I want to call this composition , " My first Car in America " . To my fellow friends of the City College of San Francisco , I want you to know , I am Eduardo Cisneros . First , I want to tell you that this is my third composition to be published on " The New Mission Journal of San Francisco " . I have already written two other ones . I hope that you will enjoy this one , too . The first story I wrote was called , " How a Little Poor Kid Helped His Mother " to raise his brothers and sisters . I called the second one , " The Childhood of Eddy Cisneros " , and the third I will call " My First Car in America . " This time , I want to write about something that can happen to anybody who comes to " America " for the first time . First , we go to see and have fun at many places in San Francisco , such as Ocean Beach , Fisherman 's Wharf , Golden Gate Bridge , Golden Gate Park , Chinatown , the Zoo of San Francisco , the Bay Bridge , and so on . These places make you excited , and you 'll never forget them as long as you live . Besides these places , also in your mind is something you remember about first coming to the United States , and this is what you 're going to hear about . With an empty pocket , with no money , and wearing somebody else 's clothes who lent them to you , these are embarrassing moments . This was how our life in this country began . We came here because we wanted good work opportunities . Of course , in some places our choices don 't matter . You naturally will work wherever you find work first . This was how it happened with me in the beginning , when I couldn 't speak English at all . My priority at that time was to get a job , no matter how or what . Secondly , I had to find a place to live . I say that because mostly a new immigrant has to live first in the house of somebody else like your mother 's house , your brother 's house , your sister 's house or a shelter . Nothing is more important for us than to find our own place , so that you can do whatever you want to do according to your own lifestyle . I remember when I lived in my older sister 's apartment , where she John Robinson When my daughter was a little girl , she would draw 3 people and a dog . She would always ask me and my husband if she could have a dog . so one of my nephews called my husband to tell him that he had a dog and was going to give it to my daughter as a present . My nephew gave her the dog as a surprise 4 1 / 2 years ago . She was very happy to see the dog . At first , I was not happy because I didn 't want a mess in the living room or in the kitchen , but then I got used to the dog and I 'm happy now that I have a dog . The dog 's name is Chealsy . Chealsy tries to make me happy by getting her toy ball and tossing me the ball with her nose . Sometimes when I don 't pay attention to her , she keeps on bothering me until I pet her or play with her . When I used to be depressed , she would look at me and cheer me up . Also she would do funny stuff that would make me laugh . I 'm glad I met this dog . Now my life changes when she is around . I take a lot of pictures of her because she is so adorable . Now Chealsy is always with us . Even on the weekend when we go places , she comes with us in the car . She likes the car , and she is just happy when she goes outside or gets a ride in the car . We spend a lot of money on her food , treats , biscuits , toys , and medicine . We sometimes cut her hair and give her a hair cut . Posted by Berkeley Law SchoolI was born in El Salvador . I came to the United States a long time ago . Since I came to this country , I haven 't had time to come to school . When I came here the most important thing was getting a job , which was really hard to find . I remember the first place that I was looking for a job was at a restaurant . When I went to the restaurant and asked for a job , the answer was , " Are you a resident ? " when I said " No " , they asked , " Do you know how to speak English ? " When I said " No " , they said " We are looking for someone who speaks English and also has immigration papers . " But I continued looking for job , and after four months , I got a job in a restaurant . The salary was too low , but I worked there for many years . When my children were born , I decided to change my schedule to work at night time because I wanted to take care my three beautiful sons and also I wanted to take them to school . I always explained to my sons that they had to study hard to be accepted in a good university , and they did . They worked hard and got good grades and they were accepted to U . C . Berkeley . Now my older son is a lawyer , and my second boy became an Engineer in computer science , and also my younger boy is studying at Berkeley Law School to become a lawyer too . So it was very hard for me when I came to this country , but now a feel happy that my sons are successful . " Mother and Child " Pablo Picasso , 1921My name is Maria Morales . I came to the United States with my family more than 20 years ago . When I came here , my oldest son was 2 and half years old , and my second son was 5 months old . At first , like many people , I lived with my relatives while my husband looked for a job . It was difficult for him to find a job because his English was not good . When he applied , the person who interviewed him said he needed to speak English fluently to work in the job he wanted . At first he had to work in a small liquor store at night and study English in the day time . Sometimes I worked too in a small word processing company for a few months making tax forms . After almost one year of studying English and working in different areas , he found a job a City College of San Francisco as a Computer Analyst . I stayed at home to take care of the house and children . When my second child was in preschool , I tought I was ready to go back to work but became surprised that I was pregnant for a third time , and my dream of working disappeared again . My last pregnancy was very difficult because the whole time I was very sick and almost lost my daughter . She was born at 6 and a half months , weighing 3 pounds . She had to stay in the hospital for almost 3 months , I visited her every day and then picked up my sons at school and go home . When the doctor released her , she was okay to go outside the hospital . I took care of her in my home . She grew up healthy and nobody thought she was premature . After that , I continued to take care of my children and waited for them to grow up . My daughter and her second oldest brother graduated from College and my oldest son is finishing next year . After my second son finished his master degree , he got married and now has two sons . He is happy with his family . Now I have time to go back to school to study English because in this country we need to communicate with other people and learn different things . Speaking English has helped me learn how to bake cakes , knit hand crafts anJohn Robinson Snow in DenverBeginning 1956 in Guatemala City , Central America , I believe one year after I got married , I celebrated the arrival of a beautiful baby girl , my wife and I named Miriam Elizabeth . At that time , I was working very hard , many hours a day , but the salary I was earning was not enough to keep up with the needs of the household . My best friend , Sal Ayala , and I had been friends since we were 12 years old , but he had left Guatemala two years earlier . He was lucky in this country . He always tried to encourage me to come to the United States , but I was always afraid to come to this country without speaking any English . At that time , he was bilingual and helped me with Spanish and English communication . He went to school for a few years and had a career in real estate . Sal used to return to Guatemala every six months for business in a different car , selling it and returning by plane . He used to visit me and try to convince me to come to the United States , so I decided finally to pack my things and sell some of my belongings . It was hard for my wife to let me go , but she took a big chance and let me leave . People in my city thought that I would leave her forever . However , it certainly was not like that . My trip was not very happy because there was not one English word in my vocabulary , and no communication with the people . I arrived in New Orleans in December . Another friend was waiting for me and let me stay at his house . The next day , I started my trip from New Orleans to Denver , Colorado . I did not know this trip would take about three days and two nights . Something that really surprised me was the discrimination against people from Mexico and Central America . Every time we stopped to eat , we had to go to a different restaurant , and we had to ride in the back of the bus . I also had a little problem getting something to eat . My English was bad , and I could only order coffee and apple pie , so for three days , I couldn 't eat much . Now I am committed to helping the friends I have . When I arrived in Denver , to my Posted by I would like to tell you about the first day I arrived in the United States . I was happy and sad at the same time , happy because I was going to know the U . S . and sad because I was leaving my family and very nervous because it was my first time flying in an airplane . Oh my God , I got so sick throwing up all the time , I didn 't eat anything on the plane , and when I saw the people 's food and smelled it , I felt worse . In the airplane , the people were speaking only English and I didn 't have any idea of what they were saying , but when I heard the flight attendant say " San Francisco " and saw the people standing up and getting in line to leave the airplane , I did too . I was one of the last ones to leave the airplane , and I didn 't know where the people went . I started walking and asked anyone I found in the hallway . " San Francisco " was all I said and no one answered me . I kept walking and stopping people and saying " San Francisco . " I continued walking and I ended up in the parking lot , then I came back inside . I was shaking and almost ready to cry , I don 't know how I found the counter , but all the counters were empty . I was very tired and my tears started coming out . I didn 't know what to do and the airport looked so immense to me . I needed to go to the bathroom , but I didn 't know where to go , and I was also afraid . Suddenly I saw a man open a door on one of the walls behind the counter . I ran to him and said " San Francisco . " He looked at me , but didn 't say anything . Then , he grabbed my hand and picked up a phone . He started to talk , but I didn 't know what he was saying . Then he hung up the phone and pulled me inside the door from where I saw him coming out . I saw a hall way . We walked for a little while and then we went inside an elevator . We left the elevator and went inside another door . We walked a little bit until we arrived at the front of an airplane door . A lady was standing there . I was shaking all over , and I felt my heart pounding so hard it was as if it was coming out of my chest . The lady brought me to a seat Posted by On Sunday evening at 8 : 00 pm , I decided to take a bath . Before that , I took off all my jewelry and placed it on the desk where I usually put it every night . After I had taken my bath , I dried myself , then put my pajamas on . I studied while I was waiting for my husband to come home at 12 : 00 pm . When he came home , he said " Hi " to me , then he went to the bathroom . Then , he sat down on his chair and he turned on the computer and checked his email to make him relaxed . At 1 : 00 pm he came to bed . We talked a little bit about how it was at work . Well , he said , it was a busy night and also stressful . We were in a continuous conversation until we slept . We are just such night owls . At 8 : 00 am my alarm rang . It was time to wake up . I got up from bed , and turned the alarm off . I went to the bathroom , then walked to the kitchen and boiled water for the tea . After I made a cup of tea , I brought it to my desk near the jewelry . I was extremely surprised that my real wedding ring was missing , and his ring was set in place of my missing ring . I asked him , " Look . . . look . . what is happening ? Why is your ring here and why also is my ring not here ? " He answered , " I didn 't do anything . Remember , last night we went to bed late . " It was 9 : 00 am , and I hadn 't taken a shower yet . So I took a shower and got ready for school . He repeated again , " Trust me , I didn 't do it . " I answered , " I know you don 't wear your ring very often , and it 's always in your desk drawer . " I was ready to go to school . " Okay , " he said , " I 'll drive you to school . " We walked out the door to the car and rode to the front of Mission Campus without conversation . I got out of the car and thanked him for the ride . He left . After school , I walked home . At home I sat down and wondered , " What happened in this house ? " He suddenly came home , he told me , he had been looking everywhere for my ring , but he hadn 't found it . I actually wasn 't furious about my missing ring , but I was curious why his ring