It was really hard getting used to
living here because of the different
cultures and traditions leaving the
military has it's totally different
opinions with people were just civilians
who've never been in it did you do
[Music]
Hey my name is Juan my name is April
nice to meet you
so tell me where you're from I'm from
Burma or it was called Nima then it was
changed to Burma yeah I was born in a
city called Yangon yeah but then I moved
here two years ago two years ago yeah
Wow easy so like I was born in Dominican
Republic and I came here when I was five
okay so that's very interesting so how
is the difference between there and here
there was just like so many differences
living here and being back in my country
like it was even it was really hard
getting used to living here because of
the different cultures and traditions
it's hard for me to actually connect
with people yeah and I hated that at
first yeah even after two year there's
just like so many new things that like I
didn't get it and I have to get used to
it yeah example example would be like it
was pretty much easy for me to make
friends and back in my country but then
I find it really hard to make to connect
with people here and it bothers me but
then yeah I think it's everybody trusts
it's not just you nobody wants to make
friends with each other around here
everybody says no I find it like people
are really friendly here like they're so
welcoming yeah better than back in my
country back in my country it's just
like people would just straightly ignore
each other when they pass on the street
oh yeah I don't even say hi no no I
don't like that burma country but in
here everybody was like well come in and
you would just see people saying hi how
are you when you meet with each other
yeah yeah and people actually want to
know you
yeah yeah you know you wanna have a
conversation yeah
you know you want to know what their
goals are yeah yes like life story is
so can you tell me more about your story
like how you got here and how if your
journey being okay so I was born in Dominican
Republic I don't know who my dad is
and you know that's it is what it is
then my mom was here and then she work
and then got enough money to get me here
when I was five then I lived in the
Bronx from age five to fourteen then I
moved to upstate New York I lived there
for a bit after I graduated high school
I worked like seven jobs because I felt
like really yes like at the same time at
the same time really so how did you even
do that how did you manage that I
basically just I didn't I only slept on
Sundays really yep he slept on Sundays I
was a bouncer substitute teacher I'm
going by like the timeline so I used to
bounce then I started to teach in the
afternoons or in the mornings then after
I started to teach I used to sell cup Co
knives so I have to go door-to-door and
sell knives I work two jobs at the mall
I was at UH I also worked at UPS on
Friday nights because all of these jobs
are all part-time and they only had like
one or two days so it's not like I had a
full job like every week so I'd be like
okay Monday and Tuesday I'd do this
Tuesday and Wednesday I do this
Wednesday and Thursday I do this so I'm
always going from place to place to
place and then Sunday was my day off
so I would just come home after I got
done at being a bouncer on Saturday
nights a Sunday morning I would go home
crash all asleep till Monday I would I
would sleep for like a good 15 17 hours
and then I would wake up I have to get
up go to the school and substitute
teach for three days yes
what's the bouncer oh so a bouncer is
basically so
so when you go to a nightclub the guy
that's there like show me your ID oh
they always intimidate me so that's basically what I
did so I worked at but then at one point
of my life I'm like I don't want to do
this for the rest of my life I don't
want to just work with his job so I
decided to join the military okay so and
I I joined the military I went in in
2005 I was a cow scout 19 Delta that's
what that's the number that they give
you so calf Scout is let's say the
enemies are right here and we are right
here
they sent a small group to go look make
sure the roads and everything are good
so we can spot the enemy and then make
sure all the roads and everything we're
fine for the main army to go there and
be able to fight yeah then I was in
Alaska for a good amount of time and
then I ended up going Iraq yep in 2007
ended up being there for six months
ended up getting shot in the leg I did
shoot was you the one who did it did you
do it yeah okay well then you don't need
to say sorry right there's no need now
the person shot me they could say sorry
they were the one I was talking about
but I know people telling me that I call
I'm sorry it wasn't you so no worries so
yeah I ended up getting shot in the leg
and then that's how I ended up here in
here in Maryland because I used to be
from New York so I ended up at Walter
Reed from 2007 to 2015 and then you know
treatment and therapy and everything I
couldn't walk for about a year and a
half a year and then down here at school
trying to do so yes thank you I
appreciate it so what are your struggles
with being an immigrant to being here at
MC and going through college and just
coming to this country so when I first
come here I don't like
own house or anything I lived with my
uncle whose been here like forever yeah
and then we were living in the basement
so it was it was actually quite
challenging because it was hard to live
with other people yeah - like that's
what just we with them yeah and and then
after that we moved we my dad and I and
my grandma we bought an apartment not
bought but we rented an apartment it was
easy because I we not safe to live okay
so your dad and your grandmother came
with you uh yeah
oh okay so so your daddy right so I
thought it was you that came by yourself
yeah no no it was also my dad and my
grandma well my grandma came like five
months after we we got here but yeah my
dad is a struggle that I face most is
just making friends it was really really
sad to live here and not be able to make
friends or being talk to people again I
was so shy when I first come here
I couldn't even talk to people one day I
came to ask me I was here I just yeah I
wouldn't think they didn't like anything
anything you just walk away yeah that
was shy and I was quiet but that's how
you make friends they try to talk to you
just like uh-huh
I know it'll talk I know that yes is
really talk with people yeah I so what are
you studying I'm studying business yeah
usually when I meet her like business
major or somebody's on business at the
end of the day what is it that April
wants to be doing um I want to start a
business when I want to graduate okay my
mother has the jewelry business back in
my country and I helped her with selling
jewelry and I fear talking to people
every day and
yeah I want to have my own jewelry
business and maybe import jewelry from
other countries and sell it here it's
like a general brief thing but what I
want to do but I don't know how to get
there what's the most what is it is it
feeling that sense of community maybe
trying to figure out that you do you
want to make a whole bunch of money or
what is it like no really many it's
never really and important like
