Culture is Pride (Oct. 5)

As a kid, I never paid attention to racial differences. Growing up in California, there really was no “minority” so to say. In fact, the “minority” was a majority where I grew up, therefore never paying attention to my race being a minority in society. Oddly enough, it wasn’t until I went to Guatemala that I began to notice these racial differences and began to question my own identity. What’s the difference between race, ethnicity, and nationality and how does it make me different from anyone else who was raised in the United States? Recently I’ve asked myself this question only because I feel like I stand out so much being in Ukraine.

Mene zvaty Janira I ya z-ameriki shatat kalifornia…. Do they doubt me saying this because I don’t look “American” enough? But surely I am, I was born and (partially) raised in sunny California and I have papers to prove it. As a kid, everything about me screamed American made; clothes, speech, toys, you name it. Then… Guatemala happened and completely changed my perspective on life, culture, and identity.
(my cluster and link cluster @ the bus stop)

“I look like one of them, I somewhat understand them, but I can’t possibly be like them”, thoughts that would run through my head when meeting distant relatives and family friends. What is this culture that is supposed to define who I am? Well… it took me a while to completely understand and appreciate my roots. Even to them I stood out, with my accent and “weird” American ways; Funny how I look back and say “My own culture was a culture shock”. But after years of living there and truly learning about my heritage, I could somewhat identify myself….

My race is Latino (I don’t like the word Hispanic), my ethnicity is Guatemalan/Argentinean, my nationality is American/Guatemalan and my culture is…. A bit of all three.

Now, as I’m faced with being probably the only Latina from Peace Corps in group 39, I am not only representing America but also Latina women. It is not often that a woman, and more specifically a minority woman, gets the opportunity to leave the bubble that so many of their families have created for them. I know friends who are brilliant yet don’t take advantage of their talents/abilities to do something great with it for fear of bringing disappointment to the families. I detest the unwritten rule that girls are supposed to stay in the household until they get married, only then to STILL stay in the household as wives/caretakers. Some rules are meant to be broken, and only then will taking such risks lead to a better life, or at least an adventurous one.

For that reason I’m so happy my parents weren’t that traditional in the sense that they’d hold me back from doing what it is I want to do in life. It does suck sometimes being the only one of “my” people out here in the middle of nowhere, but it actually makes the feeling even sweeter. I’m not ashamed of who I am and where I’ve come from. If anything, I like the fact that I can stand out from the rest because I have something else to offer, a dual (or triple) culture to share with others. Physically I may stand alone but in heart and spirit, I know this spot where I stand has hundreds of footprints beside me; of those who I have brought with me and perhaps of those could not be here. And of course with God’s help, there’s nothing that can stop this Chapina from reaching her goals.

“Cultura is orgullo, orgullo es exito” (Culture is pride, pride is success)