was on my desk in place of mine . He asked me to go to the jewelry store so he couldPosted by I want you to tell you a funny and cute story that happened to me and my family 15 years ago . One Christmas day , December 30th , 1994 to be exact , my brother and I were outside of our house washing my mother 's car . Suddenly we saw a small dog in the neighborhood . He saw us too , and started to wag his tail . He was a small , white dog with curly hair . We thought that he was lost because his hair was dirty . Then my brother told me we could give him some food , and that 's what we did , we gave him the spaghetti that we had been eating for lunch . When the little dog smelled it , he ate it quickly . " Poor dog ! " I said . I ran into my house to tell my mother what was happening , and she was very angry because she didn 't want any pets in the house because of the hair they left , and the food , and the trouble it would take to give them what they want and the medicines when they are sick . In other words , my mother said that we didn 't have enough time or resources to take care of him . My brother and I started to plead with her : " Please , please , please , we promise you that both of us will take care of him . " We spent a lot of time telling my mom that we wanted that dog . She said , " Ask the neighbors who the dog 's owner is . If he doesn 't have one , you can take him . " My brother and I ran to ask everybody and nobody knew the little puppy . We were very happy about that and we adopted him . We took him to the doctor , I prepared a bath , I bought medicines , his bed , his coat , and everything he could need . The doctor calculated his age at 1 year . He was a baby ! ! ! And he was very healthy , according to the doctor ! ! ! The watchman of my neighborhood told us that somebody had left him near my house . That person wanted to get rid of the dog and just did it . Good for us ! ! ! Over the years , we 've seen that he is a good dog . If he wants to pee , he knocks on the door . His behavior is very nice . His name is Niño ; , and my mother loves him . Now he is 16 years old , well , everybody in my house loves him . I do especially because he is my baby . I sleep with him , IPosted by One of my childhood memories is when I was almost three years old . At that time , I was the fifth member in our family and the only toddler around . I remember that my Dad used to play poker at my godfather 's house every afternoon . He would always take me , but when I would fall asleep , he would take me home . But , one day , I fell asleep earlier than usual and my Dad didn 't take me , and so he left me at home . But when I didn 't find him , I decided to go look for him at my godfather 's house . I was half way there when I got lost in the middle of some coffee trees . I remember I tried to cross a fallen tree , and I fell on my forehead . Suddenly , I couldn 't see anything , only dark spots . When I woke up , I was home surrounded by a crowd of people , all of the ones that had been looking for me . I hadn 't told anyone where I was going . This didn 't make me give up . From then on , I would look for my Dad wherever he went . I was born in Lima , Peru . I had a family with 3 brothers and no sisters . I studied in a religious school with nuns and excellent teachers . What a wonderful time I had with friends who were like my sisters ! I have happy memories of my school time . My father was a biochemist , and his life was always very busy at work , and my mother was a school teacher . So I was strongly influenced to pursue a college career like them . My decision to chose a carreer was made naturally . I feel a strong love for Biology . So I studied at the University ( UNA ) for four and a half years until I graduated in Microbiology . It is fascinating to know about microorganisms like viruses that surrounded us . I worked at the laboratory of the University for some years . Definitely love changed my destiny . I got married and moved to San Francisco in 1991 . I formed my nice family with four children and an adorable husband who I met in the university where I had graduated . Now my life is to be a housewife and a teacher . I give my knowledge and love of Science to my daughter and three sons . And now my daughter is thinking of being a geneticist . And all of them like science and math . What a wonderful surprise ! I believe that the Knowledge and love for Science can be extended to the future generations . When I was 12 years old , I remember one day , my whole family and I went to the beach , and we played volley ball on the sand and the ball fell on the head of one person who was sitting near where we were so everybody started laughing , but at the same time we felt sorry about it . After we played for a long time , we started eating some food that we brought from home , and we drank water , ate watermelon , apples , oranges and for dessert , we ate ice cream , that we bought from the people who sold food on the beach . We had a good time and we went back in the afternoon , tired but very happy about the nice day . I 've never forgotten the time when I was young . For me it was a memory that I have always cherished . In those years when you are younger , you live more happily because you aren 't worried about anything . Your childhood is different . You have everything . But after you 're 18 years old , and you become more independent , you have to study and work to survive and help your parents if they are poor , and if they always need something . I always helped them when they were alive , but they passed away a long time ago . But always they are in my heart , I can never forget them . This is my story , and I don 't have anything else to write . It was May 22nd . I was working at my job at T . G . I Friday when this guy asked me if I was interested in being a fighter . I asked him if I would get paid for it , and he told me that if I was good , I was gonna get paid in about a year . That sounded great , so I took the chance , and now I 'm almost gonna get paid and then I can give my wife and son a better life , the kind of life that everyone wants . Plus , in probably 2 more years I 'll become a cop because that 's what I want to be : a police officer or a sheriff . But I think I need more writing lessons . What do you think ? Let 's talk about me back in Nicaragua , now . I was one of the best kids at my school but i don 't know why the other kids wanted always to fight with me . Maybe because the prettiest girls in the school all liked me or maybe because I was the best good looking kid in the whole school . Hey , I 