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What if I told you that there was a nun who helps immigrants and speaks four languages. Would you believe me? On Wednesday, October 24, Voices of the World went to the Apostle Immigrant Services in the Fair Haven section of New Haven, CT. While we were there, we got to interview a nun named Sister Daniela Minniti.
When Daniela got to America, she started school like any other ordinary six year old kid. She was originally from Italy, and could only speak Italian. It was hard making new friends at first, since she didn’t know any English. Her school only spoke English, and at home they spoke Italian. Her friends were very understanding of her language difficulties and, slowly but surely, she started learning English, and is now fluent in the language. One thing she said was, “I remember reading an English book in second grade, and knowing every single word.”
In 1996, Daniela finally became a citizen when she was 18 years old. Her sisters became citizens before her, and her dad became a citizen a year after she did. Unfortunately, her mom never spoke enough English, and never became a citizen.
Although they all moved to America, they kept the same traditions and beliefs. January 6th was the tradition of the wiseman. They always ate fish, and always believed that, as she said, “You’ll get coal in your stocking if you’re not good.”
Although being in America was pretty great, it was hard communicating with her grandparents. They couldn’t call or text, so the only way to get a hold of them was by sending letters to each other, which they only did every one or two months.
Now, Daniela is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese. She is from New York, and she was talking to us about how every time she walked on the streets she thought, “Wow, all of us belong here, and all of us are different.” That means a lot to her because although she’s from Italy, she now feels like she belongs in the United States.
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