Being the child of a first-generation immigrant, there are many objects and people that come to mind when I think of my personal immigration story. The most sentimental object to me, however, is my mom’s Colombian hot chocolate pot. When my mom immigrated to the United States, from Colombia at age 22, she brought a limited number of things with her. She missed her Colombian traditions, her native Spanish language, and the incredibly different way of life. However, what she missed most was Colombian breakfast. After returning back to Colombia to visit her family, she decided to bring a piece of home with her back to New York. She brought back a Colombian hot chocolate pot. In Colombia, my mom grew up with the smell of hot chocolate flooding the house every morning because it is a special part of breakfast. My grandma had a unique way of making this hot chocolate, however, she added cinnamon and cloves for extra flavor – something we view as a family recipe. This hot chocolate is incredibly important to my family, as the recipe and the pot has remained in my family and is still currently used today. I will never forget the image of my mom and grandma in the kitchen together preparing breakfast and stirring the boiling, bittersweet hot chocolate. Thinking of this object brings back nostalgic memories and comforts me. I am incredibly proud of being Colombian, and being very involved with my culture, as it defines who I am and the traditions I wish to carry to my future family. 

– Kaylee Sanabria

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