http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5MhoVhL1AM
Peter Livanos
Greek Immigration
Background
Map of the island Chios
Peter came to the United States in 1991 from a small island in Greece called Chios. Everyone on the island is very friendly and everyone knows each other. He loves his country and the island that he is from. He is very proud to be from Greece. Peter was in the shipping business at the age of seventeen. At the young age of seventeen, he was supporting, not only himself but also his mother, his brother, and his sister because his father had passed away. Peter traveled all around the world while in the shipping business. He met his wife Despina, in Canada when he was at the age of twenty-three while he was the captain of a ship. After a few years in the shipping business and after getting married to his wife, two years later he traveled to America thinking that he would be more successful than he was in the shipping business.
Adjusting To A New Life in America
Peter and his wife did not know what to do or where to go when they got to America. They were able to rent out a small one-bedroom apartment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The apartment was very small. Peter had an uncle who was in the construction business that offered him a job so that he would be able to get on his feet. He would travel every single day from Brooklyn, New York to Philadelphia in order to work. This was the best thing that Peter has done for himself because it made him the man that he is today. He was able to become well educated about all areas of construction and he was starting to learn how to speak English. When Peter first came to America, his English was very poor. Peter was not very happy about the rate that he was learning English so on the weekends he would go to Brooklyn College where he would attend a free class that helped immigrants learn English. After learning English and getting on his feet from the help of his uncle he had saved up enough money to buy the apartment building that he was currently living in with his wife. After buying the building he opened up a real estate and construction business with his wife as his right hand. He had a very simple but very effective business plan. His plan was to buy a building that he could renovate and then to rent out the apartments in that building. One year after he bought the building, he had his first son, Evan. After he was born, Peter realized that the one bedroom apartment was too small to raise a family so he went and bought a three story family house. A few years later Peter and his wife had a second child. Him and his family would live on the bottom floor and they would rent out the two top floors so that it would help himself and his family with income problems. After buying his first house he then continued on with his business plan for twenty years and is currently owner of ten apartment buildings. He loves America very much and is also proud to call this country his home. He loves living in the United States. He came to the United States for a better quality of life and that is exactly what he got. He believes that in America, when you work hard for what you want, you can achieve anything.
Traditions And Religion
Not only is his country important to him but also Peter’s religion is just as important to him. Peter is very religious. Peter’s religion is Greek Orthodox. Back when Peter lived in Greece, when he was a child he would go to church every single Sunday with his parents and to this day he still goes to church every Sunday to this day. He wants to pass down how important his religion is to his two children. He also wants to pass down to his kids the customs, traditions, and culture of Greece to his children. One important tradition in his culture is fasting 40 days before Easter. He cannot meat, dairy, and oils. Peter thanks God every single day for the great opportunity that he had to come to the United States and for all the things that he is blessed with today.