<Begin Segment 6>

DG: Let's go back to when you came from Peru, okay? And you left some of the family there, right?

SS: All of his, my dad's side.

DG: Just your family came. Okay, and then, and you started school in Honolulu.

SS: Kindergarten.

DG: Kindergarten.

SS: My brother who was three years older than I, he and I both went to kindergarten. And...

DG: And you didn't speak any English then?

SS: But we spoke Japanese. And fortunately, I guess the teachers were Japanese Americans, so at least I was able to communicate.

DG: Your class was called, "F" class?

SS: No, this was in elementary school. This is kindergarten, was different. Then when I went to first grade I was in the "F" class because I didn't speak any English. And all the people in my class came from China and Japan and all over, and they didn't speak English. But, we were forced to learn the language...

DG: So, did you know that you were in America at that time?

SS: That I knew.

DG: What did it mean to be American then? At that time?

SS: You know I never really, I guess I was too young... family brought me when I was, what? Five going onto six. I was six. '31, I was six. And those days, you just come with the family, and because my mom's family sisters were all so good to us.

DG: But as you went, you said you moved up from F to D to C.

SS: Yeah, but you see...

DG: So you knew what to strive for, right?

SS: Because my aunts, like when I first started first grade, either my Auntie Edith or Auntie Florence would take me to school. And then, I would watch them from the window and as soon as they started to go home, I would dash out of the class and then, they would bring me back. And eventually, I figured that I have to stay in the classroom so, you're forced to learn the language. And when I went into the second grade, I guess I must have been speaking English. Right? Because I landed in D class, from F to D, that's pretty good! And eventually, I went up to the B class.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.