*En clases de español para extranjeros.*
YO: Y díganme, ¿por qué quieren aprender español?
ALUMNA JAPONESA 🇯🇵: Mi empresa requiere que lo aprenda para poder trabajar en las sucursales que tenemos aquí.
YO: Oh, eso suena muy interesante.
ALUMNA ESTADOUNIDENSE 🇺🇸: Porque quiero aprender más de mis raíces. Mis padres son mexicanos que residen en Estados Unidos, pero nunca me enseñaron español para que no sufriera bullying en mi barrio.
YO: Lamento que fuera así, pero al aprender español verás que tus raíces son mucho más interesantes de lo que aparentan.
ALUMNO FRANCÉS 🇫🇷: Porque quiero darle una sorpresa a mi esposa mexicana. No se esperará que un día llegue yo hablándole en español. Creo que sería una bonita sorpresa.
YO: Ow, eso es muy tierno de tu parte.
ALUMNO ALEMÁN 🇩🇪: Porque me encantaría aprender más sobre las culturas latinoamericanas. Desde niño me sentí atraído hacia ellas por su manera tan alegre de vivir la vida. Me gustaría convertirme en parte de ellas.
YO: Y no te arrepentirás.
ALUMNO INGLÉS 🏴: Porque quiero ver "Shrek" en español.
*Todos lo miran confundidos.*
ALUMNO INGLÉS 🏴: Dicen que es mucho más chistosa en español latino, y yo soy muy fan de esa película, así que...
*El alumno inglés se encoge de hombros.*
YO: Pero... Debe haber alguna otra razón, ¿no?
ALUMNO 🏴: No. Sólo Shrek.
*Doy un paso hacia adelante y le tiendo mi mano para que la estreche.*
YO: Ese es el propósito más noble que he escuchado en todos mis años de enseñanza de la lengua española. Me comprometo a que aprendas español perfectamente para que puedas cumplir tan puro objetivo.
Congratulations to #TeamTaiwan for taking gold at the #Premier12 after a tough game against Japan. Although I was in a meeting here in Canada during the game, my heart was with our team & all the Taiwanese fans. No matter where we are, us Taiwanese always get behind our team!
Many people born in the US don’t understand what America means to some people. I became an American citizen a month ago, and I want to share my story. I dreamed about America since I was 13 years old; I thought it was the best country in the whole world, and it was my biggest dream to live here. I moved to the US when I was 17. It took me 11 years to become a US citizen. I had to get six visas one after another, and every time, I had to explain and prove that I deserved it. I was so scared that I might not be worthy of a green card, and I cried when I was finally approved.
In those 11 years, I never missed a rent payment or got a ticket because I really wanted to show that I was worthy of living here. Every single day, I aimed to be the best version of myself to live in what I saw as the best country. I spent over a million dollars on rent, my car, and daily living expenses. I always paid my taxes, and I worked incredibly hard to get to this point. Becoming a US citizen is one of my biggest achievements in life. I would look at the American passports of my friends and think, “What a beautiful passport,” admiring every page, every detail. I would hold it in my hand, wishing and dreaming that one day I would open that little book and see my own photo inside. I still can’t believe it when I open my passport now and see my face. It feels too good to be true.
My whole point is that I never received any benefits or government support; I never wanted to take advantage of this country. I worked hard and was always grateful to live here. I support every legal immigrant who has gone through the same journey and made the hard choice to leave everything behind to start a new chapter for a better future.
It breaks my heart to see how some people now can just walk in and get a passport. Does this mean that all my hard work was for nothing?