The first time I ever visited the United States was in 1999, and I must’ve been around 6 months old. Ever since then, almost every year my family and I would leave our home in Costa Rica for a week or two, and travel to the U.S. on holiday. These trips were the highlight of our year, and as I grew older we had the opportunity to travel more frequently, and I was able to gain a very vast knowledge of most of the American culture.
When I graduated high school, I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to study abroad, and to be able to live in the United States. I was confident that it would be an easy transition because of the amount of time I had spent previously in the U.S. And, while most of it was, in fact, easy, I soon discovered that visiting a place is, by no means, the same as living in it.
As a Latina, living in the United States was a bit more challenging than expected. For the first time in my life I experienced racism and discrimination first hand. At first, it had quite an effect on me, and more than once I actually cried in my dorm because of certain comments people had made about me and where I came from. With time, however, I got used to these comments, and I learned not to let them affect me. Whenever I had the chance I would respond calmly to whoever had insulted me, letting them know that their comment was not appreciated, but the racist comments that some people made no longer affected me personally, nor did they make me feel bad about myself or my culture.
However, there is one comment that to this day still bothers me immensely, and lately has become increasingly popular in the United States whenever a person hears another person speaking a foreign language, and frankly it really upsets me when I hear it. “You are in America, speak English” they say. I have heard this comment more times than I care to even think about, directed not only at myself, but at others as well. Now, there are several things that bother me immensely about this comment, besides the fact that it’s incredibly ignorant, although in this article I will speak of only three.
The first of these things is that to me, and any other person who is not from the United States, America is a continent, not a country. I know, this is a highly debated subject, and it has caused a lot of controversy, but think about it for a second: I come from Central America, and my native language is Spanish. So, when you tell me to speak English because I am in America, all I can think about is that there are over 35 countries in the Americas, and that in those 35 countries, over 30 different languages are spoken. So please, do not be surprised when I look at you like you are insane for demanding that I stop speaking in MY native language, and speak ONLY English, simply because the fact that you do not speak my language, and can’t overhear what I am saying makes you uncomfortable.
The second reason is, that if there are more than 350 languages spoken all over the United States, WHY do people still think that just because the “official language” of the U.S. is English it is only acceptable to speak said language? Nowadays, we hear about tolerance, freedom of expression, love, and acceptance for all literally EVERYWHERE, so where exactly is the tolerance, love, and acceptance for those who speak any language besides English? I simply do not understand.
The third reason is the fact that I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that me choosing to speak a different language with my mother, friend, grandfather etc. directly affects you. Like, why? Why do you feel the need to approach us at Walmart, look at us like we came straight out of Mars, and then proceed to tell us to “speak English”? Trust me, the last thing that we are doing is making fun of you, making plans to commit an act of terrorism, or planning how to steal your shopping bags. We are probably just discussing what to eat for dinner, and I fail to understand how us discussing our dinner plans in Spanish, Russian, Cantonese or any other language in the world personally affects you.
The hate that is being exhibited in the United States towards those who speak in their native languages, or who have different cultural backgrounds, or different skin colors needs to stop. It simply blows my mind that a nation that takes such pride in their greatness and freedom accepts mental and physical forms of abuse towards their own citizens, or even those who are merely visiting. Regardless of things that have happened in the history of the U.S., conflicts with other nations, or current problems, there is absolutely no excuse for the amount of hate crimes that are being committed daily. It is time for all of us to realize that it doesn’t matter where someone comes from, or what language they speak, or how much money they have. The only thing that matters is that they are human beings like you and me, who deserve kindness and respect.
Having said all of these things, I do want to make one thing clear: I love the United States. It has become my home away from home. I have made some of my greatest memories in the United States, and God-willing I will continue to make many more. I have met WONDERFUL people there, from hall mates to classmates, to random persons who, over the weeks and months, became some of my closest friends. I wouldn’t change the experiences (good and bad) that I’ve lived through over here for anything. But it is because of my love for this beautiful country that I will continue to keep doing my part to try to change it for the better, even if it is in the smallest of ways, and sometimes the only way to do this is by speaking up when we see something wrong.
I realize that a lot of people may not agree with this article, or that it might not even reach a very large audience. But, if I am able to change at least one person’s point of view into realizing the importance of treating everyone with respect despite their cultural background, skin color, or language the hours devoted to writing this article will be 100% worth it.
