When mom Doris visited the US in 2014, she didn’t expect to meet her future husband while waiting for her return flight at RDU. She moved to Durham in 2015, after getting married, and her eldest daughter, also named Doris, joined her in 2018.

 

Mom Doris, who earned a university degree as an arts and vocational teacher in Honduras, has opened her own tailor shop here in the US. She started out with just “a single sewing machine and a happy face,” but learning English has enabled her to expand her business to English-speaking clients. 

 

Daughter Doris was born and raised in Tegucigalpa and attended the National University of Honduras, where she earned a doctoral degree in dental surgery. She studied English in primary school and was exposed to English language music and videos from an early age, including one of her favorite bands, Green Day.  After moving to Durham, she signed up for ESOL classes so that she can improve her English in order to recertify as a dentist in the United States. 

 

Mom Doris did not speak any English before she came to the US, and her daughter reports that, while it was difficult for her mom to start learning a new language, she is making great gains. Daughter Doris is so proud of how hard her mom has worked. Now they text one another in English, motivate each other to attend class regularly, and discuss their lessons afterwards.