title:Welcome to Melting Pot.

Conversation text:

Joon Park: Welcome to Melting Pot, the show where we talk about life in North America.
My name is Joon Park. I was born in South Korea, but my family and I moved to the United States when I was 16.
There are many immigrants from all over the world here.
Over 45 million people living in the United States and Canada were born in a foreign country.
That's a lot of people! And today we're going to meet a few of them.

Nami: My name is Nami Moussalli.

Joon: Thank you for being our guest here on Melting Pot.

Nami: Thank you. I was born in Damascus, Syria.

Joon: How old were you when you moved to the U.S.?

Nami: When I came to the United States, I was 12 years old.

Joon: And what was that like, coming here, as a 12-year-old boy?

Nami: It was very different. I grew up in a small town in southern Damascus.

Joon: What did you use to do for fun in Syria?

Nami: I used to play a lot of soccer.

Joon: What do you miss most about your home country?

Nami: My mother, definitely. That's the number- one thing, definitely.
We spent a lot of time together.

Joon: Well, thanks for being our guest here on Melting Pot.

Patricia: My name is Patricia de Oliveira. I am originally from Brazil.

Joon: How old were you when you moved?

Patricia: When I moved to the United States, I was 6 years old.

Joon: What was it like for your family to move to a new country?

Patricia: When we first moved to the United States, it was difficult, quite a culture shock.
My parents didn't speak any English when they first moved here, and so I used to translate for them in the beginning.
But as they took classes and learned English, that stopped.

Joon: What languages do you speak?

Patricia: I speak both Portuguese and English now.

Joon: What do your parents miss the most about their home country?

Patricia: The proximity of our family members.
In Brazil, um, because there was a lot of family around, there's always picnics, parties, going to the beach.
Joon: Have you been back to visit?

Patricia: I have not been back to visit yet. I would like to visit Brazil very soon.

Rolando: My name is Rolando Carrera. I was born in Chihuahua, Mexico. It's the, uh, northern area of the country.

Joon: When you were a kid, what did you use to do for fun?

Rolando: Most of the time, I have to say, that I used to listen to music in English.
I used to listen to records over and over and over.

Joon: What did you use to do for work in Mexico?

Rolando: I used to work for a record company.

Joon: What was it like, moving to the United States?

Rolando: In the beginning, it was difficult not to be able to communicate and talk to people and make yourself understood,
and so I felt, um, frustrated a lot of times. But once my English Improved, l was able to communicate better.

Joon: What do you miss most about your home country?

Rolando: Besides my family, the food. The food is amazing in Mexico. It's very colorful.

Joon: Well, thank you for being our guest here on Melting Pot.

Rolando: You're very welcome.

Joon: Welcome to our show.

Mihoko: Thank you.

Joon: What is your name?

Mihoko: Mihoko Hakata. I am from Tokyo, Japan.

Joon: How long have you been in the United States?

Mihoko: Um, it's been about eight years.
I went to school in New York City. I used to study art. And now I go to school in Boston.

Joon: What do you miss most about your home

Mihoko: I miss this place called Shonan. There's a beach and many restaurants also.

Joon: Well, thank you for being our guest on Melting Pot.

Mihoko: Thank you.

Joon: So many people, so many stories. Maybe you're wondering about me.
What I remember most about Korea is the food my grandmother used to make:
yuk gae jang. It's shredded beef in spicy broth. Yummy.
Joon: Mmm. This is pretty good, but not quite as good as my grandmother's. Hers is still the best.
And that's our show.This is Joon Park reporting for Melting Pot.