Renee, her brother Jose, and their mother Jessica shared this story with the Tenement Museum during a family event at the Brooklyn Children's Museum.
 
Renee first told us how much she loves her mom's Puerto Rican cooking--she makes pepper steak, arroz con gandules, but Renee's favorite meal of the day is her mom's fried chicken with barbecue sauce, and her rice. Renee is learning how to make rice, and plantains, from watching her mom cooking--although as she said, plantains can be tricky to peel without breaking them! 
 
 She also learned Spanish from her mom, with help from her grandpa, and a TV show. "I watched the TV show and asked him, what does this mean? What does that mean? And he teaches me. When I was little, I never knew Spanish, but then as I was growing up I learned." She has a nephew now, and hopes to teach him Spanish one day, too. 
 
 She has never been to Puerto Rico, but would like to visit and see her family there. She loves the Puerto Rican flag because of its colors and its 52 stars that include Puerto Rico 

– Renee

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