On this special day, as we celebrate Independence Day in the United States, I thought I’d reflect on my “Coming to America” story in honor of Independence Day in the U.S.A. 🇺🇸

9 days after my 24th birthday I got married to my husband Stan, and my story of living and immersing myself in all things American began.  That was the spring of 1996. 

I was born and raised in Mexico, the northern side of the border.  I think most people are familiar with the South of Mexico, which is thousands of miles away from the US border, but my birth/hometown is under 200 miles from the border (driving distance), and I grew up visiting US towns frequently when I was younger.  Traveling to the US was part of who we were.  Our visits were mainly “shopping” visits, and we’d go sightseeing from time to time, mainly in Arizona (too many times to remember), but we also visited California, at least twice.  I remember visiting “los Estados Unidos” when I was younger, I loved traveling across the border, it was always a fun time, but then, I was just equally as happy to return home to Mexico.  The US had always been just a vacation destination and I never in a million years growing up, would’ve imagined that I’d spend most of my life in another country, but it happened and I adjusted and learned to love the culture and accept the challenges too. ️

I remember arriving in Chicago after our honeymoon and feeling so many feelings.  I was thrilled to be a newlywed, and a new environment brought a special flavor to our marriage.  Growing up, my mom always signed us up for English classes, I remember that it was a big financial commitment for our family to be able to afford those private classes, but it was important to her that we learned the language.  Then later on, I attended a dual language school for three years which basically gave me the foundation to feel confident in the language and gain a little more fluency.  I remember a Mr. John Smith always making an appearance almost in every text book, I always found that interesting.

When I moved to Chicago to live here permanently I was FASCINATED by the diversity, fascinated by the many cultures here and simply in awe by it! I always thought, “what a great blessing it is to be surrounded by so many cultures, and languages, and skin colors, different ways of dressing, and relating to each other.”  I had never experienced that in my life.

Growing up, everyone was the same pretty much.  We were all Mexicans, all looked very similar, we spoke the same language and we ate the same foods, we also practiced the same faith, well the vast majority of the population at least.  The only apparent cultural difference was the socioeconomic status, which clearly divided groups of people by education, income and occupation, I never agreed with that, but it was very obvious and hard to avoid.  But other than that, we all looked and did life the same way.  Same culture, same language, same religion, same everything it seemed.

I vividly remember taking the train downtown by myself (I think that’s where my love for trains began ), one of the first days Stan went back to work after we had just arrived to our new life in Chicago, and wanting to spend the day there since I had nothing else to do.  I had worked since I was 16 years old, and when I got married I had a full time job that I loved at a mining company, and being home doing nada all day, was simply not for me.  I ventured out to explore the city, and one of the first sights that caught my eye was a man in a suit, holding a briefcase, on SKATES!!! Wow, what a sight! I thought I was on a movie set of sorts, haha! It was awesome!  

The more I walked in the city, the more in awe I became.  So many people, so many skin colors, the diversity in clothing was simply fascinating to me, and also, so many languages everywhere, I thought I was in heaven, what a great honor to be immersed in that richness of life. 

When I arrived in Chicago, I wanted to make sure that I immersed myself in the culture and language 100%!  I wanted to speak fluently, I wanted to understand and be understood, I wanted to learn the culture, and most importantly, I wanted to fit in!  I remember working really hard on learning slangs, something (of course), they didn’t teach us at school, they only taught us how to speak and write grammatically correct, which is the right thing to do.  Learning the slangs of the area I were to live permanently, was very important to me, it made me feel like I belonged, like I was now part of the “group.”

I remember saying “go figure!” for the first time ever to someone I worked with and that person being in complete awe that I knew that phrase, it made my day, ha! I thought, “well Maria… you are on your way!”

I immediately looked for a job, I wanted to work in a office environment where I could practice my English, and maybe use my bilingual skills as well.  I was very nervous at the idea of interviewing with all American people.  I used English a lot in my previous job in Mexico, we had a lot of Canadian and American clients, and I was the contact person for them, but somehow, being in the US now, and interviewing in an all American environment frightened me a little, but I did it anyways! I put on my best outfit, my “be brave” cape on, and off I went to my very first Interview in Chicago.  When I returned home from the interview that day, and told Stan that I thought the interview had gone well and I felt confident about it, I was almost floating , for a moment, I was on top of the world.  A few days later, I received a call with the happy news, I had the job!  Stan and I celebrated that night with a special dinner and some wine and I felt very,  very proud of myself!

On December 2, 2001, I officially became a US citizen and I will remember that day forever. 🇺🇸

Our oldest daughter Michelle was 3 years old, and I was carrying Bella, our second child, and I also had a broken finger from a tumble down the stairs just a few weeks prior. I remember Stan had insisted we’d leave her home with a sitter for our trip downtown for me to take The Oath of Allegiance to the United States.  I was firm on the fact that I wanted Michelle to go with us and be part of that monumental moment in my life.  Our little family of three (back then), making big decisions and creating significant memories.  I still remember our train ride downtown, Michelle was wearing a beige winter coat, it was so cold, and I was so happy and proud of our family. 

I remember the room, I remember the judge, the people around me, and most importantly, taking the Oath, a big moment.

I am very proud of being a Citizen of the United States of America, a place I’ve called home now for 25 years, longer than I lived in my birth country of Mexico, a country that has taught me so many life lessons, and giving me a family and a community of friends, and endless opportunities.

Mexico will always be who I am, it’s the country where my life came into existence, and where I learned to love, care, and respect others.  

I am filled with diversity, and cultural richness, and my heart will forever and proudly be the home of two lands. ❤️🇲🇽🇺🇸❤️

Happy Independence Day!!!🇺🇸