'm not just kidding , I was one of the best good looking kids in the whole school ! lol ! When I came to the United States , I was really happy . I thought , wooooow , now I 'm living the dream ! But I didn 't know to live the real good life you had to work your * * * for . But you know that if you work hard for things that you want you 'll appreciate more those things . That 's why I fight and study to get those things I want to give to my family you need money for . I know they don 't want me to fight anymore but I just don 't wanna stop fighting . Let me tell you why I don 't wanna stop fighting . First it takes all my stress out of my body , and second , when you get inside the cage , it is just something I cannot explain , but it feel good when it is done . Don 't get me wrong , I 'm not a angry person . I just do it for my family and partly for me and thirdly for the money ! ! ( lol ) Well , another thing I miss are my grandparents back in Nicaragua . I really regret when I was giving them a lot of trouble . Now that I don 't see them , I see what they gave me . They gave me love , and I can 't wait to see them again to repay them . Let me tell you something about my son . He 's the best thing to ever happen to me . Now I know why I came to the United States , to create my beautiful son and meet the most beautiful woman in the whole world , my wife . Posted by I heard that this park had something that other places don 't have . Something that you can imagine . A friend of mine who is a very good photographer was showing me some pictures that she took there . People were referring to Yosemite Park , saying it was a special place to visit and spend time , take pictures , and even to spend the night there . They told me that grizzly bears live there . So . . . I was looking at the pictures , and I could see how beautiful it was . My friend told me that she spent the night over there in order to take the best pictures she could . It was a very important moment for her . It was one of the best opportunities to have the best shots ever . She provided all the necessary advice , how to spend the night and not get frozen , keep warm , and have enough comfort , and of courseavoid getting hungry . She said that you can 't bring too much food , especially smelly food with you , or you can attract the presence of the grizzly bear . I learned that the grizzly bear is becoming more and more intelligent so he actually has learned to open doors , cabins , tents , and even some bags . If he can 't open them , he just rips them , so you have to be really smart . My boyfriend , Roque , wanted to bring me there very much so one day , when we were in Fresno , he started to go straight to Yosemite Park . From Fresno it took one hour and a half to get there . It was 3 : 30 pm at that time . He started to drive as fast as he could , without exceeding the speed limit . By that time we were already tired after almost 3 hours of driving from San Francisco to Fresno that same morning . But he insisted so hard that I couldn 't say no . And there we were driving as soon as we could to get there before the sun went down . It was winter , when the night came out at 5 o ' clock , and everything fell into the darkness . We kept driving . I was like a bear falling sleep just with the first lights of the night , but he kept driving . We arrived at one of the many doors of the park at 4 : 30 . And from there we still needed to get closer into this huge place . He keptJohn Robinson Cecilia was born and grew up in Chihuahua , a city in the North of Mexico . She had an older brother already , and six more sisters and brothers later . She went to kindergarten when she was 4 years old . She liked singing . When she went to elementary school , she learned something about music , achieving the ability to play the mandolin and the accordion in the " estudiantina " ( musical group ) . At that time she had a guitar at home because her father used to play and sing as a hobby . She tried to play the guitar since then . However , she still doesn 't know too much about it . She went to High School without any specific goals in mind . She had matured on things of life so early . Suddenly she began to dream on become an Agricultural Engineer , to work the land and help the world with natural meals , but the University was far away and her father wasn 't be able to pay for it , even though education in Mexico is less expensive than in the U . S . Faced these circumstances , she had the opportunity to get a degree even though it wasn 't exactly what she had planned for . She got the Bachelor 's degree on Industrial Chemical Engineering in 1985 . She worked as a production supervisor in a parent Company of the Westinghouse of the U . S . A . , in Chihuahua . Other of her dreams was to get married and have kids . So she got the first of those , but a little bit late , in 1995 . Has her biological clock stopped ? We really don 't know because her husband didn 't want to have babies . She 's lived in the U . S . for quite some time . She 's worked and lived among people who only speak Spanish , and she 's studied English when she hasn 't been working . She 's been struggling with her new language , and she hopes she 'll be able to speak English very well before she dies , at least ! I spent the greatest part of my childhood with my grand mother . It was a " home sweet home , " where all the family had a profound respect for her . She was surrounded by love , care , and help . In other words , she was treated as a queen . I remember she liked to spend time sitting on her rocking chair , looking through the window at the nice garden , flowers , and people going by . My aunt and uncles taught us how to give her love and respect . The first thing we had to do as soon as we got home , was to go and see Grandma , say hello , and kiss her . Because she was sitting on her chair , we almost had to go in our knees to greet her and give her a kiss on her forehead . She was a very nice lady . She never had to work . When Grandpa passed away , her children took care of her . These wonderful memories have been with me since I was a child . In her home I learned good manners , respect , love and the warm feeling of a beautiful family home . The area around my grandmother 's home was a nice residential place years ago . The houses were chalets with large gardens : flowers , trees , and pure clean air . I do remember listening to the birds and frogs singing or making cluck , cluck , sounds asking for water . We knew so well that they were calling for rain . Yes indeed , usually we did have rain . However , in time , the city and population grew , and all of this neighborhood has changed into a developed business sector . The small houses , changed into apartment buildings . The gardens became stores , discotechs , hotels , restaurants , night clubs . The area became a very touristic place that is called " La Mariscal " . The city where I come from is Quito , the capital of Ecuador , a small country in South America . We are between Colombia and Peru . Though we are a small country , we have the privilege of being recognized as having a rich and varied landscape full of butterflies , birds , and one of the largest varieties of orchards and medicinal plants . Our jungles have bananas caocoa , coffee , and our tropics thrive with fruit , vegetables and the most fabulous and Posted by My name is Asenaida Escober . I was born in Honduras , and I grew up in a small urban town that was beautiful with fresh weather and a lot of pine trees . My ancestors settled down and established the town . My last name is the last name of most of the people of the town . The small town just has a big school , and two or three preschools , a middle and high school , a health center with three nurses and a doctor , a park and town hall , and recreation center . I remember playing with my relatives and friends in the evening . They were great moments . I have six siblings , and I am the oldest of them . When I had to move to the capital , at first I was scared but later I felt comfortable and enjoyed the city . There , I lived in my uncle 's house . I went to the University National Autonomy of Honduras and I studied nursing there . After that , I got a job . A few years later , I decided to come to The United Stated of America , and I ended up in San Francisco . I have a daughter three years old . I leave her on the day care so that I can come to school to improve my English . Every day I spend time reading children 's books , such as " Little Toot " , and take care of my daughter . She loves the books . She is good at solving puzzles . She likes to listen to music and to dance . She is very smart . I would like to speak clearly and correct my mistakes , but it is taking a lot of time for me . I wish some day my dream will come true and I will feel confident in my ability to speak English . Hello , my Friends , this time I want to write something about my real life and something also of my country , Peru . First , I want to take you back to the early 1800s . Then , the Spanish brought a lot of African Slaves to Peru . It was at the time Peru was fighting for Independence also . Peru finally got its independence in 1821 . Peru is a beautiful place and if I 'm not mistaken , it is the only country in the World has the the Andes mountain range , The Amazon River and jungle , and beautiful Coast , with 1300 miles of very nice beaches to the North , and the same size coastline to the South . It is a big Country , but it doesn 't have enough population . We are almost 40 million of mix raced Peruvians that live in Peru : White : 30 % , Natives : 50 % , Black : 15 % , Chinese and Japanese 2 % each . Also we have small populations of Italians , Jews , Germans , and well the list goes on . I guess I 've been talking too much about my country . I do so because I love it . I was born in a Village a 100 Miles away from the Capital , Lima . The name of this place is Cañete . It is a big Village with a large black population . The region has older villages , too , named San Luis , San Vicente , Luna Uana , and Asia . The Spanish brought the slaves to live in the Port of Chincha near Cañete , about 50 Miles a way . But some of the slaves came to Cañete to look for work . It was the time when in that place , Cañete was a vast land of sugar cane and cotton plantations . To do that job , the plantation owners needed a lot of big and strong men , and this is the reason why they obtained black slaves . You can 't imagine how difficult this work was . They had to get up at 4 am in morning and come back home at 6 pm . The people doing this job only had machetes . I don 't know how they did it . They had to eat something while they were working . I really don 't know how they survived the hardships of this exploitation and abuse . It was at that time when nobody got paid for work , or benefits , or health care . I also I want tell you about my childhood . I was born in that place , but I diPosted by It happened last year while I was in Ecuador before coming to the US . It was a beautiful afternoon around noon , and I was expecting a call from DHL Express Mail Service . I was at home when suddenly the phone rang and guess what ? It was DHL Mail Service calling me to go pick up my package . I was surprised because I was expecting the call , but I did not know that it was going to be so fast . I went to pick up my package , and I noticed that it was my visa which had been approved . By the time I picked up my packaged visa , I had already known that I was going to come to the US , and I was sad , but at the same time happy , because I was going to have a new life . It was really a challenge for me because I had never traveled to any other country before . Actually , I had never traveled by plane . After that , I told all my friends and family about my trip , and everybody was happy and they said " You have to take the plunge , don 't miss the opportunity . " So I came on May 20th , 2009 . When I arrived in San Francisco , I realized that this city was for me ! But one of the most difficult things was that I did not know how to speak English . My parents told me that I did not have to worry about that , I just had to go to school and learn it , and that 's what I did . Now I feel thankful for that advice . After a few months I got a job . I had never worked before when I went to work by first time . I was afraid of doing something wrong , but none of that happened because there were friendly people who explained to me what to do among other things . I worked as a server at pier 9 in a boat which gave cruises around the bay . It was really good experience . I learned a lot there , such as how to treat people and be helpful to them . We stopped working when the company notified us that it was going to be out of business . I only worked one month there , but anyway it was a good experience . Now , I feel good and thankful for my last job and school . I thank them that I have learned a lot of new words , acquired some experience and how to speak better than beforePosted by Lately I been through a situation I had never expected . I got news from someone I hadn 't seen in many