Michelle Toval 

9/13/22

English 101

                              Cover letter 

      I found this essay very hard to make. I couldn’t think of any ideas for the assignment at first. I kept changing up my story to the one you see today. I wish I had gotten more feedback from the first peer editing. Not only did we run out of time and I was the last person to be given feedback, all they really said was how they related to it. I also wished I paid attention to more sensory details. I was so worried about the timing of my presentation that I made my essay shorter than usual. I would have added the smell of my grandfather’s truck since I have a sensitive nose. When reality hit me of no one knowing English I could have added I felt dizzy for the 2 hour ride because of the smell. (It didn’t smell bad for a car, I just don’t like the smell of cars) other than that I enjoyed this phase. It was nice to see the different experience my other classmate had with language. It also made me nervous because of how creating some of their presentations was. We all did great! 

                    Not so alone this time 

      “Si realmente quieres, puedes quedarte aquí un poco más.” my aunt jokingly said. “Lo siento amor pero tenemos que volver, la escuela empieza pronto” my mother responded before me. I wanted to scream yes to her even though a few weeks back i didn’t want anything to do with this trip.  Drifting away from your mother tongue sounds just as bad as it seems. Just like a handful of you (fellow classmates) my background comes from a country that speaks Spanish. It also comes with the culture behind it. The food, the music, the community, it has its unique personality. But living in the states all my life prevented me from enjoying my background. But not this time.

      It was one of the first times that I went to my home country without my extended family. For the summer they decided to go to another state but my mom still wanted to come to DR. I didn’t mind because I love going over there. I remember I couldn’t sleep the night before the flight. I had dark eye bags by the time I arrived at the airport. My mother practically dragged me through security and to our plane because of how tired I was. “I should really stop buying early flights,” my mother said as we sat on the plane. That was the last thing I remember before I fell asleep on her lap. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. My mom said we had arrived so we had to get off. I was shocked by how fast we arrived but I was much more excited as I hopped off my chair to the exit. 

          As we were leaving the airport I saw my grandparents waiting for us near the exit. The exit was a beautiful place with man made waterfalls, lovey palm trees surrounding the airport. I ran across the marble floor to hug them both as my mother followed behind me. We let go of each other and walked towards my grandfather’s truck. It was a blue car truck that had a new car smell. I immediately felt dizzy as I have a sensitive sense of smell. Sitting in the back of the car as my mother and grandparent spoke to each other I had reality face me. I realized I didn’t have anyone to talk to. In previous trips I would always spend my time with cousins who also spoke English but now that they are not here, I had no one. Everyone around me only knows how to speak Spanish. 

      I was only 12 years old. My Spanish wasn’t the best.  I could only understand it to a certain extent but I wasn’t able to speak back. Whenever my grandparents spoke to me I would only answer yes or no, or I would ask for food. Other than those interactions I wanted to stay in my room. Having almost no interactions with my family made me realize how distant I was with them. 

       Even though I felt lonely, my family still tried to make me feel included. They would take me out for a drive around the neighborhood in my grandfather’s old navy blue truck where they would talk to old friends at the community park. The park was full of stray dogs and old Christmas lights that were tangled up in the trees. It was always crowded and hot whenever I went there. My family would also take me to the pool. I’m not a fan of beaches because the sand would always go to my eyes  so going to the pool was fun for me. On this trip I even taught myself how to swim. “Michelle, make sure you don’t go in the deep end.” My aunt shouted from the side of the pool. I couldn’t understand what she said entirely but she waved her hand to the short end so I got the hint. Even with the strong smell of chlorine I had so much fun that day. I even made friends with other kids who were also there. They were learning English in school while I knew a bit of Spanish so we were able to communicate. We were sad when we had to go since it was likely we would never see each other again. But they were already off my mind when we were driving home knowing that my grandma cooked us a tasty meal. 

              I didn’t realize how fast time went by. I wish I could have stayed  longer but school would be starting soon. On my way to the airport I cried for most of the ride. My aunt even joked about letting me stay with her for the year but I still had to come back. (Sad I know) Looking back at this time of my life I’m glad I enjoyed my time instead of staying in my room for most of it. I can’t wait to go back. My Spanish is much better now, it might not be fluent but I’ll make sure I’ll have the time of my life.