Ten Years Ago...

I can't believe that exactly ten years ago on this day I arrived to the USA. I was so scared and naive. I had no idea about what my future would be and how I would adjust to this new country and culture. I didn't even speak English and didn't understand Daniel's family when they spoke to me. I was only sure about one thing. I wanted to be with Daniel and marry him, and that was enough for me. Now thinking back, I think I was really brave to do all that by myself. I was only 18 years old and I had just finished high school a year before and I had attended college for a year. I remember going through the whole process of getting my VISA and doing all the medical tests that one has to go through to enter the country. I had to travel to my country's capital, Bogota, to do all that and go through Immigration. Bogota is about 18 hours away from my city, so I flew there and stayed with some members that Daniel knew when he served his mission there. That helped me a lot because I didn't know anybody in Bogota and that was a totally different city from my native city Barranquilla. Bogota is very cold compare to my city, so I was freezing to death the whole time I was there. I stayed there for about 7 days or so to do all my paperwork and all the testings and to get my VISA. I flew back home from Bogota to Barranquilla holding my VISA in my hands and feeling so happy and accomplished. I was on my way to the USA to marry the man I loved. I remember my flight to the USA had one stop in Miami and I had to get my luggage and find my new gate to St. Louis. I was so lost and didn't understand anything. I don't even remember who showed me the way to my gate and helped me. It wasn't so bad in the Miami airport because there are some Latinos there, but when I arrived to St. Louis airport, I was so lost. I didn't know where to go or who to ask because I didn't know how. I do remember memorizing the sentence in English:" I don't speak English", and maybe somebody would find a way to help me. Luckily Daniel found me quickly and his family (Daniel's sister, her husband, her two children, and Daniel's mom) were there to welcome me. They showed me so much love right away. I remember Daniel's mom hugging me and kissing me and saying I love you and talking to me without stopping in English and I didn't understand a word. Daniel's sister, April, hired a Limousine to take me home. I was so spoiled. That was so nice, but I feel that I didn't appreciate it that much because I was so nervous and anxious that I didn't enjoy it as I should. The next day was the worse for me because when I woke up (I stayed at Daniel's sister house where Daniel lived also, but in separate bedrooms of course)in the morning, I heard the kids and everybody else talking in English and I didn't understand a word. The worse part was that Daniel was not home to interpret for me. He had to go to work so I was alone. I think I cried and thought "Oh my goodness, what have I done?" Daniel's sister, April, so so sweet and tried so hard to communicate with me and to make me feel good. She would speak very slowly and tried to explain things for me by either mimicking or using a dictionary. So I started carrying a pocket dictionary with me and looking up words every time I didn't know. She also took me to Jefferson College so I could enroll in a ESL class(English as a second language). I started going there and learning to communicate little by little. It was so hard at first, especially when people where saying jokes and just talking and I couldn't understand. Church was also really hard because I wanted so bad to participate and comment and I couldn't. I remember sharing my testimony in Spanish and praying in Spanish when I was asked, even though no one understood me. I just wanted to speak naturally. I cried a lot and missed my family so much. Those first years were really tough for me, especially because I have never been away from my mom. She had babied me all my life because I was her baby. She had done everything for me until that point of my life and now I was alone and I had to learn to take care of myself and be independent. I always remember that first morning when I got to this country, getting up and waiting for someone to give me my breakfast, like eggs with pancakes or something like that. That is the way we do it in my country when we have guests. Usually the mom of the family is in charge of preparing and serving the breakfast to the whole family. Daniel's sister, April, didn't know about my culture and she didn't make me anything. She had lots of cereals for me to choose, but I had to get it myself. I didn't even know what to get or if I was supposed to get anything if I was not offered. So I am not sure what time I ate my breakfast that morning or if I even had one. As days went on, I learned to make my own meals and to be more independent. I started going to college and learned English and I even got a job at college as a Spanish tutoring. That was an easy job for me!
Now I look back and see how much I have learned in the past ten years and all the things I still have to learn. I am grateful though for all the people, like my wonderful sister in law, April, who helped me so much and showed me so much love, and my mother-in-law, Nancy. She helped me get my first real job here as a cashier for Dollar General. I think the store manager liked Nancy so much that she just hired me to be nice to her. And of course, my wonderful husband who has always been there for me and helped me make it.


I broke out with bad acne because of all the anxiety I was going through. I was so embarrased because Daniel had never seen me like that before, so I thought maybe if I wore glasses I would distract him from my acne..I was so naive..The glasses were only for "looks"...and I never wore them again after that.