Un Poco De Todo: My Typical Mexican Family

My entire family was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. After three and a half years of living there my family decided to seek a better future in The United States. My father would go to the United States back and forth to work and earn money to send to us in Mexico. Eventually my mother was able to get a visa and my brother along with my little sister had an alternate way into the United States. We lived in Dallas Texas and Atlanta Georgia before settling in Howard county Maryland in a very small apartment. Luckily we were doing pretty well with my dad being the only one knowing English at the time. My father was working two jobs and I was getting ready to start kindergarten. I was very excited because the education we would have received in Mexico was nothing compared to the education in Howard County. I was excited for what was to come, but there were disadvantages of knowing only Spanish. Being bullied because of my poor English had an impact on me. I was in completely separate classes learning things that were simple compared to the regular course. I was excluded from certain activities, field trips and assemblies. I was clueless at first though as I slowly learned the language I understood things a lot more.

I was borned in a small village call San Bartolome Quialana located in Southeastern Mexico. It is best known for its indigenous peoples and cultures. Here, in San Bartolome Quialana, women proudly cover their heads with multicolored chews and protect their satin dress with their gauze blouse and bib garments, each made with their own hands. The fabric is reserved for the women who also work in the fields. I mostly grew up with my mother Guadalupe,Smirna and Friedy. My brother being 14 years and my sister 12. In San Bartolome Quialana I grew up speaking an indigenous language call Zapoteco. I lived in a bigger house there but didn't have any warm water, nor a shower. Our kitchen didn't have a stove we made our own tortilla in a comal. My

Just like in the US there are 3 meals a day. But the most important meal of the day is el almuerzo (lunch) unlike the US.To start off the day they have a huge breakfast, which includes 2 eggs and a smaller steak with beans and a cup of coffee. For

I come from a very conservative Mexican household. That being said there were certain guidelines or roles that each gender had to follow. I come from a family of five, and we consist of 2 males and 3 females. Being a female, that meant that I was expected to do the household chores, the cooking of the house, and care for younger siblings. While we were expected to do that, my brothers didn’t have an obligation to do any of the responsibilities we were held accountable to. Although, they were expected to have jobs at an early age to help and provide income for the family.

This is actually very hard to answer. Growing up has been quite difficult for me. Besides the whole " I'm not legal here" stuff, I've faced more than a couple challenges. Coming here with no knowledge of what went on and why other people spoke different and had weird words I couldn't understand was tough. As well as having parents that didn't know anything either was worse. I felt like the pressure was on me all the time. I felt as if I had to know everything and be able to explain it (at the time I was the only child). The majority of my family lives in Mexico and I don't get to see them like other people do, but they have always been there for me even if it was through messages and social media. They've only got to see me grow up through

I agree with you. My family is from Mexico and especially if you go to Mexico the community expects from you a lot. I remember going to Mexico for vacation and my grandma got mad at me because I didn't say "Good Morning" to a group of strange people. However, I believe that those beliefs and pratice has influence my life and I am proud of who I am.

Juan is the only child in a family of three. Both parents live with him, and the parents have fulltime jobs to provide for the family. Juan mentioned that he likes his church, and that he wishes there were mid-week events for him to participate there. He mentioned that he likes the kids in the church, and that no one offends him with words that hurt him. Juan misses Honduras, and wishes his parents have never brought him to the U.S. His mother is also upset for leaving Honduras, and Juan has expressed his concerned for her, as she cries a lot. The father is present in the family, works long hours and so is the mother. The mother is the one who takes care of Juan prominently with his schooling. Juan and his family do not have relatives in the area in which they live.

I come from a large family. I am one of the oldest, and have always taken care of my younger cousins and sisters. Family parties are fun, until it is my turn to bat the piñata; the candy is usually all gone by the time it’s my turn! My parents insisted that we continue to speak Spanish in the home, and maintain our hispanic culture; I have learned an appreciation of my culture from them. It wasn’t easy balancing home and school, because it was like living in two different worlds. I learned English and Spanish at the same time, and two cultures at the same time. I love them both!

Advisors I would like to offer my assistance in calling Spanish speaking families for our Parent teacher conferences that will occur on November 17th 5-8 pm and 18th 12-3 pm. The reminder is located in Google Calendar.

Learning another language has allowed me to expand my view on the world. Learning that my target is a binding force in the same manner as English has shown me that all humans are alike despite physical and social divisions. Learning another language has also shown me that there are other rich cultures around the world to be appreciated. In addition, in many Spanish-speaking cultures, people’s elders are people who deserve a great amount of respect. This viewpoint on people who are older has proved important in my life as even in the United States, this type of respect is greatly appreciated. Because I learned that family plays a central role in Spanish speaking nations, my view on family’s importance has been enriched as well.

I was born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and lived there until I was 11 years old. We moved to Laredo, TX because my mom's employer wanted her to run a forwarding agency. The biggest difference that I noticed between my native culture and host culture was education. In Mexico, I would go to school from 7:30am-12:30pm, had 3 weeks of summer vacation, and 2 weeks of winter break. Not to mention, we had the same teacher from 1st grade through 6th grade. Getting used to longer school hours and changing classrooms every period took some getting used to. I actually hated my first summer since I spent most of it in Mexico and had to wait for my cousins to get out of school.

In my own little world everything was halcyon. Waking up, going to school, spending time with my family, everybody speaking the same language, and doing the same things. Even though, I was loquacious and always wanting to know everything my mother would always make things obfuscate for some reason and I did not understand why. My family was patrician and we lived with less concern than some people in Mexico. Every Saturday, consisted of my family getting together and spending time with each other. Each of my family members cooked something. They made: tamales, posole, menudo, tacos, enchiladas, and I loved it. We all related with the vernacular language. I absolutely loved my culture. Being able to read, talk, and write Spanish made me feel delighted.

My parents are from Mexico, they came when they were just teenagers. They found work wherever they could. I hear stories from my father about the first pair of shoes he ever had in America where some Chuck Taylor All-Stars, and the time he ever had a hamburger at whataburger and how he could finish it because of how massive it was. My mother tells me stories of her childhood. She talks about how her and her other siblings would work day after day in the fields they owned, how she learned how to be self dependant before the age of 10. When we go back to Mexico, everyone in the whole town knows. I can’t go anywhere without someone asking if i’m Miguel and Juana's’ kid.

My father was born in Leon, Guanajuato. He never enjoyed school. He found school to be boring. So he spent most of his time playing goalkeeper for his team. At the age of 15, my father was in his last year of school, this was when he met my mother. My mother enjoyed school because she loved to learn new things and she was in the top of her class. An unlikely pair formed when my mother was appointed to tutor my father. After a while, they started to go out and within three years of dating, they got married and my mother gave birth to my eldest brother. This meant my father had to get serious about work since he had a child to raise. I have a great deal of respect for my parents for taking jobs to raise me and my siblings, and I am thankful for their hard work. Their hard work pushed me to become the best I could be. They sacrificed their stead life in Mexico for a high-risk life that gave me the opportunity to have a better life.

My life is full of adventures here in El Paso, where I was born and raised. A city like this is unique and different from many other cities because our city is right next to the border to Juarez Mexico, meaning the culture here can differ greatly. The city is unique and special, mainly because of the very Hispanic culture here that has taught me to love my family. The environment here that I have been raised in is based on a great deal of religion, family, and challenging work. I believe the environment I was raised in has matured me to be a hard-working brother and a student.