This American Life

Pumpkin Carving Sunday

As the leaves turn fiery shades of red and orange, and the crisp autumn air (let me dream, we have none of that in Florida) ushers in the spirit of Halloween, a timeless tradition comes to life in households across the country. The tradition of carving pumpkins, or jack-o’-lanterns, is a cherished practice that symbolizes the essence of this spooktacular season. This year, I had the privilege of sharing this age-old tradition with my son for the very first time.

The History of Pumpkin Carving

Before delving into my personal experience, let’s take a quick peek at the history of pumpkin carving. This artful practice has its roots in Celtic folklore. The Celts celebrated the festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. They would carve turnips and other root vegetables and place them by their doors to ward off evil spirits.
The transition from turnips to pumpkins is said to have occurred when Irish immigrants arrived in America and found that pumpkins, native to North America, were not only larger but also easier to carve. This adaptation led to the creation of the modern jack-o’-lantern, now an iconic symbol of Halloween.

The First Pumpkin Carving Experience

Sunday seemed like the perfect day for us to embark on this adventure. Armed with our chosen pumpkin, one YouTube tutorial in mind, an array of carving tools, and creative spirits, we set up in the kitchen.

I choose the pumpkin by myself last week after dropping him of at his grandparents and allowing myself a slow Target run (I needed groceries but I also wanted to spoil my little guy with a couple of toys). No pumpkin patch this year.

Designing the Jack-o’-Lantern: After washing and drying the pumpkin, we discussed our designs. My son drew some lines on the pumpkin and I tried to make a design around it – I am not the most artistic person. But first you have to remove the guts. I’m glad I bought a carving kit because I tried to cut the top with what I thought was a good kitchen knife but I got nowhere, but it was so easy with the tools! Scooping out the pumpkin guts was a little messy but fun.
Then it was time to actually carve and again, wouldn’t recommend doing it without the dedicated tools. It was done so fast, I was really surprised.
It was time to light up our creation. Placing (fake) tea lights inside the hollowed pumpkins finished setting up the scene for Halloween.

We did a little photoshoot before and after:

Categories: Immigration, Naturalization, This American Life

Naturalization process

Becoming a U.S. citizen has never been a dream growing up or anything like that, but with the recent years, the idea of calling the United States my home, with all the rights and responsibilities that come with it, has become a necessity. Today, I want to share my journey to naturalization in the USA.

The Decision
My journey to naturalization began with a decision. I had been living in the United States as a permanent resident for several years, and though I am still working of the sense of belonging and attachment to this country, I knew that becoming a U.S. citizen was the next logical step in my journey. For practical reasons (freeing my mother-in-law from her sponsorship) but also being able to vote and be a full participant in the community I live in.

The Research
The naturalization process is quite a straightforward process, but I was initially surprised that I was not eligible after 3 years of living in the USA being married to a US citizen. You have to live TOGETHER to be eligible and obviously, with an incarcerated husband I didn’t fit this criteria. There are exception if you are “involuntarily” separated, for example if your spouse is in the army, but prison is considered “voluntary”, yes…
So I had to wait 2 more years to qualify.

The Application
After gathering all the necessary documents, I filled out Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization. This step required careful attention to detail, as always with USCIS, as any mistake could lead to delays in the process. They asked information on where you lived and worked and so on for the last 5 years – so if you moved, you need to know the dates of each move.
I submitted the application and awaited a response from USCIS.

The Biometrics Appointment
A few weeks later, I received notice of my biometrics appointment. This required me to provide my fingerprints and have a (super ugly) photograph taken. It was a straightforward step, but it felt like another milestone closer to my goal.

The Interview
In the meantime, in May 2023, my removal of condition was finally approved with no interview. My interview for my naturalization took place on June 15th, 2023.
The interview with the USCIS officer was a stressful as I had to demonstrate my knowledge of U.S. government and history and prove my proficiency in the English language. I was understandably nervous, but the officer was friendly, which put me at ease. They are really not there to make you fail at all.

The Civics and English Tests
The day of the interview you have to pass the naturalization test (during the interview, it is not a separate test). When June 15th arrived, I was well-prepared. I had been working on the hundred civic questions for the past couple of months. I answered questions about the Constitution, history, and government with surprising confidence. The English language test went smoothly as well. Passing these tests was a moment of immense relief, as they symbolized the end of my journey with USCIS and my first step into integrating into American society.

The Short Wait
After successfully completing the interview and tests, I was right away given the date of my Oath ceremony (June 28th, 2023). In the meantine, USCIS conducted a thorough background check, and you have one last form you have to fill the day of the interview, ensuring that you still meet all the eligibility requirements.

The Oath of Allegiance
The culmination of my journey to naturalization was the Oath of Allegiance ceremony. The room was filled with people from diverse backgrounds and countries. We were allowed to have one guest each. We took the oath, pledging our allegiance to the United States. It was a moment of celebration for many, marking the end of one journey and the beginning of a new one as a U.S. citizen.

The Benefits of U.S. Citizenship
Becoming a U.S. citizen has opened up a world of opportunities for me. I can now vote, sponsor family members for Green Cards, travel more freely, and enjoy the social security benefits that come with citizenship. These privileges have made all the effort and patience worthwhile.

