The Houston runway was quickly disappearing beneath me, the plane ascending, leaving my stomach dismantled on the tarmac. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I was truly on a plane, by myself, headed to Buenos Aires, Argentina. My mother laughed at the thought of me living abroad; consistently making it known my ideas were childish, financially unstable and unattainable. With a slight grin pulling at my lips, I close my eyes and begin to wonder what the world will look like on the other side of that airplane door.
Living in two worlds simultaneously, or at least trying to, may be a cliché but is a strong reality for the children of immigrant parents. My mother and I are the only two of our family in the United States and years pass by …show more content…
I fell in love with the accent, the dog poop stained sidewalks and hours of loitering at cafes. La Universidad Austral was challenging. Unlike American Spanish classes, English was not an option. Instead I had to tune my ears to the thick “ch” sounds, learn to use the “vos” and absorb not only the local accents but also those of exchange students from other Spanish speaking countries. Every assignment took twice as much work but despite the several nights spent hunched over my laptop, those four months were the best of my life. My first time traveling alone, meeting Hispanics outside of my traditional circle and completely immersing myself in an unknown country was a success. I was still an outsider, but now I was also a part of the conversation. Locals were baffled but pleased by my country of origin and conversation skills. They loved the concept of an American speaking Spanish so well and engaged with friendly conversation and curiosity towards my time in Buenos Aires. Argentina helped me realize I will never sound like my mother. My struggles to sound “Dominican” and fear towards a language I grew up around were unnecessary. Here I learned every choice I made was to lead me to this …show more content…
I also finally had the experience to show for my career interests in Latin America. After years of talking about how much I wanted to travel and learn more about others who speak the same language, I finally did something about it. Just like the day I realized I wanted to be a journalist, on the plane back to the U.S, I realized I wanted to use my skills to tell the stories of others like me, my family, and my friends. People who struggle to maintain a foot in each world but find their own ways to adjust. I started college with intentions to become a foreign correspondent and on the plane back the decision to specialize in Latin America took
Living in two worlds simultaneously, or at least trying to, may be a cliché but is a strong reality for the children of immigrant parents. My mother and I are the only two of our family in the United States and years pass by …show more content…
I fell in love with the accent, the dog poop stained sidewalks and hours of loitering at cafes. La Universidad Austral was challenging. Unlike American Spanish classes, English was not an option. Instead I had to tune my ears to the thick “ch” sounds, learn to use the “vos” and absorb not only the local accents but also those of exchange students from other Spanish speaking countries. Every assignment took twice as much work but despite the several nights spent hunched over my laptop, those four months were the best of my life. My first time traveling alone, meeting Hispanics outside of my traditional circle and completely immersing myself in an unknown country was a success. I was still an outsider, but now I was also a part of the conversation. Locals were baffled but pleased by my country of origin and conversation skills. They loved the concept of an American speaking Spanish so well and engaged with friendly conversation and curiosity towards my time in Buenos Aires. Argentina helped me realize I will never sound like my mother. My struggles to sound “Dominican” and fear towards a language I grew up around were unnecessary. Here I learned every choice I made was to lead me to this …show more content…
I also finally had the experience to show for my career interests in Latin America. After years of talking about how much I wanted to travel and learn more about others who speak the same language, I finally did something about it. Just like the day I realized I wanted to be a journalist, on the plane back to the U.S, I realized I wanted to use my skills to tell the stories of others like me, my family, and my friends. People who struggle to maintain a foot in each world but find their own ways to adjust. I started college with intentions to become a foreign correspondent and on the plane back the decision to specialize in Latin America took