I was born into a very culturally open-minded household. I
grew up eating Korean, Italian, Spanish, French and Indian food, and listening
to music in a plethora of languages. From the beginning, my mother would speak
French to me and encourage my thirst for knowledge in languages and cultures.
We would often spend summers in the French speaking parts of Canada and visit my
grandmother in Cuban influenced Florida. My father was, like myself, born in
California and introduced some Spanish to me. Due to my upbringing, I became
fascinated with other languages and desired to be able to communicate in as
many as possible. I wanted to be able to speak with EVERYONE and not limit my
life experiences merely because I didn’t speak a language. I would go through what my loved ones
affectionately refer to as my "cultural phases". I'd get interested
in a certain culture, learn the lingo or language, listen to the music, watch
the movies and essentially immerse myself in it. Thus far I've learned
thoroughly about Australia, Ireland (I even moved there for a semester!),
China, Korea, India, Arabic/Turkish, Japan (yes I can draw anime ha-ha),
Spanish (more Central and South American Spanish), France, Poland and I've
touched on Italy. I went to a wealthy prep school on the Upper East Side for 9th
grade and hated it. Immediately after, I transferred to a high school in
Ireland, never having even visited. My mother raised me to be a risk taker and
I consider that experience to be one the most influential in my life because I
learned that I can feel at home in any country, regardless of the cultural
differences and in some ways, because of them! When I returned to the United
States, I enrolled in a Chinese Dual-Language school where I learned all about
Chinese culture and learned to speak Mandarin (though I am a bit out of practice).
I had many Chinese friends with whom I would speak in “Chingrish”. When I
started college at LaGuardia, I started having more Latino friends and dating an
Ecuadorian. Through my friends and boyfriend I became completely immersed and
enamored with the Latin culture and the music. It’s become so that I get
anxious if I don’t get to dance a little Salsa or Merengue at least once a
week. In daily life I tend to utilize "Spanglish", in part because
the majority of my friends are from Latin America and also because I am working
toward being able to speak with the fluidity of a native speaker. I plan on
going to Guatemala this summer to teach English to impoverished children. That
would be an unbelievable experience, to make a real difference in others’ lives
and to aid myself in learning one of the romance languages in depth, for I
believe the only way to truly learn a language and culture is by spending time
living it! I also believe that the greatest sin is the ignorance of exposing o oneself
to all the world has to offer; the cultures, the people, the places and the
music!
