Oswaldo Suarez has gone through more as 13-year-old than many people do
in their entire lives. He immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. without knowing a word
of English and was dropped into a public school full of students and teachers who
were unable to bridge the language barrier that kept them apart.
Suarez is from a small village just outside of Guadalahara, Mexico. Small
enough that he could walk to any store he needed to, and he knew everyone in the
village. Needless to say, moving to the United States was a shocking experience for
him.
Suarez managed to struggle through his first year in the U.S. and eventually
picked up the language. He is now a custodial manager at Oak Grove Elementary
School in Libertyville, Ill.
The following are edited excerpts from an interview with Suarez:
Q: How old were you when you came to the U.S.?
A: I was 13 years old when I came to the America. I remember it was March. It was
the third week of March on a Thursday. I cannot remember that day exactly.
Q: Tell me about your life style before you moved to the U.S.?
A: Well, it was different because I grew up in a village so we had more freedom.
Freedom in the sense that if I needed to go to the grocery store, I had to walk, not
drive, you know? And, obviously the friends that we used to play with—basketball,
soccer, stuff like that. Then when I moved to the U.S.—and like I said it was in
March—So, it was cold and I found myself just inside this house looking through the
window, everything is dark—cold. Snow. So, it was different, it was very very
shocking, but interesting.
Q: What are some specific things that you could do in Mexico, but you couldn’t do in
the U.S.?
A: Well, life changed for me in like, less than 48 hours, and one of the major things
that I missed the most was the ability to step out of the house and be able to feel
myself free, like walking the sidewalk or talking to a friend. My neighbor did not
speak Spanish, and obviously, I did not speak English so there was the barrier right
there of “I know who you are, I know there’s a person right there, but I cannot
communicate.” So that was one of the biggest changes that I noticed right away.
Q: Did you move here with your whole family?
A: No. Only with my dad and my older brother. So, there were three of us. My mom
and the rest of my sisters were in Mexico. At that time my dad was working more
than 12 hours a day, so was my brother. It was kind of lonely because I was just
pretty much in a house, by myself. And, as I said it was in the month of March so I
was just by myself in that house, alone.
Q: Why did your family decide to immigrate to the US?
A: Well, my grandfather moved to the United States in the 1920’s so we had this, uh,
I don’t know how to say it—how to describe it, but my grandpa immigrated, so did
my uncle, my dad when he was younger, and then my dad was going back and
fourth. Finally, in the 1980’s my family came in for a couple of years and then we
went back. Then in 1992 my dad, my brother and I decided to come back, and my
mother decided to stay there. We wanted to prepare the way for them for when they
were ready to come back. You know, have a house, work, stuff like that.
Q: So, did you mother and sisters eventually come to the U.S.?
A: Yeah, my mother and sisters came in like 2 years later.
Q: What was it like fitting in at school?
A: Difficult, because I went to a North Chicago school where the majority were
African-American students and there was only maybe—I would say less than 5
Hispanic kids in the class. It was very very difficult for me because I knew no English
at all, and that school did not have an ESL program, at least when I was there the
first year. It was difficult because my teacher was instructing everybody, and I could
see the frustration in her because she knew that she needed to teach me, and I guess
she knew too that I have the drive to learn, but that English barrier was so thick at
that moment that I struggled. But let me say this, it was only with history and
literature. Math and numbers are easier, so you can get an idea how things work.
But, it was very difficult. So, friends or people there were able to help me out by sign
languages, so that helped me out, but it was very very hard. There were some nights
that I just couldn’t go to sleep because I was so nervous to go to school, but it was
interesting at the same time though because the two systems were so different. The
Mexican school system in my town was you go to school at 8 a.m. and by noon
you’re done. Then, the second shift comes in at 1 p.m. till probably—I think about 6
p.m. or 7 p.m. when I was in school. Being in school in America you’re here from 8
a.m. till 3 p.m. and lunch is included. That was a big change on my part because that
was something I only got to see on American TV shows, but now I was living it, so
that was kind of shocking for me. But, overall, at the end of that year, I was able to
have friends that were able to help me out and also, I was able to pick up a little bit
of vocabulary, and I was able to have not just a small English conversation, more like
a real conversation.
Q: What was the most difficult part of moving?
A: The most difficult part—hm. The most difficult part was saying goodbye to your
mother, but it was also, it was also—yeah, that was the most difficult part. Saying
goodbye to your family.
Q: How do you think moving to the U.S. has affected your identity or your image of
yourself?
A: I don’t think it has affected me because I think it’s all about your self. If you can
change yourself to be more Americanized, that would be thoroughly personal. In my
case, I know my Spanish is my first language and I would like to keep my Spanish for
generations—I don’t mean myself but the future generations. I think that’s how I
always kept my identity. I can always decide to speak perfect English, get rid of this
Spanish accent, but I still would like to think and dream in my Spanish. So I think
that’s how I keep my identity and I don’t think that would be ever taken away from
me. But then again, I’m just thinking for myself.
1.
Did I write something I would want to read? Yes
2.
Did I do all the reporting/research necessary to tell a complete story? Yeah
3.
Did I write a lead that makes the reader want to continue? Yes
4.
Did I include the who, what, where, when, why and how – if not in the lead, at least in the first 2-3
paragraphs? I think so.
5.
Did I write simple, straightforward sentences so that even if the reader knew nothing about the story,
he/she would be able to understand it? I tried to.
6.
Did I finish my thoughts? Yes.
7.
Did I explain why the reader should care? Yeah.
8.
Did I write in active voice whenever possible? Yes.
9.
Did I use active verbs when appropriate? Yes.
10.
Did I use specific words and details? Yes.
11.
Did I use positive words? Yes.
12.
Did I use quotes effectively? I didn’t use any quotes.
13.
Did I write a story with a beginning, middle and end? Yes.
14.
Did I read this piece out loud after I finished writing? Yes.
15.
Did I spellcheck my work, double check for AP style and triple check my facts and the spelling of
all proper names? Yes.
16.
Did I show this piece to someone else? Yes.