I was born and raised in Hawai’i, and I believe that living here is great. I love the weather that never changes (even in winter), the kind people here, and the nice beaches. For my mom though, living here in America, in general, has been a little difficult for her. She loves it here but she finds it hard to understand everyone since she was born and raised in Vietnam. English is her second language.

Every time she’s on a call or talking to someone, she usually has to repeat things multiple times or I step in to translate things for her. I’ve also had to help my mom a lot to make sure she does not get scammed by some greedy people who take advantage of the fact that English is her second language and that she isn’t used to technology. I haven’t minded helping my mom, but it has felt a little weird doing paperwork and talking about things in the adult world that I only half understand. Although I speak English more fluently, there are some words in the professional world that I still don’t even understand myself.

Last summer, my mom booked a hotel for us to stay in California but she decided to cancel it because she wanted to stay over at our family’s house instead. A few days after we were with our family, my mom found out that the company had changed her for the hotel even though it was canceled. My mom called the hotel and tried to explain to them that she had canceled it but it was hard for her to explain her whole situation in English. Listening to this was really frustrating, and during the trip I just felt bad for my mom for losing hundreds of dollars for no reason, going towards nothing. I felt really guilty during the trip because I was enjoying myself and having fun, while my mom was trying to hide the fact she was super stressed about the situation. Maybe I should’ve done more, or maybe I should’ve looked more into the hotel we were going to stay at. But this is also hard, because I am not the parent in this situation.

Either way, I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault. The people working in customer service were probably just doing their jobs. But I think more people in America should be more considerate to people who might not have English as their first language. Taking the time to explain stuff in simpler terms, walking with a customer through the process step by step, or using a translator to communicate easier can all make such a difference. It would be a great help to both my mom and myself, and all of the people who are like us who experience living in America.

© Cherie. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.