Sometimes a lesson hides beneath the sad moments of life. As dumb as it may sound, learning spanish was part of my lesson. I was still a little boy and didn’t understand yet what was good for me, I was decently old enough to understand “don’t steal, tell the truth, obey your parents, etc.” Basically all the stuff expected from you by your parents. It took me some time to understand what was the lesson I was suppose to learn, to be exact it was 2 years. Lessons come out of nowhere, like a cockroach in the cleanest home in the neighborhood. What was my lesson? It wasn’t exactly a lesson but a quote “You are not from where you were born, but from your roots.” When I was still a little boy I considered myself “American,” even though I knew that …show more content…
When our entire family heard the news, some were happy and others just confused or mad. Most of the comments I heard were mostly judging my mother, but somehow I knew she had a good intention. Me and my brother were already thinking about the future. In my two years in Peru, I learned to observe who I was suppose to trust, the beauty of spanish, and how to admire the tropical country of Peru. My family had a great impact in me and my brothers life. My grandma had a thing for quotes, mostly short quotes with a powerful message. She was the first person who tried to teach us spanish, it ended up in a big fail. Eventually, we did master spanish including “terms” you would someone else with. We were surrounded by spanish speakers so it made the learning easier. We also took our time to learn about the history Peru and how spanish became the most spoken language. Like I mentioned before that my life lesson or quote was “You are not from where you were born, but from your roots.” this quote came to my head when leaving Peru to go to America. That day was also a crying fest, we cried so much you could say we were sweating through our eyes. When I left Peru, it was like leaving a part of me behind. What I felt when leaving America was nothing compared to what I felt when leaving Peru. If it weren’t for my mother, I’m positive I would have entered depression. I still believe I’m Peruvian. Papers weren’t going to decide where I was born nor the facts, I was born in Peru at least by heart. Usually if someone would ask me where I’m from or where I was born, I would answer with I’m Peruvian, or I was born in
disadvantaged child, I considered Spanish to be a private language. What I needed to learn in
We lived in a small town called Fort Hancock, Texas with my grandparents. Everyone just spoke Spanish in that town and for that reason, I learned to just speak Spanish first. When we moved to Oklahoma City I was five. I had to transition to English, which was hard. I got made fun of, but luckily improved later on my literacy journey.
Many people immigrate to the United States from different countries to begin a better life. Once in the American territory, the first step for success is to learn the English language. Richard Rodriguez, the writer of "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" describes the language decisions he faced as a child: "Outside the house was public society; inside the house was private" (16). The English language is the primary language in the United States, and it must be learned to be able to communicate with the public world. The language that we speak at home is considered to be private because it is only used in the presence of the people we feel comfortable with, our family. Families immigrate to the United States from Mexico to find and give their children a better opportunity to succeed. The children of immigrants who have been raised or born in the United States were able to adapt much faster to the English language. The Spanish language, in the case of Mexicans, is part of our origin that most of us inherit from our ancestors although in the United States many, including me, seem to add a new language, which gives us better opportunities.
As a child, I had to navigate from an English-speaking classroom to a Spanish-speaking home. At eight in the morning I was given instruction in English by my professors at school. After three in the afternoon at home, I engaged in Spanish conversation with my mother, father, and siblings. When the summer vacation came around, it was back to speaking Spanish only, and then I regained the Mexican accent that had faded away during the school year. My experience learning English was different from what earlier Spanish-speaking generations in the United States dealt with.
My father has told me and my sister how lucky we are since we were born, how lucky he is. My father was encouraged by my grandparents to come to America and live a better life, much like Vargas was sent by his mother. My grandparents were middle class workers who wanted nothing but the best for their kids, trying their best to give 7 kids the best life possible and realized my father and my Aunt could only get so far in Morocco and had them apply for green
My parents did everything they knew to help my sister and I learn and respect our Mexican culture. Born into American culture but raised by Hispanic parents, often was difficult for me. Since I was little I had to manage and balance two very different cultures at the same time. There were many times while growing up that I encountered complex situations in regards to language, whether to speak Spanish or English and when it was appropriate. I felt a lot of pressure having to act as an interpreter for my parents when we were out in public. At home I was told to speak Spanish so I would not forget, but at school I was taught to only speak English with my teachers and friends. However, when we would go visit family in Mexico, I was expected to only speak in Spanish, since speaking in English in front of family members who only spoke Spanish was seen as disrespectful. So learning two languages has been very beneficial to my life and for my family. By
There is one main life lesson that I use all the time. And it is, to never be a quitter, because being a quitter is worse than losing. Being a quitter is even worse than being a loser. Cause, who would want to be called a quitter their whole life. I would rather spend extra time trying to get it down and done, then be a quitter. Cause if you quit at one thing, most will quit every time a roadblock is in their way.
