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Essay On Being An Immigrant

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Can I be an immigrant if I was born an American? I’ve asked myself this question countless times to determine if my experiences have molded the person I am today and would I be different if I grew up in this country. I vividly remember landing in LAX and telling my mother, “Mira mama es un platillo volador” (Look mom it’s a flying saucer) as I pointed to the Theme Building below. I was born in Sylmar, CA but as a baby, my parents decided to take me to live in Zacapa, Guatemala for eight years. Despite, given the opportunity to attend school I preferred to help my mother work by visiting different towns offering food, clothes, medicine or anything that we could sell. Early on my mother instilled that if you didn’t work you didn’t eat and with that mentality I found myself bartering with vendors at the age of six! I’d visit “El Panadero” (the baker), and I’d smell the aroma of freshly baked bread, and he’d welcome me by saying, “Ya viene el Americanito” (here comes the little American). On cue, I’d ask for the price of bread, and he’d respond with twenty Quetzales, and I’d haggle the price down to eight Quetzales after …show more content…

Once in Los Angeles, I was astounded at the large streets(freeways) that stretched for an eternity, the huge buildings that touched the sky and still I missed my home. I started at Encino Elementary school and recalled the teacher introducing me to class, but I didn’t understand, and the children all looked different to the kids from my home. I didn’t speak English, and I vividly remember children would approach me and call me “stupid,” and I’d stare and smile as they walked away laughing at my

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