New Mainers Speak 03/02/2014
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Description
Host Kate Manahan interviews Elise, an asylee who came to Portland in August 2012 with her three children from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to join her husband, who had moved here earlier. Elise describes the culture, politics, natural resources, educational system and geography of the DRC and Kinshasa; she also discusses corruption, instability, and the impacts of colonialism on the country. She received a degree in Business Management from Protestant University of Congo.
When she arrived in Maine, her children were 8, 3, and 2; her eldest child began attending Portland Public Schools. Elise had studied English in school, but wanted to improve her speaking ability, so she took classes at Portland Adult Education. She also sometimes speaks French with her neighbors. Manahan asks her to speak some Lingala (11:11-11:52).
They discuss the differences between Maine weather and the weather in the DRC; Elise’s extended family in Kinshasa; her husband’s transition from working as an infectious disease specialist in the DRC to studying ultrasonography in Maine; her advice for other New Mainers, particularly mothers of young children; her career goals of further improving her English and getting a Masters degree; and the New Mainers Resource Center, which helps immigrants with college degrees find work commensurate with their skill levels.
Publication Date
3-2-2014
Publisher
WMPG 90.9 FM
City
Portland, Maine
Keywords
WMPG, community radio, college radio, New Mainers Speak, Kate Manahan, immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, Portland, New Mainers, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, colonialism, education, Protestant University of Congo, Portland Adult Education, learning English, French, Maine Franco community, Lingala, Maine weather, Waterville, ultrasonography, New Mainers Resource Center, Learning Works, Barber Foods
Recommended Citation
Manahan, Kate, "New Mainers Speak 03/02/2014" (2014). New Mainers Speak. 5.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/wmpg_newmainers/5
Comments
From 11:11 to 11:52 interviewee speaks in Lingala.