American Thinker- I grew up in the countryside about 2 hours from Quito where I lived with my grandmother. I moved to the city where I met my husband and we had two kids. He was a mechanic and I worked odd jobs to help with the bills. My jobs always involved something to do with tourists from other countries. I would hear about a place called America and wanted to someday go see it for myself.
I never wanted my kids to struggle or experience what I did growing up and knew that education was the way out. We placed my son in a private school so he would have the best education possible. It was then, that we realized we could not afford the same education for my daughter. The expense of education was too great, and we just didn’t know what we were going to do.
A friend had an uncle who was the chauffeur for a man that worked in the World Bank. His family was moving back to the States and was looking for a nanny. I was 29 when I decided to take the opportunity to see for myself if all the stories of America were true. In July 1970, I left my husband and two kids; my son was 6-and-a-half and my daughter 2-and-a-half. I really didn’t know what was waiting for me, or the time I was about to lose seeing my kids growing up.
The family that hired me provided me with a work visa which had to be renewed annually. I was overwhelmed when I arrived in America. The beauty was breathtaking, and I fell in love with it. I had never seen leaves change colors or snow falling. The first winter in America was very hard and I cried many nights. Days, months, years went by and I continued to work as a nanny. I learned about the culture and experienced many new things during this time. more
Son just came back from a trip “overseas.” Was an eye opener for him…
One of his comments was he was glad to be back on American soil. Vast majority in this country are clueless as to how good they have it by comparison.
Love this! I know so many people who need to read it.
One of my good friends is from el salvador…. He wants nothing more than to drink a heineken and be sworn in as an American….. especially since he started paying taxes……
Wonderful story. If only all immigrants had this attitude. I have a sister in law that is an America hater. I am going to send this to her, I hope she reads it.
God bless Clara and her family!
My LEGAL immigrant hubby has given me a greater appreciation for this country than my public school education did.
Nice story, but as a writer I always cringe when they leave out an important fact regarding the simple rules of communication – – WHAT, WHEN, AND WHERE. In this case they assume everyone knows in which country (Ecuador) Quito is in. I live in an area where they do not teach the basics of communication, let alone the location of the world’s major cities, and I am often left wondering how some people get along in life without this basic skill.
Illuminating comment, Billy.
As a sprout of 8 or 9, my folks bought a World Book Encyclopedia/Childcraft set from one of those itinerant peddlers, who endlessly rolled out to our dusty, little patch of Texas in the 50s and 60s. That hot, indolent summer day witnessed the birth of my eager journey as both a consumer and producer of the the written word. By Summer’s end, we children poured through the entire thing.
For me, the job of a storyteller, and Clara is indeed telling a story, is imparting just enough information to peak my curiosity towards diving into the mystery she has revealed. A casual etymological glance of Quito suggests origins of India, or perhaps Native American, possibly Southwest North America, but more probably South or Central. Intrigued, I looked it up. A 5sec exercise, at best. From there I discovered vistas of interesting data well beyond the story itself, but which fleshed out her narrative.
In totality, the mission of an author, i.e., “communicator”, is to guide their readers to think, to explore, to grow themselves. Leading her readers by the hand through her story would have left a dry slab of wordage, easily forgotten upon appearance of the next such. By investing the reader, they vicariously walk with her, provided they each own an intellectual curiosity to venture forth.
TWD
this is one of the key things that America is all about: LEGAL immigration by immigrants who will not be a burden on our society and will be a net positive contribution to our nation.
Clara, I welcome you to your US citzenship!