Day 15: Puerto Rican growing out of Puerto Rico

My grandparents from both sides were Puerto Rican and out of my grandparents came along my parents who by logic and genetics are Puerto Ricans too, which in return makes me and my siblings Puerto Rican. What everyone has in common except for me? They were born in Puerto Rico and I wasn't. I am a Georgia peach born along the coastline of Savannah and which growing up made me super annoyed because I felt like I was not a true Puerto Rican but that is not how ethnicity works. I may have been born outside of the island and raised out of it but that does not exclude me from my own culture. I did not obtain a Puerto Rican accent nor do I know or speak Puerto Rican slang, but I at least learned how to speak Spanish by the time I was four or five I was speaking on my own without my mom having to translate for me. Before learning Spanish though I had only knew how to speak in English which to some households that should be the goal until you realize that your own mom does not understand a word you are saying. My mom knew very little English at the time so when I got to speaking language phase of my life, my mom and I hit a language barrier. Yet we learned together through our language barrier because through her I obtained my second language and my mom can now understand when I speak English, even though she would still rather speak Spanish. Depending on where you are in Latin America, Spanish is spoken in different dialects and words are described differently as well. So when I was taught Puerto Rican Spanish I thought I was set and ready to go until I met my best friend who is Mexican and her Spanish was slightly different from mine. There was even this time I was sitting in the car with my friend and we started talking about money and without thought I said "cincuenta chavos?" (Puerto Rican Spanish: fifty cents?) and they all looked at me like if I said something absurd. Then I have realized I basically said fifty boys because chavos to them are either boys or kids. Yeah... 

Growing up outside of the island, many people automatically thought I did not know Spanish because when I speak English I do not have an accent. Which makes sense because why would I have an accent in my first language? So because I was assumed I did not know Spanish it is as if I was not Latina. I remember in high school there was this other Puerto Rican girl in my technology class and I could tell because of her accent. Excited that there was another Puerto Rican, I wanted to be friends with her. I grew up most of my life in a border city close to Mexico so not only did people did not think I spoke Spanish but they also assumed that I was Mexican. And I do not know why she felt disgusted or better than me for having a Puerto Rican accent when I did not. That should not make me any less of Puerto Rican than she is. Which that offended me and so any time I would see her around campus I would just brush her off. Probably was not the greatest decision but then again she should of been nicer to me. 

Another thing about growing up outside of the island is having all of my extended family living on the island. So not only are states are in between us but the Atlantic Ocean as well. I have not visited the island in two years which may not seem a lot but there were times where I would not visit in four or more years. I did not get the privilege to grow up with my primos (cousins) or grow close relationships with my tias (aunts) or tios (uncles) or even with my abuelos (grandparents) for that matter. Which I found a little unfair in comparison with my friends who had family close by but it has taught me to be patient and appreciative for what I have. While many people may go to Puerto Rico for vacations, I go to visit family and what better place to visit family on a beautiful island in the Caribbeans? Every time I go to Puerto Rico is like I am welcomed back home from an extremely long trip and a bit of reality is put on hold and a bit of it placed back because you realize that everyone has grown older and some of the situations have changed. I still feel wonderful though to be connected back with my family where I can talk to them in person instead of through my phone screen. 

Puerto Ricans are everywhere. We can have somehow sense when there is one nearby. You do not have to be on the island to realize who is Puerto Rican because you will know through our personalities. We have been known to be loud, open, easy-going and at times judgmental people. We normally want to have a time well spent. Crack open the dominoes, play some salsa on the old stereo, bring out the cola champagne, and the empanadillas and you have get together set in the backyard. Not the same as having a throwback at the beach but we do what we can. I think that is what is so wonderful about my culture that even from far you will always have a piece of the island with you. In fact I was making these well known pastries from Puerto Rico called pastelillos which they are essentially turnovers with guava paste in side and if done well it's sprinkled with powder sugar on top. Every time I go to Puerto Rico it's just one of those must haves so stopping at a bakery is a must! 

I am proud that I was born to be Puerto Rican. I love my culture, I love my island, I love our Spanish language and even though I fear that I may be underrepresented because I am a Latina woman, there is nothing I would change. And like we Puerto Ricans say, WEEEEEEEEEEPA!

Where is your culture from?

xx Chavelita

Teen pregnancy

For the past weeks or so in my IB Spanish class my classmates and I have been describing pictures that forces us to give us an argumentative yet personal opinion of what we think the picture means to us and what the message is trying to get to across to those who view the picture. When it was my turn to describe the picture, keep in mind that I do not have the ability to choose the picture I wanted to discuss about, I was nervous that I was going to get a picture that I had no argumentative statement to discuss. Yet the picture that I was given was teen pregnancy. Yes teen pregnancy and to be truthful with you all some of the things I said will be shocking because it did shock at me. (Alright so I may add some more ideas while writing but the main ideas done in my interview are highlighted into the following statement)

What do you see in this picture?
I see that there is a teenager mother holding her baby of maybe three years of age. Instead of looking terrified though, she appears to be happy that she has her baby boy in her arms like she does not regret making this decision of having a child at such a young age perhaps at 15. In fact by looking at her clothes she may be from the Middle East and depending how the country view teen pregnancy it could actually be seen a normality rather than something that should be shunned about which is done here in the United States. She seems confident at what she has placed in her life in front of her. With technology advancing and the world moving at such a rapid pace, society has been creating teen pregnancy into a controversial topic of discussion. In comparison with the generation of before, maybe having children at a young age did not seem like a big deal because people would get married at a young age and with the lack of technology, lets face it people were more sane. Now in today's generation teen pregnancy among adolescents and soon all the reputation, all trust, all relationships or friendships made by other people are lost. Which seems unfair because they do not even have a chance to prove themselves. So they got pregnant at a young age, but does that make them irresponsible parents or parent? Before people start to give the cold shoulder at least give them a chance to prove of what potential acts that could be done within the nine months of pregnancy and the many years after that. I am not saying that teens should get pregnant but if they do, it does not necessarily mean that their lives are over. I wish that adolescents would at least wait before having children to save themselves from spending sleepless nights taking care of the child to emergency visits to the hospital in case the child gets sick. Sacrifices will have to be made to make the outcomes as successful as they can be. Society gives teen pregnancy the idea that hell will break lose and from where I am standing the world has yet to burst into flames. Each baby is seen as a blessing no matter of the situation and if people were to be more open-minded of this situation teens will be more comfortable to speak about teen pregnancy. Female adolescents will not have to live in fear of acceptance from their peers, family, or society because I can bet you that all these girls want is to feel safe and welcomed and supported throughout the pregnancy. They want to be able to see their parents eyes without having this feeling that they will not look back. Parents you have the right to feel disappointed or in desperation to know of the full details that caused the pregnancy but before you blow up at your children give them a hug first and tell them that you are there for them. I know it sounds contradicting but I find it best that everything settles down first before the questions rise into action.

Teen pregnancy is a controversial topic to speak about and I totally understand if you have a completely different outlook on this matter. I am not a mother only a seventeen year old girl but I believe that once when you are open minded, you are able to view many perspectives in the discussion.

What do you see in the picture?

This is the actual picture I had to describe

xx Chavelita