Dear Bloggers of mine, hello once again I am here to share with you some amazing insights into my vida. That is correct you heard it first here and now. Vida is Spanish for life, I know I don’t have the large audience I’d like to have but regardless of my nonexistent fan base— I will continue to have a voice and a platform via my blogging. My drive always comes back to motivating and inspiring people to overcome their circumstances no matter the hardship with positivity and God’s unconditional love.
One of the topics I hold extra dear to my heart has always been my heritage as a Latina women. No one knows how hard it is to integrate into a culture that is the complete opposite of where you grew up in other than immigrants. The language barrier is one of the most challenging parts of transitioning from living in your home country into foreign territory. I was fortunate enough to have been able to come to the states when I was just a little girl. In the beginning, it is true I hated being here because I felt isolated not knowing how to speak the language and being able to communicate with people. As a first grader in school, all I could do is imitate what the other kids did in class. If they picked up a pencil, I looked for a pencil and if they colored the assignment sheet a certain way I did the exact, because I had no idea what I was suppose to do ever. As time passed by, little by little I picked up the words to associate with their meaning until I could create small sentences. I remember not having any help at school or at home to further assist me in my learning of another language and it was hard. As the years progressed, I gained new vocabulary and I was able to freely communicate with my peers without so much trouble.
For those of you who don’t know my story I came to America for my medical treatment of burn care in mainly plastic surgery through lots of Z plasty interventions. So there was a two year gap in my treatment where I was living in Colombia and I hadn’t come back to the states in that time frame. When I did come back, I hadn’t spoken English in two years at the age of eleven and I was so surprised to see how easily it was for me to pick up the language all over again. I reintegrated into the school system with ease and only had to attend an ESOL class for 30 minutes once a week for about 6 to 8 weeks maybe. I remember I enjoyed going to this class with other Spanish natives, because we always got snacks at the end of our sessions. One day the teacher pulled me aside and informed me I was no longer to be there, because my English was up to part and I didn’t need anymore assistance in the language learning. I was so sad and upset I no longer was allowed to go with them to these sessions, but it also proved that I was a fast learner.
My educational history is extensive quiet frankly because I discovered my true passion in life a bit late, so I’m not here to summary my educational experience, but shed light into the part of me that dealt with the language barrier as a Hispanic. I always knew Spanish would always be my first language even if I was fluent in English. I believe that I hesitated a lot of the time to express myself in class — because I didn’t want to be judged on my way of expressing myself in verbiage context. Even though I grew up going to school in America, there was always those awkward occasions when people would mention phrases that didn’t make any sense to me or used words I’d never heard before — it was those instances I felt frustrated not knowing the American lingo.
As a thirty three year old, now I can confidently say I don’t have that language barrier I once had as a kid, but very rarely to this day — I do hear random things I find confusing and intriguing because they’re still new to me. My main point is that becoming a bilingual person did not come easy to me and it took a lot of hard work to fully grasp the English language that most Americans use on a day to day affairs. It was easier to learn as a child, but it still required a lot initiative in my part and effort to build and maintain my acquired terminology. So, I understand when a Spanish person feels neglected and discriminated for not being able to communicate effectively or at all with others. Throughout the years, many people have questioned the validity of my heritage because I don’t speak English with an accent. I’m more than grateful to have mastered the tone of speaking English without automatically sounding like a foreigner. I feel more blended into the American culture and that’s a good feeling because being singled out is not fun at all. Also given the fact of my unique appearance, it’s nice to have something in common with the majority.
Moral of the story is to be more welcoming of those who haven’t mastered the language or who will never be able to do so either because of personal limitations or impediments. I love foreigners because obviously I am one and as a Colombian- American, I can relate to them all and I enjoy the challenge of understanding what they’re saying. One coworker once asked me, “ Are you B C ?” and I had to really take a moment to decipher it and then I was like — why would I be B C and as I thought more and more about it I finally got it. They were trying to say, “Are you busy?” Major Lol. I was like ohhh okay now that makes more sense.
Overall, immigrants are always looked down upon because of the stereotypical things that have tainted our reputation like terrorism or drug trafficking/kidnapping, etc. However, the true majority of foreigners truly have come with the intention of working hard and integrating ourselves into the American culture as best as we can. To be able to contribute something productive and meaningful to society while making a beautiful life for ourselves. So I hear the necessity for having bilingual people not just of Spanish speaking but of all other languages across the world. As a bilingual person myself, I support other immigrants and I truly strive to help them out any chance I’ve been given to translate for them. Remember to embrace the language barrier someone might have and do whatever you can to help them better communicate.
For now I leave you with this so powerful and true statement, “ You are not a mistake, because God is perfect and He doesn’t make mistakes. You have a purpose to fulfill!” Allow God to step into your life and make it the beautiful masterpiece only He knows how to do. We want answers and only He can provide them. As always thank you for taking the time to read this humble blog. It doesn’t hurt to share, like, comment and follow either. For more great updates and content on your one and only Ana just use the #amilikey on all your social media.
Love,
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo,
Ana :)
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