number-one thing for me I like to find
my purpose life purpose other than money
like I want to be doing something after
I graduate that I actually enjoy doing
that I will be invited to get up in the
morning and say I would really love to
like work today how old are you again
I'll be turning 19 you'll be turning 19
I've talked to a lot of people your age
and I don't really hear that from a lot
of you a lot of them are like oh I just
want to make stock to some money and
everything I got and to hear that
something so profound that you just said
you want to get up every day and you
want to like get up and enjoy your work
and do what you love that's it's just me
like I I don't find money that much
important and other things that I find
there are so many other things important
in life like family friendship it's
important yeah so being an immigrant
from a different country does if do you
find that that leaves you more to like I
want to be it's more about family and
everything compared to like I would say
people here that is more about money and
drive driven to go to for money and like
get a job so then they can have a lot of
money or and stuff like that because like me being
from Dominican Republic
I find myself that yet like it's very
very important that I have my family in
my life but then being here when I was
younger I do see the whole importance
about like having money and this and
that but now that I'm a bit older I can
understand that you
is in everything but yeah right being
able to have that yeah feel like you
being from a different country being
close to your family that's why it's
more important maybe I guess so
because in America I've seen many people
following their American dream and it's
mostly being about success and being
rich and working in Wall Street or
something right but then I was born in
Burma and I was raised to be like be
kind to others and like giving back to
the community and a sense of like
important around a community I guess
that's what shake my belief yeah yeah
what I want to know about you what do
you think like you with your American
Dream well I don't really per say have an
American dream I've been here since I
was five I was born in Dominican Republic
um I came here and I lived in the Bronx
up in New York and I've I just don't say
you have an American Dream I'm more have
like I know exactly what I want to do
like at the end of the day I want to
coach volleyball that's my passion
I coach kids all the way from the ages
from first grade all the way to high
school at this point right now in my
life I do a lot of camps and clinics and
I know I'm I've worked really well with
kids I work really good with kids
like what age I'd say first grade all the way to
high school
okay it can work with any kids if you
want me to teach them volleyball I can yeah
anytime you can learn right cuz that's
uh every time I get like new players or
like I've never done it before but it's
the same thing as you eating pizza right
you never ate pizza before right at one
point in time you never had pizza before
right but what did you have to do you
had it get it and what and try it right
and you tried many then you're like oh
this is amazing right so it's the same
thing inaudible you have to go out and
try it that's what a lot of people they
don't they they don't know I've never
on that before at any age you're like
I've never done it but you have to try
it first and do it and try to know it
and then only you will know that if you
enjoy it or not yeah exactly
then you'll know if you enjoy it or not
but if you don't try it then you're
gonna have always that regret in here I
like man I should have done that I never
did it before and that's the same thing
I think with like owning a business you
know saying you're young enough that you
can go out and try to make a business
and do it and hey I succeed or even if
you don't succeed you're like oh well
the identity but you learn from it so
that's something very important I have
to understand like hey I need to try to
do this because the last thing you want
to do is have regret yeah just because
you don't try something and there's a
quote that says like you'll be what is
the call you'll be regretted by the
things that you didn't do rather than
the things you did do so you just have
to try it you know something that I do
is that I talk with older people and you
know what you can see in their eyes
regret because a lot of older people
they always start with I wish I wish I
could have done this
oh man I missed out on this yeah they
always always start with that oh how are
you man I wish I was your age you're
saying because they have regrets right
that is the biggest like like to me is
the biggest like poison that we can have
is that you go out in life and you don't
have a the same regret because
when you can do something when you're
younger and even 3040 you could still do
something but it's when you're 90 and
you're not able to do whatever you want
to do anymore oh I regret that I didn't
start that business yeah I regret that I
didn't tell so-and-so how I felt and
then that's just gonna sit in the back
of your mind never knowing what could
have happened
if you never started it or never went to
or never asked about yeah yeah you're
totally right
like when I when I got into the age of
like 50 or 60 I don't want to be like be
sad or regret about the past that I
didn't do that I didn't do it well just
wonder and then yeah you you only live
once you never lived you only get one
chances
oh just go try and do it can you tell me
how tell me a bit about being a veteran
and being a student here at MC so
being a veteran and being a student here
at MC has been there's some challenges
because I am older than a lot of the
students here and you know trying to
figure out what I still want to do I'm
still I'm older but I still wanna don't
know what I want to do
that's why I'm in general studies and
just like in one class I'm in American
government and then hearing about the
difference the difference in opinion of
people who haven't been in a military or
anything like that
compared to my opinions are always
although like left to right so I'm
always kind of like not arguing but
having long discussions with people
talking about different type of things
especially in government class yeah just
just the difference in opinion and then
yes being in the military
Has totally different opinions with
people who are just civilians who's
never been in it but it's great to see
them great to have the discussion
because you need to have those
discussions you need to be able to talk
out your differences with other person
so like if you have if we're talking
about politics or whatever it is
and you have your opinion and I have mine we
should be able to just be able to talk
about it but you know some people do get
very offended very simply where me it's
I don't get very offended by it I don't
get offended very much by anything where
I'm just like ok we're having a
discussion where it's actually being
here in Maryland where we either some
people can be super left or super right
it's just it gets very crazy at times
April this has been a great experience I
would say this has been awesome I had a
great time to talk with you and I hope I can be
your friend yeah we're ready friend yes
[Music]