years , 20 years to be exact . This person that I hadn 't heard from happens to be my wife . This sounds kind of strange or crazy , even for me , but it 's the way it is . When I was young and had this relationship , I was very young , and I think I didn 't know exactly what I wanted at that moment . Maybe it was immature , but it doesn 't mean I wasn 't in love with the person I was going out with . Listening to her brought me a lot of good memories and took me to the city where I was living when I was 15 years old . She made me remember the good times we had together , and of course the crazy thing that we did , getting married . I don 't regret it , but I also know it wasn 't the smartest thing to do . But it 's done and there is nothing we can do to change it . She told me she was surprised the moment we first communicated , and so was I . You don 't get in touch with your wife after 20 years everyday , that 's what I said to myself . Since we first get back in touch we 've been having a friendly and a good communication . Sometimes we talk in a way that makes me feel we still have something in common . To be honest I 'm kind of happy knowing about her after all this time . It seems like she is happy and that makes me happy in one way . Relationship sometimes marks the life of people in a good or bad way , and fills us up with experiences that will make us choose what we want or don 't want in our lives . In my case meeting the person I 've been writing about gave me a beautiful moment and experience that has elevated my life . I thank her for all we gotten in this point of our lives and also for the chance we had getting in touch and talking to each other . I wish someday I could talk to her in person and get to know her new life , her dreams , and all she is up to . My name is Eddy Cisneros . I was born and raised in Lima , Peru . I want to call this story " How a Little Poor Kid Helped His Mother . " I helped my mother both to survive and to raise my younger brothers . We were at that time 8 kids . This is the story of the life of one kid : where he grew and was raised in a neighborhood mostly populated by rich people . These rich people had big houses with big gardens and terraces and patios . Others lived in apartment buildings of 8 or 10 floors . That place was called " Miraflores " in Lima Peru . Miraflores is a place near the beach , where one can see the ocean from everywhere . It has very nice gardens , nice play grounds , and nice protective walls enclosing side walks , so that people can 't be exposed to danger . My home was very close to the big Tennis Club with a lot of tennis courts surrounded by stands for the audiences so they could watch the most interesting games . And of course they had a pool , and indoor soccer courts . This place was reserved only for those people who could afford to pay for expensive memberships . I remember , when the people played tennis , they wore nice white uniforms , but I don 't want to forget talking about one of my favorite and best tennis players at that time . His name was " Alejandro Olmedo " . He is still alive . He 's 74 years old . " Alex " was a former tennis player from Peru , who was ranked as the top amateur player in the world in 1959 . Although born and raised in Peru , he graduated with a business degree from the University of California . Alex represented the U . S in 1958 the Davis Cup in 1959 , winning in both singles and doubles , achieving 2 of the 3 points required to win the cup . Even though he was not a U . S . citizen , he was technically eligible to represent the U . S . in the Davis Cup because he had lived in the country for a least five years and the U . S . was his country of citizenship . Peru did not have a Davis Cup team at that time . Well , I guess I have been talking too much , but I can 't " hold my horses " when I begin talking about my people , especially wJohn Robinson My name is Sandra Lopez . I was born in Mexico City . My father 's name is Juan F . Lopez . He is from Oaxaca , Mexico . My mother 's name is Eleuteria Reyes . She is from Puebla , Mexico . They met in Mexico City . When I was two months old , my mother moved to Puebla City in Mexico , so we lived there with my grandmother , but my father stayed living in Mexico City . When there was the big earthquake in 1985 , he died . When I was child , I enjoyed playing with my cousins . My favorite games were basket ball and riding the bicycle . I disliked playing with dolls or making food . I went to Elementary school , and after that middle school and then high school . Finally I studied to be a secretary in technical education . I received my certificate in 2002 . My first job was as a secretary in a law office . I worked there almost two years . After that , I was a dental assistant for around one year . In 2003 I met a very handsome , but shy young man . He used to work in a court in the same place where I worked . I never talked to him because he didn 't want to talk . One day I went to the court to give some documents to him and I forgot to sign them . When he checked them , he told me " You need to sign " but I didn 't have a pen , so I asked him if I could use his pen , and he said " Sure " . When I used it , I tried to give it back in his hand . The pen fell on the floor . He got angry and he told me to pick it up . I got very embarrassed and hesitated . So , he picked it up . That 's what caused us to be friends , and one month later we fell in love . We got married in 2006 . After that , we moved together to this country . We first lived in Los Angeles for six months . In Los Angeles , we visited different places , but now I don 't remember them all . In the same year , my son was born . His name is Emanuel . Actually my husband works in the company " Love Painting " and my son is going to preschool . I 'm very happy because I like my family . I enjoy it when my husband has days off because then we have more time to be together . Posted by It all began in March 4 , 2005 when I had an accident . It was very sad for me , and I was depressed . But one day , I went with my daughter to a mosaic class . I was there with her and the teacher told me to stay in the class , so I stayed to watch how to do the process of mosaic . Later the teacher saw that I was sad and accepted me in her class . It was only for children when she accepted me in her class . I felt different because I felt relaxed , and I had courage with which I could do new things . Before this , I felt useless because I couldn 't do anything , but when I did mosaic I felt like somebody important . Sometimes when I went