My journey to naturalization in the USA was a challenging but rewarding experience. This journey has shown me the importance of perseverance, dedication, and the power of dreams realized. If you’re on a similar path, remember that your journey is unique, and each step brings you closer to your own moment of triumph.

Categories: Life Updates, Prison, This American Life

Eyes in the Dark Podcast

After my extremely disappointing experience with Truly Criminal, I had a completely different experience with the podcast Eyes in the Dark. It is a German podcast and I have not spoken German since high school so I am not a listener. However, my good friend Anna-Lena is and mentioned this podcast to me as one of her favorites when we were exchanging references. It’s always weird when you watch a show or listen to a podcast and suddenly, an episode comes out and is about someone you know. That happened to her when she heard an episode they made about the case my husband is linked to.

The case part didn’t upset her as much as the end of the episode, when the two hosts discussed me and my son. They expressed they really couldn’t understand how someone could fall in love with a murderer and – according to my friend since I couldn’t listen to the segment – a lot of wrong information about me. My friend took matters into her own hands (but asked my permission before sending anything because she is a wonderful respectful friend ❤️) and reached out to them expressing her disappointment and near anger at their ending she felt was added for shock value. She listed the erroneous facts about how I met my husband and basically defended my character. She had a great final point explaining they should have verified their information and maybe even talk to me, or leave me out of the episode completely as I have nothing to do with the crime.

This has been a very tough media year for me. Not that I had any media year before lol. It is so weird to watch people suddenly get upset about my life when my relationship is 7 years old! And people bending the truth to make it fit their own narrative and even profit off of it.
It was heartwarming to have a friend standing up for me… and what happens next is pretty amazing (it should be the norm, but definitely isn’t).

They responded and apologized to my friend and OFFERED to correct the information in their next episode. They then reached out to me and apologized to me. Then they did what they said they would: they actually made a special mini-episode of 10 minutes to come back on what they were wrong about and apologized officially. They corrected some information and reminded their listeners of the importance of always fact-checking what you read on the internet. Of course, I couldn’t listen myself either so I am trusting Anna-Lena’s opinion that they did a good job and it was a nice segment.

This was just such a refreshing experience and I am of course most thankful for Anna-Lena having my back. I want to give a shout out to Laura and Sarah from Eyes in the Dark for being good people and (Anna-approved) quality true crime podcast. So if you understand German, give them a listen (I don’t think they have a website so look them up wherever you are listening to your podcasts).

Categories: Life Updates, This American Life

Halloween 2021

Halloween is a new holiday for me since this is not something I grew up with, and I didn’t really celebrate it either since I moved to the USA. However, this is the holiday I am the most looking forward too since I am a mother. Always like the season and everything around Halloween, and now I get to experience the costume fun 🙂 And the cuteness.

I guess for now, until my son grows older to express his will, the costumes are more about my own fun. Last year, we were Chucky and his bride. He was the most adorable and everyone congratulated us on his costume. If you miss it last year, here is a reminder:

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A post shared by Sigrid (@sigridwoh)

This year was sort of robbed from me. I woke up and it was October and damn I didn’t settle on a costume and since I am more of a DIY person, I had to make up my mind fast. But also… I didn’t have any extra money to waste so I decided everything (as much as possible at least) I was going to use for his costume needed to be reusable. So I went with the classic Georgie from IT costume:

A coworker also gave me a cute gator costume so that’s what Søren wore to go to his first Treat or Tricking and he had some success too because he was damn adorable again ❤️.

Categories: Prison, This American Life

Criminal Justice Reform Lobby Day

I went to Tallahassee last week for Criminal Justice & Prison Reform Lobby Day.

I listed all information about what we are advocating for and what bills we want to support under the video.

https://youtu.be/taVNjpkp8C0

Please, email Senator Perry to add the bills that are important to us to the next criminal justice committee:

Send email to: Perry.keith@flsenate.gov

In November of 2018, Florida voters overwhelmingly passed Amendment 11. Now it’s time for the legislature to listen to the voters and make all criminal justice reforms retroactive! Further, we urge lawmakers to support the following bills:

SB 642. Florida’s First Step Act should be amended to apply retroactively to help those serving sentences under old laws. This bill should enact the will of the voters regarding retroactivity.

SB 704 should be put on a committee agenda for discussion and a vote with regards to implementing amendment 11. The citizens of Florida want retroactive criminal justice reform!

SB1656 should not be heard in committee unless it is amended to clearly reflect the will of the voters on retroactivity.

SB 1212 gain time should be added to a committee agenda and be amended to be retroactive!

SB 1032 regarding inmate placement should be added to a committee agenda to keep families within a reasonable distance of their homes, 125 miles. As Senator Brandes stated in committee, keeping prisoners close to home will keep better support through the incarceration time period and allow for lower recidivism rates, as well as safer prisons and streets.

Last November, the voters of Florida made clear their strong support for smart criminal justice reforms that will keep families together and communities safe. We want all reforms to apply retroactively to those have suffered the most from failed policies of the past. Please heed the will of the voters and pass the reforms as described above.

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