

AI: And your family found out that Peru did not want you to return --

AS: Right.

AI: -- to Peru.

AS: But then in 1946 there was a rumor that the camp finally was gonna be closed. So then, so if you had a relative or friends that wanted to sponsor you, you can leave camp. And, but since my father wanted to go back to Peru, we were still hanging in there, in camp. And then this big packing plant in New Jersey called Seabrook, they must've made a deal with the government so they would sponsor anybody that wanted to go to Seabrook, New Jersey. And so then my, and so the government said if we went to Seabrook and Peru decided to take us back, they'll, they'll supply the transportation back to Peru. So then all of us that wanted to go back to Peru went to Seabrook.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.