Nido de Aguilas: Santiago, Chile. It had been a week since I'd gotten the news that I was moving schools and that I would be leaving my friends forever to move to a quiet country in the middle of Europe: Switzerland. I silently sat in my designated chair, waiting for my last day to begin.…
I was born and raised in Austin, Texas however, my parents immigrated from Mexico. My father made his journey from Sombrerete, Zacatecas and my mother made her’s from Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato. My mother mostly worked by cleaning houses and my father stuck to cooking for either fast food or restaurants. They met working together at the restaurant my father currently works at called Fonda San Miguel. As my mother grew older and had multiple kids, the effects from working long hours took a toll on her and she decided it was best to not work. My family of two brothers and two sisters was living under a single income. My oldest sister was able to move out while I was still young as well as my older brother a couple of years after her. My youngest…
The population of the country of Chile is almost 16 million people. The majority of the people live in the dense cities that lie in-between the two mountainous regions. Only 16% of the population brave the rural mountains of this narrow natural resource rich country. The indigenous people (7% of the countries population) make up almost half of the portion of the mountainous population. This section of the population is extremely culture rich in comparison to the rest of the country which is Mestizo (a mix of indigenous and European decent). They have had lots of culture mixing as it includes European culture from more than ten different countries. This has caused…
Alex, and that tree. I’ve lived in two completely different places. For the greater part of my life, in Ecuador, and for the last 4 years, in California. Moving away from the place that I spent my entire life at, has really changed me. I had to leave all of the people I love and everyone I ever knew, and move to a strange place where I had no one except my mom, dad, and brother. Moving to California made me become a new person, a different person than who I was in Ecuador. In the following Vignettes I talk about what has made me into who I was in Ecuador, and what made me into what I am today. I talk a lot about the trip to California, and the first few months here because it was a very traumatic experience for me that pains me to think about even to this day. I’ll always miss the person I was in Ecuador, even if I don’t remember who I was. But I will always love the person that I am today and will continue to better myself and live the best life…
I came to the United States from Colombia when I was just 3 years old. I was brought into the country of bright opportunities because like every other parent, my mother and father wanted what was best for me. My mother had to give up her dream job in Colombia, which was being an accountant for an essentially important company, in order to facilitate my well-being and open up the doors for my future. As the years progressed, I began to acquire both languages, English and Spanish, but there was a point where I became tongue tied and had to assist in speech therapy. My parents would talk to me in Spanish at home but in school all I would hear was English, my mind was extremely confused to the point that I made my own language by using both tongues in one sentence.…
Living back in the Dominican Republic I used to have a very easy life. Then I was living in my grandparents’ house in the suburb; where everything was very repeatedly: Wake up, eat, go to school, go back home, eat, do homework, play, eat once again and go back to sleep. Weekends were my favorites though; every Sunday we would go out for lunch, which usually I would be the one to pick, and as an usual seven-eight years old child my favorite thing back then was Pizza.…
The Dominican Republic, known for its beautiful beaches and balmy weather, was the last place I ever imagined I would find myself in this past summer vacation. On this week long trip, it wasn't for the warm ocean waves or the traditional Dominican cuisine I was called to, I was called to serve the beautiful Dominican people. On the third day of the trip, instead of heading out to the worksite where we had been pouring the concrete footers of a plastics and water filter factory, I opted to travel with a group to the childrens' cancer ward in Santiago and visit the patients. We started out our visit by performing a few dances we had taught our vacation bible school and handing out fun little gift we had brought with us. We played ball with some…
But there is one thing, that, my family don't know about me. It's that i became a man in front of them and they don't think about it!.…
I would like to say I know Spanish, after four years of studying in high school and multiple trips to South and Central America, yet it seems every time I leave the States, I find myself in a frantic struggle to process the words I know and figure out the meanings of the ones I do not. Sometimes this simply means missing out on a few insignificant details, other times it can seriously complicate life.…
The place I grew up in could be considered above average. I had my friends that I would see every day and my family back at home. However, everything that any of us did would be over the top in every way possible. This became especially evident when my family and I would begin to plan a party or travel, this improvement of activities would be known as the “Mexican Way”. To be more specific, my family and I turned a normal New Year’s Eve party into a colorful and explosive fiesta. At first it seemed normal, we bought all the fireworks, started getting all the food ready for the party, and all my cousins and uncles started to arrive at my house; but as soon as it got dark everything started to get out of hand. As the first bottle rockets went…
Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, a place where tourists come from all over the country to enjoy the sun, the beaches, the islands, and the coral reefs. Puerto La Cruz was a getaway for a lot of people, just some place to go on vacations and have a good time, but for me it was my home. The spring of 2014, by that time every morning when you walk outside your house you can feel the sea breeze and even when it’s cold, you close your eyes and smile, because it warms your heart. Now if I close my eyes, all I can do it’s relive that moment over and over again. The moment when only six words coming from my mom’s mouth felt like a thousand knives in my heart and changed my life forever. “We’re moving to the United States”.…
It’s Monday, December 9th. Today just seems unusual, like something big is going to happen! I wonder what it will be for a split second, then go back to studying for the Latin America quiz we have tomorrow. Mr. Fielder announces what questions we should highlight on our worksheets. I watch him go back to his desk. I look up and out the window, I see the glistening shimmer of fresh snow dancing in the sky. I cherish every second of it, wishing the time would go by slower. As time creeps closer to 12:20 p.m., the more I shudder at the thought of having to go to room 224. I finish making my flashcards, using splendid handwriting, and proper spelling and grammar. The clock whispers 12:18 p.m. in my ear, I turn white as a ghost.…
In March of 2007, I entered the United States illegally. Prior to this, I had been deported twice. Crossing the border was very dangerous, but I had to do it because in Mexico we are very poor. My father passed away 21 years ago, and my mom was left a widow with 11 children. My oldest brother moved out of the house, so I had to step up and help my mom raise my siblings. Where I’m from, there aren’t many jobs available, only on the fields and the pay wasn’t enough to support us. I didn’t want to cross the border, but I had no other choice. I ask for your forgiveness for breaking the immigration law by crossing the border and living in America illegally.…
My volunteer trip to Mexico was a trip to cherish for a lifetime. It rewarded me with one of the greatest lessons I will possibly ever learn. Happiness doesn’t come from the latest gadgets or the best clothes;…
Last Summer, I visited Costa Rica on a kayaking trip with Falling Creek, a summer camp in Tuxedo, NC. Every year, 20 or so kids get invited to the program called HUCK, where you go kayaking in places around the world. Last summer, all of the kids that were invited went to Costa Rica where we would have a great time experiencing new culture and great whitewater. The First few days were great and those were some of the most powerful, best rivers I have ever kayaked.…