The first story that I listen to is called, ““I Was Born In A Refugee Camp.” Two Sisters Reflect On Struggle And Survival by Beth Lo and Mai Lo Lee. It is about two sisters, Mai Lo Lee and Beth Lo, who are Hmong, sharing their story about how they came to the U.S as young children after living for some time in a refugee camp in Thailand. Mai was born in a refugee camp, where the family had nothing to place her in, so they put her in a small rice steamer. When she didn’t cry at birth, they grew concerned, thinking she might be cold. After warming her up, she began to cry, reassuring everyone she was okay. This experience led to her Hmong name, which means “rice steamer.” Beth then spoke about the trauma of separation from their father–who had run away from persecution– and then reunited again. They then talked about their time in the U.S. how they grew up on a ginseng farm. They were restricted with what they could do. In spite of everything, the sisters consider how resilient their parents were and how resilient they themselves had been. In the end, they express appreciation and a desire to be near to one another because they recognize the value of family.
The audio started out having music playing the first 4 seconds then a narrator comes in introducing a brief synopsis of the podcast and the title of the audio with the music still playing softly in the background. After the introduction the sister started telling their story. The rest of the audio then follows two of the sisters having a conversation with each other. One of the sisters was leading the conversation and the other was letting her talk and chime in with acknowledgement to let the sister know that she is paying attention. She also said some stuff as well. At the end when the story is getting close to the end, there is background music being played and it fades softly into the conversation and fades the conversation out and the background music being played louder. The music plays for about the last 30 seconds of the audio. You could also hear both the speakers clearly. There was one part of the audio that you could hear something drop in the background.
The second audio that I listened to was “To Build the Life She Wanted for Her Son, She Left Behind an Addiction” by Irene Montoya and Gianni Booth. In their conversation, Irene Montoya reflects on the challenges and transformation she experienced as a mother raising her son, Gianni Booth. She recalls a time when they lived in a run-down apartment infested with pests and were forced to sleep in their car after the ceiling collapsed. Seeing Gianni’s happiness despite their situation made Irene realize she needed to change her life. She decided to quit her meth addiction, symbolized by breaking her meth pipe in a dumpster, and committed to building a stable, loving home for her son. Irene’s hard work paid off when they moved into a better apartment, creating a safe and loving environment where they could enjoy simple moments like eating SpaghettiOs and watching TV together. Gianni thanks his mother for her dedication, remembering that she always put in a lot of effort, especially in difficult situations. Irene is pleased with how far they had gone in realizing her ideal of being a devoted mother who raised her son and made fond memories.
The audio starts with music playing and the music turns down a bit in the background as the narrator gives a synopsis of the story. The music fades and the conversation starts between the mother and the son. The mom did most of the talking and the son did ask a question to keep the conversation going. They both did a good job bouncing off of each other. The son was acknowledging what his mom was saying by chiming in. There was part of the audio where it sounded like they had cut and pasted some parts where it wasn’t like a continuous flow of the conversation. The conversation then ended and the music started playing back up.