to mosaic class I had pain in my back and sadness , but when I started my mosaic I made a drawing . Then , I would grab some pieces of glass and started to glue them on top of the board where I drew my drawing . Finally when I was done , I covered it with grout . When I was doing my mosaic , I felt relaxed . It was like a therapy . Also my mind was relaxed and blank , and I didn 't pay any attention to the pain I felt inside me . When I would finish a board of mosaic at first I would see sad , dark colors because of what I felt , and I reflected my sadness in that . I had therapy and in few months I saw a change in my mosaic . Later on , my mosaic had more happy colors , and I was proud of doing something different . My feeling which was sadness in my mosaic changed and there I learned how to live life even if I may have pain . Also , I learned to see things in a different way . I 'm proud of telling my story about how I changed my feelings and my mosaic class . Posted by I was born in Honduras in 1954 . At the age of ten , I had a real life experience which made me believe more in God . My sisters , 8 and 7 years old , were swimming in the river , when they went deeper in the water . They got tired and lost their strength . I saw them in trouble , and I jumped in the river with an inner tube and was able to reach them and save them . I didn 't know how to swim , but God helped us . I am trying to write a composition about myself . Eleven years ago , I was saved from breast cancer . My Lord rescued me through the excellent treatment of my doctors . When the doctor told me the result of the biopsy , I felt as though the world had finished for me , and a deep sadness came over me . My family , friends , and the church congregation prayed for me with all their faith . When I woke up after the surgery , the surgeon said to me , " You are completely clean . The cancer was enclosed inside , like a capsule . " So my Lord listened to our prayers . I gave thanks to Him with all my heart , and the doctors , too . Posted by I took a trip with my family last Thanksgiving . For many years , I had wanted to go to Las Vegas to see some shows , but the times I went with my husband he only wanted to play the slot machines . For me that was boring and a waste of time and money . However , I had enjoyed walking on the street with a lot of tourists and looking at the beautiful hotels . Last year my son told me we have to do something different this year because our family is small and holidays are boring because we 're just eating dinner . And after the dinner , everyone goes their own way and does what they want . The idea of going to Las Vegas was exciting for me because I 'm tired of cooking the same food every year . It was Thursday morning when we woke up early and left home between 7 : 30 am and 8 : 00 am . It took us 9 hours to get there by car . I brought some food and made knitting for the long trip . I also took a nap because it was a long way . When we arrived it was almost 6 : 00 pm . We went to the hotel first to check in , then we left our luggage in the room . Later on we visited old Las Vegas including downtown . After we ate dinner there we walked on the street and saw some free shows . The next day we saw the Cesar Palace Hotel , everything was beautiful , like a big museum . We stayed there for a while . We visited the Belagio Hotel that is a much of a museum as Cesar Palace . It was amazing and elegant . I really enjoyed the flower exhibit at the Belagio Hotel . On the ceiling they had all these flowers made of glass and were of all different colors . They also had a tree with a face and it talked and moved . It also had a beautiful waterfall made of metal leaves that were positioned at different heights so the water came down like it was on steps . We also saw the Lion exhibition at the M G M Grand Hotel . There were a lot of people watching the Lion eat a bone . My son and daughter even took a photo with a cute Lion cub . My daughter was also able to win $ 40 . 00 in slot machine with money her boss gave her to gamble a little . At the Venetian Hotel were rode thPosted by When I had just come to this country , I met a person . Like me , she was from Mexico . She helped me get a job at a fast food restaurant . When I started to work there , I didn 't know one word of English . Little by little , I started to learn some words like : " ketchup " , " mustard " , " onion " , " french fries " , " Good morning " , and " Hi , how are you ? " But once , a customer and I had a very embarrassing experience . This customer , an African American , was ordering at the front counter , and suddenly he said , " I want a small pop . " I had never heard that word and neither had my co - worker . Pop ? ? So , I showed him a spoon , a straw , a fork , and he was just looking at us with an angry face . He said again , " I said , a small pop ! ! " Finally , I had to call the manager . She asked him , " May I help you ? " And he said , kind of shrugging his shoulders , " I just want a small pop , for Chris ' sakes . " She says , " Okay . " She turned around and told us , " He wants a small soda . " This experience taught me that learning English is very important ! My name is Evelyn Reyes ; I was born in Honduras in 1988 . I am twenty - one years old . I like to read and listen to music . I have two brothers and a sister , and also I have a nephew and a niece . My whole family is from Honduras , too . I came to this country in 2009 , and I have been living here for one year . I am very happy to live in this country because the cultures of the people are very interesting . I really miss my family , but I have a hope that I will see them again . I really like to learn English because I want to study medicine in this country . Actually , I was studying medicine in my country , but I did not finish because I had to move out of my country . I want to be a doctor , and I want to help people that need medical help in my community . My whole family is proud of me , so I don 't want to disappoint them . I want to study as hard as I can . In Honduras I met a person that is a really nice man . He is my boyfriend now , and he is very sweet with me . I 've known him for about four years , and I really love him . He is twenty two years old , and he likes to read news , books , and some things like that . He is a student right now , and he would like to be a doctor too . I am very proud of him . He has two brothers and a sister , and he lives here with his family , and I live with him too . We want to be engaged , but first we want to finish our studies and later