Uncle Chalo

When I was a child I lived with my mom, my sister and my dad in a pretty house in Bogotá, Colombia. My sister and I have a lot of uncles and aunts, but one of our uncles that I most remember was my Uncle Chalo. His name was Gonzalo but everybody called him Chalo. He was the eldest son on my father´s side of the family and he lived with his family in Miami, Florida. He was tall, had black hair and a good sense of humor, as did my dad. Besides that, he had two sons about our age, and he worked in his own company of curtains and blinds.

When he visited us he used to give us presents like Barbies or super cool toys, and we played with our cousins since my mom and dad had a good time with him and his wife. One time he helped us to apply for visas to the United States because we wanted to go to Disney Land and it was a complete success. We had a wonderful time. I think that was one of my favorite trips in my life.

On my father’s side of the family, he had the most authority and everybody asked for his advice. Over time, we saw each other less and sometimes when we talked about politics or social situations in Colombia we had differences, but we loved him a lot. Unfortunately, he died from a heart attack about two years ago, but I remember him well because he was one the uncles that we cared about most and he was an inspiration to some members of the family.

~

Ania - Colombia

Lina

Lina was a woman with a thin physique, but she had a lot of strength in her muscles.

Last Saturday I went to visit some friends in Pawtucket who lost their mother and shortly afterward Lina arrived and I didn't recognize her. She has a fuller body, lighter skin, rosy face, very pretty. During the conversation, I told her that she looked very familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where.

Did she reply, “Really”? When I heard her voice, the memories took over my mind, and I asked “Lina are you Lina”?

We held each other tight for a long time and then we started reliving the past with a lot of emotion.

Lina sold cow's and goat's milk. She lived in a very remote village on my island, island of Brava in Cape Verde, and had no access to transport up to a certain point along the way. She had to climb a lot of steep hills to get to the main road, when she got there she didn't take a ride.

She carried a bowl on her head full of bottles with about 5L of milk each and mugs to measure the milk, she went all the way uphill from Lavadura disassigning milk until she reached the city of Nova Sintra where I lived.

Around noon Lina arrived at our house to deliver the milk, which was her last delivery. She was very skinny, arrived very tired, with the bowl on her head where she always wore a flowered scarf, with her slippers full of dust from walking and full of sweat, she often arrived accompanied by her oldest daughter, Patricia, and screamed by far, “djam bem” which means “I`ve arrived”.

She spoke quickly and in a high tone of voice, typical of people who live in villages that have no communication, taking care of animals and talking from one house to another screaming.

We offered water and lunch, but first she would wash her feet and face to freshen up. After lunch, we would sit and watch Brazilian soap operas and while the soap operas were not over, she would not leave.

After a while she emigrated to the United States and I to Portugal, we lost all contact until we met again in the city of Pawtucket.

~

Margarida Rodrigues - Cape Verde
10/03/2022

Experience with Fireworks in America

A couple of months after I came to the United States, my kids and I were in the house but they were sleeping. Around 10 o’clock at night I saw a huge fire light outside beside our house that was sparkling. It made me think it was transformer was burning. I shouted and called my children. I was so scared and shouted fire! Fire!! Fire!!!

I was running out of the house, and they tried to stop me, but I was too scared to wait for them. I continued running into the street and they also ran, following me and asked what was burning. My elder daugher decided to call her dad and he called me immediately to ask what was going on, and I told him that the transformer had exploded. He laughed at me and told me it was not, that it was fireworks. I asked him what they call it. And he told me it’s bounger, which is what we call fireworks in Nigeria. I was surprised because in my country we have them from November to December. It was so much fun when we would light fireworks back home.

When I came back into the house my kids were laughing at me. I was laughing too. After that, they brought me to see the fireworks at McCoy Stadium and I saw a lot of fireworks there. When my husband came back home he was still laughing at me.

~

Adesola - Nigeria

Being an American Driver

Being an American driver is a little harder than in Nigeria. I was afraid to drive here because of the laws about driving, but I haven't had a choice because no one has time to take me wherever I want. My husband needs to go to work and my kids go to school. I also needed to go to the library to attend English class and go to stores. so I had to take an Uber wherever I went.

I made a decision to start learning how to drive with a family member who gave me a little confidence and helped make the journey fast. But guess what! I still have fear when I'm driving alone because of the police. That's why I couldn’t drive far away from my house until my daughter suggested driving school. It took me five good weeks. My tutor was very nice and calm, even though he didn’t show up at the beginning, but sent his wife to teach me but she was also nice.

I applied for a road test at the DMV after some practice. I was looking forward to the schedule. To be honest, I was a little nervous about waiting for another month. I was glad to go with my tutor and it was amazing to pass the test. Now I am bold enough and more confident to go wherever I want to by driving myself. I drive without fearing the police, and continue to obey the law to avoid attracting them.

It’s great to drive without calling an Uber or waiting for my husband before I go out. This made it easy for my youngest daughter to take a job during the holiday. I was able to give her a ride and pick her up when she was done at work. I'm looking forward to working as well.

Being an American driver is a great privilege, but without driving by yourself and speaking English, life will be hard to make your dream come true. Now I am the newest driver in my city and thank God things are easier for me. I also give thanks to my teacher, Jon, for encouraging and supporting me with my English.

~

Adesola - Nigeria