MY STORY: English-language learners from Portland Adult Education sharing their stories in their words. We welcome them to Portland.
Kamani
I am Kamani Malundu. I’m from Congo DRC. This name came from my family. Kamani means “happy”. Malundu means “good girl”.
My grandparents’ names were Sapu and Musambi. My father’s name was Jean-Emile. He passed away. My mother’s name is Florence. I have 6 older brothers, 3 older sisters and one younger sister. My sister Theo lives in Congo. My sister Catho is a hairstylist in France. My sister Bea lives in South Africa. My sister Mireille is a nurse in London. My brothers Cyril and Arthur are engineers in Congo.
I have a husband and three children, 1 boy and 2 girls. I love my family. I am thankful for my husband Jean-Claude Kamalundua. I’m thankful for my friend Carlos. I’m thankful for my teacher Liz.
I like American people. Different is in America and my country, America likes movies, T.V., writing and listening, and my country likes music and dancing. Important music in my country is drum set, guitar, trumpet and piano. When I was young, I played the drum in the church. I also liked to sing in church.
I celebrate my birthday on August 9th. I celebrate that in a restaurant with my family.
I work as a housekeeper. I like cleaning but I don’t like laundry. Before, I was a volunteer in the Root Cellar. In the future, I want to be a Nurse. I want to learn about hairstyling. I would like to work as a model or hairstylist in a salon.
In my country politics are not very good. We have president who is dictator. In America it is different, the people have liberty and freedom of speech.
I like Nelson Mandela. He was from South Africa. He was a good president. He was born 1918, and died in 2013. I like Nelson Mandela because he liked the people.
If I had one million dollars, I would buy a house for my family, and give money to help children who are sick.
I visited Boston. It’s big with many people. I was happy. I ate steak and fries. For breakfast I usually eat bread and milk. For lunch I cook rice and chicken and vegetable.
Meals from my country that I cook are cassava (pondu). I cook water, onion, fish, oil, salt for 2 hours. Fufu is cooked semolina. I miss the food in my country. I miss my family, my mom and my friends from my neighborhood. I miss my brothers and sisters and the church in my country.
I am good with money. I am good at driving a car and cooking. I am good at taking care of my children and my husband. The best things in my life are my family and health and religion.