live together and make a family . In my free time I like to make earrings and to go church . Once in a while , I go to the movie theater to have a good time . I am very glad I 'm with God , because my whole life is nice , and I know many people that like me , and they make me very happy . Posted by Hi ! My name is Isidro Ramirez . I was born in Leon , Guanajuato Mexico . My father 's name was Rodrigo Ramirez , and my mother 's name was Esperanza Sanchez . I was their second child . I have four brothers and five sisters . I went to elementary school at age 6 . My childhood was very nice . I had friends , games , school , and I helped my father on the farm . When I was thirteen , I went to middle school and began to have problems with physics , chemistry , and mathematics . In the 70s , I worked with my father on his farm . At that time , I learned a lot of things like : how to prepare the field for sowing and how to cultivate different agricultural products . My friends and I went dancing every weekend . I remember the music of Credence Clearwater , Revival , Bee Gees , Beach Boys , and other groups . Believe it or not , I had a lot of girlfriends . I was a healthy , strong , and handsome young man . I didn 't play any instruments , but I could sing . The young ladies always enjoyed it when I sang a " serenade " with a mariachi band . Every guy loves women , doesn 't he ? In the eighties , I had a grocery store . I bought and sold groceries . That was my job for years . My father worked at the farm for many years . He talked a lot about his job because he liked it . He was very kind , but strict . He died in 1993 . My mother didn 't work . She stayed home and took care of us . My mother always did special things for our birthdays . She was very gentle and patient . She died three years ago . She was a great mother . I came to the U . S . a few years ago and began to work for the Columbus Salami Company in South San Francisco . But the factory burned down , so my co - workers and I lost our jobs . I returned to school last semester and I 've been taking classes with Mr . Robinson since February . I 've been learning a lot . Posted by When I turned 15 , my Mom and Dad threw a party for me . I had four dancing partners . After my 15th birthday , I started to date one of my dancing partners . After one year , he went to the U . S . A . We would talk by phone and we corresponded once a month for a year . Then , suddenly , all communication stopped between us . After that , he was in a relationship with another woman and I started dating another man . But , I ended my second relationship because it didn 't work out . I then came to San Francisco , and , a year later , connected up with my first boyfriend . Since then , we have been together . My name is Berny Lopez , I am from Colombia , I have eight brothers and seven sisters . That 's a big family . I came to United States in 2005 . I worked in construction for four years . On April 23 , 2008 , I had an accident . My coworker was driving the forklift when he broke a little piece of concrete and hit me in my chest . I fell over metal and inmmediatelly I hurt my back , my neck , head , and my right leg . I went to the hospital . The doctor took X - rays and he brought me medicine . I had two surgeries on my right shoulder , and I had many appointments with a therapist . So I was lucky I had God 's help . I can 't work right now . I hope I 'm going to get a new job , probably next year . My life is simple but I 'm happy a lot . Every day I go to school , and then about six pm , I go to church in San Jose . I have many healthy habits because I want to have a good mind and body . Every day I walk about forty minutes before school , and generally eat a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables . I have allergies and sneeze all the time . I sometimes have a cold and sore throat . I always drink tea with lemon and honey . There are in my family many problems with bronchitis and asthma because when we were children , the climate was terribly hot and humid in our town . I 've been studying English for four semesters . It was very important start . I am happy because now I know more English than last year . I want learn English well for my future and my family 's future too . Thank you , teachers , for your help . Posted by Hello , my name is Joanna Hidalgo . I 'm from México City . I have been living in San Francisco since October 2009 . I am a Video Editor . I select images and sound to create sequences . I work with ideas in a relationship between the author and me . I cut and paste media to create an original masterpiece . I use all my skills when I work , but I love it , and that 's why it 's kind of easy for me . I have been editing since 2004 , and I used to spend a lot of time on one piece . Now I 've become faster and better . I can also create some titles with 3D motion . I love documentary , and I have edited some short pieces . I would like to one day direct one by myself . My biggest goal is to become a professional filmmaker , and be able to perhaps combine both positions . I would also like to use my work to inspire a positive change in this world . In my films I would like to stimulate my viewers to be more conscious of each other and their surroundings . Roberto was a good sports person . He was a famous person , a humanitarian , and a dreamer . He was a celebrity . But he cared about people , especially the children . Roberto was an excellent baseball player and a good human being . Roberto had a dream to build a Sports City , and he wanted to help the people of Nicaragua , Central America , who suffered an earthquake . He asked for donations door to door and in the radio . He did collect a lot of donations . He also went to the airport to help to load the plane . But he wanted to make sure the supplies reached the victims who needed them . So , he boarded the plane to watch over the supplies . But he never got there because the plane crashed into the sea off the coast of Puerto Rico . They never found him . The world lost a generous and loving man . Posted by " Something funny happened . " Usually we go through life " normally . " ( If there is such a thing as a normal life , I 'm beginning to wonder ) I mean , we have our routines : getting up , having breakfast , going to school , work , lunch , dinner , TV , sleep . BUT ! ! One day , the exceptional happens ! ! At the time , it might have felt terrible . But , now , when we look back at it , it makes us laugh . Here 's a perfect example . Tell me about that time when , " Something funny happened " TO YOU !