Oliver (Guatemala, Age 18): English 433

Hello my name is Oliver I'm from Guatemala I taught  about my life school in Guatemala the name of my school is Instituto Mixto de Educación Básica por Cooperativa. The school was close from my house,everyday  I was walking to the school.

First  I  went to my friend house who lived 10 minutes far away  from my house and then we walking about 10 minutes to school. School start afternoon  at 1:10 PM, I had total 6 classes in school and we have 30 minutes break after 3 class ,when we have 30 min break we will went out to the store  and  bought candy or chips and we will went back and we will taught about the boring classes or sometimes  we were played soccer or just stayed a side and watched our friends played soccer, after passing 30 minutes of free time we all returned to our classes and continue learned. I liked the  best class were in Monday and Friday because we had gym class, it was fun.  but every three months we will change class in GYM, I feel so excited because I can worked will somebody new and learn more about each other. The days I don't liked were the Wednesday and Thursday I had math and social studies because it were so boring to me. We need to write many things and the teacher is taught a lot it make make bored. Well ! that was some about my school life in Guatemala I miss my classes.

My house in Guatemala,we  had 8 rooms, a bathroom, a living room, a kitchen and 5 bedrooms,we had a large backyard garden where we can played soccer or skating and all different fun things. Sometimes I  invited my  friends to my house and play with me in the backyard,sometime there were 8 people came to my house  because the space was larger. Behind my house  there are  a  big place where my parents planting corn or vegetables. but in october to may we can not plan any vegetables because their is no rain it can that growth,so we decide to use this place to play,flew kate. My bedroom was large there was a sofa, a TV, and my closet, we had terrace where you could see two volcanoes that were close to my house. One was called ST. Mary and the other Candelaria all around the place where I lived was surrounded by mountains.

My journey  from Guatemala to Brooklyn are because my brother called me and told me to came to New York to lived with them. My brother lived in  New York for 2 years already, He told me there have everything you need, education , friends … It was  very good and it was a comfortable place to lived . I say : “okay! let me think!” but it make me scared  because I knew it very hard and risk to cross the border  from Mexico to U.S.A. But  I decided to came to New York to lived with my brother. But the  problem is  my parents didn't want me to go because they  knew it was a hard and risk  to cross the border, they told me  to stayed here  they will give me all I need, but in the end, I convinced my parents and they want me to have a better life  in  the future. It very difficult to studies in my country and expensive. So they said okay  go with your brother. On January 20 I left my house towards the border of Guatemala and Mexico.

Then  we crossed  the border Guatemala, Mexico. Fortunately, I hadn't problem because I told them I was just a tourist and  they let me passed,. In Tapachula I stayed in a hotel for 2 days waiting for the man who take to me  Mexico D.F. In the  second day, the man who was going to take me to the Mexico D.F and said  we are ready to go,we walked out looking the bus terminal he told me that  if someone asked me something  I just tell them I am Mexicano, we took the bus from Tapachula to the D.F.It was a long travel I fell asleep and then in D.F we were waiting for a express bus to took us to Tijuana. Then I left  the bus in Tijuana. then the other  day we crossed the river and then  the Immigration arrested asked me  for documents? I said I'm immigrated, then they asked me how old are you?  I said: “ I am 17”  he said “okay” they leave me in a hostel teenagers.and then they sent me to Brooklyn with my brother.

I can never imagined I  can came to New York .Now I am in here , I think in New York  school  is very good. I never imagined I will have a new life in New York. In the first  day in New York I feel so everything is  weird,such as people,things,place… I asked my brother where is my school? because I only came here 4 days only. I didn’t know. But my brother didn't answered me he is  called someone to help finding school. We went to an office and they asked me what grade  I am studies on  in my country.  I told them 3th grade and  they told me  okay  you will go to  International high school at Lafayette. So we went to the school and visit they accepted me and I went to school in Wednesday,the first day of school .They showed me all the class I have and I studies in school one day when I went home and I told  my first day  to my brother and I feel very weird and strange because I never learned English,it hard to me learning english but I met  some friends who can helped me,they speak spanish and they translate to me when I need help.

In New York I lived in a small apartment . It's a small space where only can fit one TV and sofa .compare with my bedroom in Guatemala is totally different. I  can't make too  much noise because the neighbors don't like to listen the noise it was very loud and I don't have  any space to play soccer in backyard I gotta went to a park and played. When I went home I can not to do things that I do in my Guatemala  apartment like listening to music without disturbing anyone. but at the  end I feel good living in the  apartment because I don't have choice because it cause too much money to rent another house…..