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Immigrant A: The Life of Adriana Bellino

  • Birth Date of Adriana Bellino (Event 1.a.)

    Birth Date of Adriana Bellino (Event 1.a.)
    I'm Adriana Bellino. I’m 16 years old and I was born in Sicily, Italy. Ever since my father moved to the United States in 1851 to get a job, my mother had to raise me herself. I haven’t seen my father for the last 10 years and I want to see him. Therefore, my mother and I are trying to locate my father who lives in New York. My mom said that it was okay for me to travel to New York to meet my father.
  • Birth Date of Adriana Bellino (Event 1.b.)

    Birth Date of Adriana Bellino (Event 1.b.)
    Although, when I travel to meet my father, I want to at least live down there for a while and get a job. But I’m a female, it’s going to be difficult for me to find a job. But the reason why I’m writing this is because I want to show other people that they could have hope to meet family that they haven’t seen in years, again.
  • Heading Out to Ellis Island

    Heading Out to Ellis Island
    I’m done packing to go to see my father! We sent him a letter and he’s waiting for me to go to NYC. I don’t want to leave my mother for a few months but I have to. I’m getting on a boat in a few minutes (the S.S. Harley) and it’s going to take about 15 days to get to Ellis Island. Hopefully, I have someone that could keep me company on the boat. Although, when I get to Ellis Island to meet my father, which means that I’m going to have to go through the whole process of getting checked.
  • Ellis Island

    Ellis Island
    I finally got off that boat and I''m at Ellis Island. That boat ride was very alright. There was a few storms but other than that, everything was very good and peaceful. I get off the boat and it looks like a very organized system. But I finally met my father waiting for me when I got off the boat. I was so happy when I saw him with his big smile on his face and his arms wide open to give me a hug. Although, after our hug, I had to finally go through my inspection.
  • Inspection

    Inspection
    So, there was a long line for inspection but I didn’t mind because I was getting to know my father even more and that made me really happy. I was missing out on these amazing stories that he told me. But when it was time for me to go through my inspection, I was actually really scared because they made we wear a numbered tag that was pinned to my clothes. One of their inspections was to watch me go up the steps. They assumed if I limped, I was infected. This is so crazy!!
  • New Life

    New Life
    After my inspection on Ellis Island, I've moved in with my dad and we've been closer than I could ever imagine. He showed me around New York and I like it here. Lately, I've been looking for a job but I know that will be difficult because I'm a female and I'm from Italy. But I'm going to keep trying. However, ever since I've moved here, I never really realized that immigrants don't get the same amount of pay as Americans. But as of right now, I'm passed my inspection and I made it to America.