“South Mexican” here, “Gringa” back home.

Francisca Ugalde
Akron, OH

I have been living away from Chile for over 18 years, and here in Ohio for 15. I certainly don’t get treated negatively, but jokingly I am referred to as “South Mexican” since, who cares about what is further south than Mexico. The part that hurts, is when I visit “home” I find myself being told how much of a gringa I am…what do they expect?…Reject 15 years of living within a culture?