The American Dream Pt. 1

Hello Everyone,

A change of plans this weekend free up some more time for me and I was able to finish the shoots I had plan earlier then expected. I am quite glad as I had something in my mind that I wanted to share. This story is based on my own experience in being in my country and coming here to America. I would like to say that this story mostly takes place when I was 8 years old but I remember the details like they happen yesterday. This story has some details which are very strong so please feel free to skip parts. I will put * at the beginning and end whenever I will discuss difficult situation so you can skip if you do not wish to read it. This story brings back really bad memories for me and has been something that has haunted me since I was a kid. That is why I can’t forget certain details sometimes you have a story that scars you and has a hold on you ad is hard for you to forget even the little details.

A couple blogs back I shared which country I come from. If you missed that blog I am from El Salvador. As a kid I was always told about the American dream. They use to tell me up North there’s a country where you can go and be whatever you would like to be. They use to tell me that so frequently that 8 year old me thought of endless possibilities. I use to picture myself as a doctor or maybe a police officer. I have always wanted to do something to help out other individuals and make a difference in someone’s life. I dreamed of one day going to America and chasing that dream. We were so poor at that time so subconsciously I knew that it was just a dream. My parents wanted something better a solution to get us out of poverty. My father decided to make the trip here with the help of one of his sisters. Once he was able to make it here he started working and soon enough he sent for my mom. At the time my sister was only a couple months old but my mom knew opportunities like this don’t come by so often. So she left my sister and I behind and started making that hard trip to America. Luck wasn’t on her side though and when she enter Mexico she was arrested and deported back to El Salvador. I can’t lie I was very glad to have her back. It didn’t feel right not having her around and I was already beginning to feel lonely. My father sent for her again but this time around the plan was to bring me with her. This was back in 2003 and I remember my excitement like I had just won the lottery. Suddenly all my dreams started to seem achievable and I started to envision the endless possibilities. The American dream didn’t seem like a dream anymore.

I counted the days and hours before we had to leave it was so exciting. I remember being so excited to seeing the outside world and experiencing something new. I was told before leaving that I was to stick by mom’s side no matter what and if anyone ask we were just tourist visiting. It was a very humid afternoon and we got our bags ready. Our bags weren’t big either as we were told just to pack the essentials. Nothing more, nothing less as we were going to be walking for long periods of time and we won’t be able to carry so much with us because it will tired us out. We left as soon as the sun went down we got into a minivan and headed on our way. I thought we were going to be walking that same night but they took us to a very nice hotel. This was my first hotel room I had been too and I was taking everything in. I remember the bed being so comfortable it felt like I was sleeping in a fluffy cloud. The next day we left early in the morning and we were told what we could expect. They put us on a bus heading towards Guatemala. I remember the moment we pass the border and saw a couple of soldiers stationed there. Once, we got to our destination someone was already there waiting and took us to a hotel. However, we did not stay there that night we were taken to a lake where we were instructed to get in and to stay low and hold each other’s hands to prevent anyone from falling overboard. *It was here where I had my first encounter with death. I had never been near water like this and I wasn’t sure how deep it was I was so scared since I couldn’t swim yet. The boat we got on took off at a high rate of speed. At first I did not think much of what they had said about holding hands and the people in our group didn’t think much of it as well. Shortly after taking off the boat started to hit what I would describe as waves which were small but because we were going so fast that it cause everyone to jump up from where they were sitting. I remember I was holding my mom’s hand and next thing I knew I was in the air. My mom lost her grip on my hand but lucky for me the gentleman sitting next to us grab me and pull me back onto the boat. The guy driving the boat did not say anything or even acknowledged it and just kept going*. This made me realize just what I was in for and I was terrified. I remember hugging my mom and crying in silence as I didn’t want to have attention on me. I grip the edge of the boat very tightly and I wrap my arm around my mom’s just to be sure nothing would happen to me.

Once at our destination we were told to get out and keep low and get inside the tractor trailer parked on the side of the road. We kept low as there was army personal patrolling the area. We saw the truck went under it open a hatch and we were told to jump in. *As we got into the truck we were told that when ever the truck stops we must be as silent as possible as any little sound could give us away. They told us that normally the hatch was closed but because I was there they would leave it open so I could breath. They told us to close it whenever we stop just in case they check under the truck. I remember it being really hot in there so I constantly had my head near the hatch to breath in fresh air. Shortly after we took off however someone in front of me started throwing up and I remember my mom telling me not to look and I remember the sounds was enough to make me throw up*. We travel for about a day in that truck and the following night we stop and they had us get out quickly and they told us we would be running through the dessert until we get to some cars that would be waiting for us once we cross the whole dessert. I remember it being pitch black and it was extremely hard to see. This is where I remember what I was told before I left about staying right next to my mom at all cost. However, I remember how exhausted I was from being in the truck that I didn’t want to walk. I remember telling my mom to please take a break and my mom tried to tell the guide but he said we had to make it there before they leave as we were in a tight time frame. That’s when immigration agents were doing there rounds around the dessert and we had to lay face down on the ground. This helped me a lot as I was able to rest even though it was only 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes gave me enough time to get some energy back enough to get to those cars. Once we got to the cars they put my mom and I in a small little truck and separated us from the group we were with. We were taken to a house where we spend about 3 weeks there. While we were there the people housing us had limited space as there were about 50 of us staying in that small little house. We would sleep on the floor and would all eat small meals made by the family there. While at his house I experience my first glimpse at a Nintendo I had never seen this system before and the kids there let me play. This honestly made my time there bearable. The American dream was started to seem like quite a nightmare because of all I had experienced up to that point.

I still have a lot more to share as this was just the beginning of my journey so stay tune for next week or maybe later this week for part 2. The trip took a crazy turn after this house so you don’t want to miss out on what happened next. I hope everyone has a wonderful week.