This object is a toy I bought during one of my visits to my father in Honduras.   Every child in my family has played with a version of it.  I found it in a town called Valle de Angeles, outside of Tegucigalpa.  Valle de Angeles is a place where artists and artisans sell their handmade goods.  

This toy is important to my family’s immigration story because my father had many siblings and their mother died when my father was three years old.  My grandfather had to make his money stretch to feed all of his seven children.   The result is my father learned to use his imagination to make things out of whatever resources he had, including toys like this.  

My father and four of his siblings moved to New York City because they wanted more opportunities in their lives.  They worked hard taking whatever jobs they could.  In their homes, they had furniture from Honduras. They cooked Honduran food, and they had objects like this toy with the name of their home country carved on it.  They were proud of their culture.

Now my sons play with the toy.  When I married my husband in India, I discovered that this ball and cup toy also exists in India.  My sons who are part Honduran and part Indian play with both the Indian version and the Honduran version of the toy.  I wonder how many countries have a toy like this? 

– Shelley

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant