Tag Archives: immigration

From Mumbai to New York City

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The New York City skyline (Photo: Claudia Bracholdt)

The amount of international students in the US is rising again: After a decline in growth following the 2001 9/11 attacks, 723,277 students were enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities during the 2010-2011 academic year, which means an annual growth of 4,7 percent, according to a report form USA Today. As the newspaper reports, international students and their dependents contributed  $20 billion to the US economy last year.

Although it has become easier to get a visa for studying within the US, many students still face challenges when going through the process: They have to show that they have gathered enough funds to pay for university tuition and living expenses. Moreover, they have to prove that they are not planning to settle in the United States.

Aditya Bir, 27, is from Mumbai, India. Together with his sister, he planned to come to the US in summer 2010. He said that coming to the US is a dream for many students in India. Below you find an interview with Aditya, as he describes the things he observed during his own visa application process.

[audio:http://cdn.journalism.cuny.edu/blogs.dir/383/files/2011/12/aditya.mp3|titles=aditya]

A tradition to change

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For over 60 years, Valencia Bakery in the Bronx has been producing cakes for the Mott Haven neighborhood. In its history, the bakery faced many changes. Serving a Puerto-Rican community for many years, the bakery started to sell products for immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and other Latin-American countries. They came to Mott Haven about 20 years ago, bringing their tastes with them.

“People were looking for different types of cakes,” said Mike Eberle, affiliated with Valencia Bakery since the 1990ties. However, the change not only happened with the new flavors the bakery introduced. More and more people in Mott Haven had to face lower salaries in their jobs or even unemployment. Therefore, they could not afford the big cakes for their kid’s birthday anymore.

“Instead of buying a 16-inch cake and having neighbors over, they bought a 10-inch cake, as small as they could go,” said Eberle.

In the last few years, Eberle noticed another change, which did not arise due to economic problems, but due to the immigrants’ kids themselves.