Dominga, 74

(1/3) “I’ve been in this country for 30 years. Before I came here, my sister lived in Chicago, When she got divorced she came here to feel better. She got a job taking care of a boy, as a nanny. She stayed one year and she decided to go back to Chicago, and the parents started looking for a new nanny but couldn’t find anyone. At that time, my daughter was in Germany to study German. From Guatemala, it was difficult for me to connect with her by phone, so my sister thought it would be good for me to come here and take care of the boy for one year so I could also be in touch with my girl. I had a good job in Guatemala, I worked in a hotel and I did pretty well, so I said no, this is not for me. But the parents began to call me and told me that my sister said many good things about me. They convinced me. I agreed to go for only one year because when my daughter came home, we would go back to Guatemala. When I came here, my sister was waiting for me in the lobby with the boy, and the minute he saw me and I saw him, we fell in love. He was 21 months old. He’s 27 now. I took care of him until he went to college. The family has treated me as a member of their family.”