Spanish Time

For the past six years, I have had the privilege of sharing my first language, Spanish, and Spanish culture as a teacher at a small private elementary school in a small rural town where diversity is almost non-existent. It has been a pleasure to open up a window to the outside world in the classrooms of this school where the students and I get to explore Spanish culture and language without having to leave town. My experience sharing my culture as well as my bilingual skills, however, extends beyond the elementary school classroom. Prior to teaching Spanish at the elementary school level, I worked as a Spanish-English translator and interpreter at various companies, and I also taught Spanish to adults.

TJX Inc. is the parent company of retail stores such as TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Marshalls, which are “off price” department stores that sell family apparel, home décor, beauty and accessories. Founded in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1976, TJX currently boasts more than 3,300 stores in the United States, Canada and Europe (TJ Maxx). In 2014, TJX Inc. had net sales of $29 million (TJX Annual Report).

The first thing that I resonated with, and my classmates felt the same, was Yasmeen’s story. Many of my classmates and I felt very strongly for Yasmeen and her situation. She is so young and yet she has lost both parents, in the midst of a legal battle for custody

Some of these kids were not focused on school and found themselves in troubling situations. One principle notes how Michelle, a young girl in the program, changed for the better and is now more focus on the possibilities that are out there for her (Agrelo Mad Hot Ballroom). Through

The first thing on the agenda of my visit was my official tour of the school. As I walked around the main campus I began to picture myself as part of the pack. With each new building I saw, the more I fell in love with the school. Everything from the glowing red-bricked education buildings to the exquisite student building, Talley Student Union. After I had walked the magnificent campus, it was time for my meeting with the head coach, Bryan Bunn. I had never met Coach Bunn or even talked to him, only email. When I stepped into his office with my mom every one of my senses was heightened. I could hear my heart beating out of my chest. I could hear every pipe that had water running through

“A Dog’s Life” The autobiography of a stray by: Ann M. Martin, a book i’ve had since the 4th grade, I can never stop coming back to it at least once every year though. A dog named Squirrel goes through many changes in her life with losing her mother, then her brother, being abused, surviving on her own, making new friends losing those friends and finding a good home for good where she can live her elder years. To me the book basically covers the life of a human, as I got older and repeatedly read the book I realized that it has substantial similarities with the way humans generally go through life. People lose their family, get in abusive relationships, have to go to college and survive on their own, we make friends, lose friends and hopefully

Even though my mother was Mexican it was hard for me to speak to my friends who knew mostly Spanish and a little English because Spanish was not my first language. As years went on, I went to high school, where now I can have a full conversation with my Spanish speaking friends, and since it is an international high school, it brings in more cultural diversity. With this international high school in El Paso, it has helped me learn new cultures and experience the dozens of traits they do for activities or how they celebrate

The five-minute warning bell goes off. I rush to my first class of my junior year, eager to see my classmates, who I was going to spend the rest of the 9 months with. I find myself stumbling into a classroom plastered with decorations of Denzel Washington with a Dr. Seuss book in his hand, a t and college flags galore. My AP English 11 class suddenly seemed so appealing to me. As a beautiful, curly haired short lady stood in front of me and said “Welcome to AP English 11,” I knew that I had found a treasure so much greater than just a pretty classroom. Little did I know, that short lady was going to inspire me throughout my challenge filled second-to-last year of high school.

It was a warm April day with clouds hanging and storms on the horizon. School had just gotten out, and everybody was rushing home so they could start their weekend plans. For most people that included prom, but me and my friends had different plans, which included going out to eat on Friday night. On the way to the restaurant, me and Sara were talking about how my excitement was building in anticipation of receiving my drivers license and talking about our difficult homework.

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” explains how prisoners are chained in a cave since childhood with their back to the entrance, unable to turn their necks around. The prisoners have no knowledge of the outside world. Along the cave wall people are carrying different artifacts that cast shadows and echoes. The prisoners would try to identify and name the passing objects. One of the prisoners was freed, however when he stepped outside of the cave the sunlight hurt his eyes.

It was the year 2008, I had just graduated from St. Michael’s School located in Los Angeles, CA. This year was quite exhilarating for me also scary because I was going to attend an all-girls high school. Los Angeles was my birth place also a place where I called home. One day, I came home to hearing my parents talking about moving to Mississippi. I remained devastated, not only we were moving to the south, I’m moving away from childhood friends. I was worried I wouldn’t see them again and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make new friends in Mississippi.

At the time, I signed up for spanish because it seemed the most useful considering the hispanic population in the United States and our close proximity to Latin America, but I never truly understood how helpful knowing another language could be. Over this past summer, I hosted a student from Spain for about a month. Before this experience, the language never seemed real to me. Meeting Marina and recognizing that spanish is the language she uses in everyday life changed my perspective. Spanish is exciting for me because it is an entirely new way of life that I haven’t experienced before. I spent my whole childhood speaking english and recognizing american traditions while other children spoke spanish and had different customs. Continuing to learn spanish will allow me to communicate with more people and exchange ideas with people who did not grow up the same way I

During high school, I put lots of effort into learning Spanish. I took three years of Spanish in high school, then stopped and began pursuing it on my own, studying books, participating in Spanish - English language exchanges with native speakers and even practicing with the line cooks in the restaurant I would work in every summer. Slowly, I became more and more proficient. Half the Latinos I talk to tell me my Spanish is perfect,

     Tony finished getting ready, and then we left for the high school. The parking lot was filled with all the other seniors’ cars. Tony and I walked into the library ten minutes late like usual, and the principal had already started giving instructions. I found my place in line and then was all ears. I couldn’t help but look around at all the others. Smiles were plastered on their faces as if they had heard a hilarious joke. Once the principal concluded his speech, the whole senior class paraded down the hallway to the commons in two uniform lines stopping just outside the gymnasium doors. We could hear the band warming up and playing songs. All the people that were standing around me were bubbling

Explanation1: My Upper School friend, Daniel Zhao, telling me about this school changed my whole life. On a special particular day, I shadowed someone and after, I knew that I was part of something special.