I have learned what it means to serve and what it means to be content and trust God. I have learned what it means to be grateful even through the hard times. My relationship with god really has improved since my experience in Tecate, and I will be forever grateful for that door that God opened in my life. Over the trip I had the pleasure of living among and working with the men and women of the orphanage. The boys and girls taught me much more than I ever expected, what it means to be positive, get through hard times. The relationships I made may not still be in tact today but the marks they left on me, and who I am as a person still remain. I am forever changed for good because of the people I met at small orphanage in Tecate
When I was a child my dad, and my grandparents taught me how to speak Spanish before I could learn how to speak English. As I continued to learn more and more words, Spanish became my first language, I spoke it fluently, and English came second. When I was ready to start Pre-K, my dad taught me to write in English other than in Spanish. It was hard to learn how to write my letters without knowing them in English and only in Spanish. I would confuse my E’s
It is through the events in the journey of life that shapes and molds who we are as people. As for me, immigrating to America was one of those milestones that have shaped who I am. Those who have had the opportunity of moving from a different country to America know what a privilege it is. I felt the same honor to know that I would be journeying to the land of opportunity. Without hesitance, I spent the last two months packing and making the final preparations before moving to a new continent. Although it was a bittersweet time, leaving my beloved family behind, I knew that I couldn’t resist the treasure that waited for me in the new land. Coming from a developing nation the high level of sophistication that greeted me on arrival to America made feel like I was in paradise.
I failed Spanish but can speak 4 languages now: If you have ever tried to learn a foreign language in school or through language books you buy at the book store, then you understand the great difficulties that exist in learning a new language this way. I took two years of Spanish in school, and at the end of the two years I could barely say "the book is on the table. " The best grade I ever got from 8 terms of Spanish was a C-. It seemed like learning a foreign language was just not my thing.
One experience that I will always remember is the day I was running errands and had the opportunity to meet a very special patient. She was a sweet woman who was originally from Mexico. We were having a friendly conversation when she asked me about why I chose to do community service at the hospital. I explained to her that I planned on majoring in the medical field one day and I was working on obtaining community service hours. We got to talking about the education systems in our countries. In our conversation I learned that only selected people were given the opportunity to receive an education in her native country of Mexico. She told me about the poor education system and the extreme poverty which debilitates Mexico. As a United States citizen, I am provided with a variety of options for education. People in Mexico must fight to obtain access to any education. This made me realize how truly fortunate I am.
This journey taught me so much that I wouldn’t have ever imagined. I grew from this experience mentally and I saw my parents becoming closer and regaining that bond they held with one another. This event taught me to be more appreciative with all the little things I have and made me realize that life isn’t going to go the way you want it to; you have to fight for the path to lead you in the right direction. I was brought closer to both my parents and my brothers. This event started new beginnings for this family, a new start to get things right because when I found out I would be moving to San Diego, I never would have realized the struggles I went through; especially when I was a silent voice in the decision.
I did notice learning Spanish at an early age helped me retain vocabulary over a long period of time. Even though I did not learn a large amount of vocabulary and grammar, what I did learn stuck with me for years. When I finally revisited Spanish in high school, I had to learn the basics all over again. The structure of the class did not make it easy for me to remember much vocabulary after the semesters, or even after a few class periods. I think there were a number of reasons why I never retained as much Spanish as I did in kindergarten compared to when I learned it in high
Knowing nothing about the language and then suddenly having to learn how to read and write gave me big obstacles to overcome. During, elementary school through 6th grade I went to a bilingual school. We had a month of all English courses and then one month of all Spanish courses rotating along the school year. During, this time I learned how to read and write in English. Also how to use past, present, and future tenses while incorporating them into sentences. Not only was this difficult for me, but also having to read in front of classmates was embarrassing. Every time I would have to read out loud I could feel my face get hot and red. However, not only did I have to learn a new language and have an accent with it, but I also had to face the criticism from others who knew the language and had no struggle with