Keatan Oliva,
McAllen, TX.
Growing up near the boarder of Mexico, where I would often cross with my mother to have lunch on weekends, it seemed expected of me to know Spanish fluently. Although I was raised in a town named Rancho Viejo, which might even be considered nearer to Mexico and its culture than McAllen is, I really wasn’t exposed to the Spanish language very often and it never occurred to me that I HAD to learn it growing up. My entire family is bilingual, but even so I was never spoken Spanish to in or outside of the house by them. To add to the lack of exposure outside the natural culture that was all around me, I was defiant in learning Spanish. For some odd reason I just didn’t want to know it and was aware of the fact that I felt I didn’t need or want it. Unfortunately, the older I became the more demanding it got to know the language. A barrier had been created and I was no longer looked at as the young little girl who had time to learn. I was a teenager and eventually a college student who was now looked at differently, almost disrespectfully with surprise. Although I personally feel somewhat left out of the culture around me because I don’t speak Spanish, I know I can become fluent in it with practice. Even though I feel its a stereotype for all Spaniards, Hispanics, Mexicans or what have you’s to be able to speak Spanish, I do feel its probably important for us to learn the language to be better able to communicate and know our culture a bit better.
