Immediate Family

Sandra has a father, a mother, and a younger sister.  In Mexico, she had a dog, but her parents gave it away, even though they told her it had died.  Her father, Vladamir, is currently 45 years old and works as a corporate purchasing manager for Pinnacle, a picture frame company.  He grew up in Mexico, where he received both his Bachelor’s degree and his MBA.  When Sandra was born, he worked for General Electric, then he changed jobs to work for Intercraft, which first moved his family to Durango, Mexico and then to Austin, Texas.  Intercraft is also a picture frame company.  Sandra describes her father as “impatient,” but also “lonely.”  She says he does not keep in touch with his friends from high school or college, and he is happy to stay at home and mow the lawn on weekends instead of being with his friends from work.  She also describes him as a “very friendly dad.”  She loves father-daughter moments and she loves her dad.

Sandra’s mother, Sandra, is also 45 years old and she currently works for Sierra Utility Billing Services.  She also grew up in Mexico, and there she worked as a manager for General Electric.  She has a Bachelor’s degree from a University in Mexico.  Sandra really enjoys her mother’s cooking and says that, while the move to the US may have been hard on her because she had no way to initially make friends, she will always do whatever Vladamir wants.  Also, now that Sandra senior has a job, she has created more of a routine for herself, gotten more friends, and adjusted to life in the US.

Sandra describes her parents as overprotective and strict, and while she does talk about both of her parents, she recognizes that it is mostly her father who comes up with the rules.  Both of her parents grew up in households where their parents were not very strict and she thinks that may be one reason that they are so strict.  Also, since both Sandra senior and Vladamir made a lot of money relatively in Mexico, Vladimir was always worried that Sandra and her sister would get kidnapped.  For this reason, and because he thought someone may steal her identity, Sandra’s father made her delete her facebook account.  Sandra’s parents are always acting with the best interests of their daughters in mind and that is one of the reasons that the family moved to the US.

Sandra’s sister, Carina, is currently 17 years old and just got accepted to an interview at a United World College in Italy.  Sandra and Carina are “pretty much best friends,” and they share their feelings of nostalgia with each other.  Sandra appreciates Carina because she is the only other person who went through similar things as Sandra in terms of migrating to the US.  Sandra and Carina used to share a room in their home in Mexico and since their parents are so overprotective, they spend a lot of time together.