“We came to America for a better future. For our kids too.” 

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          There was a culture shock when my mother first came to America. They didn’t have much. “I struggled a lot when I came here, I missed my family and we didn’t have a job or a house.” Only my dad would work. They would make sambal and tempeh when they struggled. The first thing my mother tried to find when she first came to America was a cobek. A cobek is a mortar and pestle. When making sambal, the taste is different from making it from a food processor. It needs a special process to make it just like home. She went to many, many Asian markets but she could not find one. “The store was on 16th and Morris. It was an Indonesian convenience store but it was closed in 2002.” She stepped upon the store and found her treasure. Although the store is closed down now, she will always remember it for giving her a piece of home. It was a way to make sambal forever. She still has it to this day and we use it during family dinners. The thing about my family is, we don’t eat dinner together as often as American families do. So when we do, the cobek is always in the middle and we have an amazing dinner.

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          Sambal is the perfect add-on to any Indonesian dish. I love it so much and I usually try to bring some everywhere I go. My mom makes it special for me because my spice tolerance is low, and that’s an action I will never forget. The words “I love you” don’t really come across as much, but actions can speak louder than words.

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          In connection with the hypothesis, these stories show the resilience of my parents and it also shares a similar component to other immigrant parents. The struggle was very very real, but one piece of home can motivate a person until forever. It shows how strong they are and how much they sacrificed to come here.