http://www.uwc-usa.org/podium/default.aspx?t=123265&rc=0Two Faces
By Jose Mendoza Rodriguez ’10 (Honduras)
Can you imagine having two identities? Can you imagine being one person in a moment and becoming a
different one in another moment? That is the situation that I am in. I call these two entities “English” and “Spanish.” It is interesting to be two persons, especially if you like them both.
I come from Honduras, a small, tropical country in Central
America which is made up of Spanish to its core. Now I am
at UWC-USA, where English rules my tongue.
One thing that I have realized is that conversations in English
are different from those in Spanish. It means I have to be a
different person in English and in Spanish. It is hard to switch
between those two.
I became aware of that when I was talking with some
European friends. The topic of that conversation was soccer. A
friend was criticizing Barcelona, my favorite team. Suddenly, I
said, “No, man, el Barça le gana a todos los de la UEFA Champions
League este año.”* It just came from my soul.
It is interesting to live in this non-Spanish environment. Although many people talk in my
language, most of my closest friends can only communicate with me in English. It is true that this
place is for English speakers, but it has also taught me that my language is in my heart.
*Translation: Barcelona beat all of the UEFA Champions League this year.
(NOTE: Picture is from three students in my ESL class, not the author.)
Posts
Hi Mr. Yoakum! I agree with Rodriguez, its so hard for people like he and me to be in one place one day and the next wake up in a whole different world. I was only three years in United States, I'm a living proof your work is amazing and you had been a bless to me, I hope every single ESL student take every chance they´re giving to and became a person someday they could be proud of... I will never be tired of thanking you for being such a nice teacher and friend to me, I know God send you to guide persons like Rodriguez and Nieto (me) trhu frightening times ... :)
ReplyDeleteBrieseda, you are too kind. And I am so proud of you for learning English so fast adn continuing on to complete dental school. Stay sweet.Kyle Y
ReplyDeleteYadira.
ReplyDeleteMr. Yoakum I'm proud of you for helping us to learn english. You know that I came here with no english and right now you are helping me to learn it. You are the best teacher that I never have. I just want to say thank you for everything and I wish you the best.
Hi
ReplyDeletemister yoakum, you know that I have a similar problem, but,I just want to say I love you and thank you for your help.