In the Dominican Republic my parents had a wonderful life, full of nature and happiness all round, however there was one thing that was always missing and that was money. My parents are immigrants from the Dominican Republic. My father came to the United States 50 years ago, my Grandma brought him, his brothers, and sisters. Then Papi brought my mother. She didn’t have anyone here in America, only her husband. After 2 years in the country my mom had me. My dad knew how to speak a little English but not enough to teach me. Maria (mom) didn’t know a word in English. Mami has family members in the Dominican Republic that she sends money to. She works in a salon. Sometimes she goes to work at 7 am and comes back home at 11pm and the next day wakes up at 8 am to go back to work. When I was little she had to get someone to take care of me because she was too busy. The only day that my mom was free was Tuesday and she used it to clean and do things that she had to do, pero aun asi I loved and still love Tuesdays. I remember going somewhere with my mom and having to translate with my shyness. Sometimes we would go on and on “no, you tell her” “Mami you tell her, maybe she knows Spanish” and the cashier looking at us crazy.
My first language is Spanish. I learned English in school and I only spoke English in school. It was hard for me to read because I would get confused or not know the word. I would think, “Why was I born in New York if I can’t read and speak correctly”. Kids in school were mean, they would laugh at me for not knowing how to say a word correctly. My dad knew a little bit of English and the words he would say I would repeat them the same way, but he used to say it with an accent and sometimes it was incorrect.
One day I was reading a text in class about baseball. I was very excited because I love baseball. I kept reading and instead of saying “yankees” the way you’re supposed to say it, I said “yankees” the way my dad says it, which you should know that it’s with a strong Dominican accent. I kept reading and I heard laughing and people speaking while I was continuing the reading. Then my “friend” repeated the word “yankees” the way I said it three times, “yannnnkees” “yannnnkees” yannnnkees” and laughing. I felt heat coming up from my feet to my head. I wanted to hide but at the same time speak up. But I was too shy and scared to disrespect anyone. I was angry that I couldn’t defend myself. Most people in the class were laughing. The teacher was laughing but hiding his face. He thought that I didn’t see him. There were many times that this happened and the saddest part was that the people who said something or laughed were the people who were in the same situation as me or had family members that didn’t know the language.
Immigrants and their children have it hard anywhere they migrate to because the different languages that they are exposed to, take time for the person to learn. Also it is harder for people that work and have kids, especially if they have no family member to be there with them. Immigrants from all over the world have to unite to make our lives easier and feel more at home. Remember to be nice to people because you don’t know what they are living and the problems that they have.
