Aria By Richard Rodriguez (Reflection)

Richard Rodriguez's article sounded extremely familiar in the best way. It reminds me of my own life. Both my parents were born in Portugal and decided to come to America after they were married. My parents wanted to give my brother and I every opportunity possible. Today we still use Portuguese as our main language at home yet from time to time switch over to English.

Before for starting school my brother didn't know a word of English because my parents only spoke Portuguese to him. I feel like after he started school he brought the English language home. When I was born I would speak Portuguese with my parents and English to my brother which started the habit of going back and forth from English to Portuguese.

Once I starting school my mother had a difficult time speaking to me, she would say something in Portuguese and I would stare blankly at her. “I easily noted the difference between classroom language and the language at home” this quote made by Rodriguez perfectly sums up how I realized the difference between the languages I was exposed to. Afraid of losing our culture my mother enrolled my brother and I in a Portuguese school so that we could learn to read and write in Portuguese. At the time I dreaded going only because it would be regular school, then after school, more school….that was in Portuguese. Today I’m glad my mom enrolled us because I know how important Portugal is to my parents and to able to share the language of their homeland is really special to me.

The difference between the author and I was that my parents wanted to keep our original language at home yet still be able to use the “public language” every now and then. I believe learning languages is extremely important, it gives an individual the opportunity to travel one day simply be well knowledge. I am so passionate about languages that I decided to take French in high school instead of Portuguese because I wouldn’t be helping myself if I just took a class of a language I already know.

I am so pleased to know that I haven’t lost connection to my culture. My father tells me daily how he is proud of my brother and I of how we appreciate our language and where we came from. One day when I have a family I would like to teach my children the language my parents taught me and share with them the saying my mother always tells me “Eu Quero que fazes bem” I want you to do well.

I went to Canada this weekend for my cousin’s wedding (a very Portuguese wedding of course) and thought it would be fun to share a link about a daycare in Toronto that offers to teach French to young children of bilingual families.