I have been blessed to work recently with a young couple who just bought their first home. They met here in Minnesota but both are originally from Ethiopia. They have for 10 years been saving to buy this house. Elsa described to me exactly what she wanted. She wanted a two story and the "all American" house. Habtamu wanted a three car garage as he wants to have a boat soon and learn to fish. He certainly became a Minnesotan fast!
They will be moving into a brand new house this November. They come from a country of poverty and political unrest where few people can even imagine how they will be living. They are able to do this because they got an education here and good jobs. Then they started saving and saving. I do not doubt that Habtamu will buy a boat and learn to fish. He even told me he thought it would be good if he learned to hunt. Elsa told me she loves to bowl. She laughs as she is a natural bowler and can hit all the pins down. They remain true to their original culture, but they have learned to embrace what we have here in Minnesota. I am giving Elsa my tatter tot tuna casserole recipe!
I am proud to know these young people who have beat the odds and will nature a wonderful family in the future. They are an example of the hunger that is part of the immigrant population. They did not come asking for hand outs. They came only asking for an opportunity to learn and work. They lived in the basements of relatives houses until they got on their own. They did without until they could afford what they wanted and needed. I look at some of the young people around me who have been born in Minnesota and have had so many opportunities, and yet these people have obtained less than my buyers. They have taken too much for granted and not wanted to work so hard. How do we put that hunger back into people who have been born here to have them rise as far as this immigrant couple? Elsa and Habtamu are citizens. Congrats to them as few of us could pass the citizens' test. They hunger for more and will achieve more. I only hope their children remain hungry enough to
be high achievers. After all, most of my generation had parents who were immigrants or grandparents who came over from the old country, and we got spoiled and now our children are spoiled. We all better get a bit more hungry and achieve a bit more.
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