The Art of Assimilation

When Dora Rodriquez and Abraham Bermudez came to the United States in the early 1980's, they weren't sure what to expect. Dora Rodriquez moved in with her aunt and uncle. Abraham Bermudez cam with his mother and other siblings that had been waiting to move for years before their father was able to bring them into the country legally. Part of the process in coming into any culture is to know and understand the language. The progression in taking part of that acculturation is only transmitted by an individual's experience that can be like someone else's or their own. What inspires one person can inhibit the other. Although Dora and Abraham came in the United States around the same time from the same country, their experiences in incorporating the language within the new culture was different.

Dora Rodriquez was only twelve when she came to the U.S. Her aunt accompanied her to the school Dora would be attending.

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Dora saw a few students that she knew but still felt very unsure of herself. The words people spoke were unfamiliar. Although the school cafeteria served enchiladas, rice, and beans, foods she was familiar with, that didn't mean that this experience of integrating would be as easy as recognizing the school's lunch (Rodriquez 1).

Dora was taken from the classroom during the day into another room where maybe a couple of students who sit and repeat letters and phrase a teacher would have them murmur. This just didn't make any sense to her. When she returned to her classroom, she felt like she had missed something there and every time she'd enter the classroom, the whole would stare at her. This would draw unwanted attention she was never comfortable with getting. The teacher in the classroom would talk to her in a...