One of the most emotional moment during my New York trip last year was my visit to Ellis Island. Ellis Island used to be an immigration station and every part of the building was so symbolic and historic. Going inside the Museum was like traveling back to time. I bought a self-guided audio tour and upon arriving I got my headphones for me to listen to the history of each part of the building. I heard cries. I heard people’s confession and emotional stories about their experiences going through the immigration station in Ellis Island. I heard family members not seeing their brothers, sisters, parents or grandparents after passing the immigration procedures. There were sad stories and also stories of happiness and success of finally arriving and passing the immigration for a new beginning. I heard people confessing the joy they felt to finally live in a promised land. There were so much stories and information that this post may not even be enough to describe my experience visiting the Island.
The museum has three floors containing exhibits and galleries about the immigration history in Ellis Island. The floor contains exhibits entitled the People Of America, the History of Immigration in America and even has a Citizenship Test room.
The Third Floor has an exhibit called Treasures from Home that displays the different furniture, religious items and ornaments and clothing that immigrats brought to America.
I had a great time learning about the history of immigrants and their experiences in Ellis Island. Indeed, United States of America is a country of many nations. The history of immigrants to America is a proof of how diverse the country is. It is great to travel to different states and learn about history and the way of life of the people in the area. As St. Augustine of Hippo quotes, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”. #LocalGuidesUSA#LetsGuide#LocalGuides
Thanks for sharing this great post @Reisen I’ve been to Ellis Island on both of my recent New York trips and have been on the island three times. On my third trip I managed to get a spot on the behind the scenes tour which was an amazing experience where I learned about the abandoned hospital wing and got to visit some of the closed areas. There are some amazing art works interpreting the times of the immigrants. My grandfather passed through Ellis Island on his way to his life in New York. It is indeed a very moving place.
@PaulPavlinovich Wow! The photos are amazing! Thank you for sharing them! That is interesting that your grandfather passed through the immigration station in Ellis Island. Did he tell you his experience about the immigration process?
@Reisen Thank you for sharing…I do not have any idea about immigration into USA,
But I totally agree with your last sentence
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page"
@PaulPavlinovich Sorry to hear about that. My grandmother was alive during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines but by the time that I got interested in knowing her experiences, she already have dementia so I did not really get any information. But I kept some of the Japanese Money they used at that time and I saw some pieces were also donated in a Museum which is cool.
My grandmother used to have a lot of them. I remember playing with them like they were play money. They were considered having no value so a lot of people got rid of them. But when I was traveling to a different Island in the Philippines, I found out, they were displayed in a museum and were considered a historic symbol of the experiences of the Filipinos in the Japanese Occupation in the Philippine History.
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