Dreams & Challenges: My Journey To Becoming A United States Immigrant

By Noé Tobias

   Sunday, February 10, 2019, at 7:00 am, was the date and time when my father and I set out to emigrate to the United States. With tears in our eyes and constant concerns, but above all with great faith, we exchanged farewells with our relatives. It was difficult because both of us knew that we might not return, or rather, it would be the last time we would be together. The year had just begun, and we had barely passed the Christmas of the previous year. I was only twelve years old. In my family, there weren't many of us; I had my grandfather, two aunts who had been like mothers to me, two grandmothers, an uncle whom I met when I arrived here, and my father, whom I had only lived with for three years, as we didn't live together for the early part of my life. Also, I had some cousins who were like siblings I never had. In short, I said goodbye to them and also to some friends from school. I remember that classes were starting around that time, and I was unsure whether to enroll in school or not, as the trip was planned but not secured. In the end, I decided to go, but as always, if the journey hadn’t taken place, I had the opportunity to attend the first day of classes. I would have liked to continue studying with my childhood friends, but the decision was already made, and the day had come to leave and seek new horizons.

   My nationality is Honduran, so to fulfill our goals, my father and I faced the challenge of crossing three borders. Leaving Honduras was the easiest part; the same language, the same currency, and even the same cuisine because, in the end, all of this would be part of our challenge. Food, customs, and other cultural challenges were things we had to discover in a country different from ours. Normally, one is accustomed to the usual, to what you usually experience in the place where you have always been, but when you go to new countries, you encounter other cultures that you must adapt to if you want to be fine. Leaving Honduras was easy, and although we passed through places we did not know, or at least I did not know certain places, it was not difficult to leave the country. However, during the journey, it wasn't just us; we also met new people who had the same goal as us. They were strangers, but from the same country, albeit from different parts. They were friendly, and like us, we coexisted during the trip and tried to help each other. I remember there was a couple with their one-year-old son, another young man with his 4-year-old daughter, a woman with her daughter and niece, and finally, a 17-year-old teenager. In total, we were a group of 11, plus the guide who took us from border to border.

   As night fell on our first night, we were reaching the first border of Honduras and Guatemala. The first thing they asked us to do was to exchange money because we would need it since the currency in Guatemala is the Quetzal and in Honduras it is the Lempira, so it was necessary to exchange the money we had. During that time, I realized that there are people at the borders who dedicate themselves to this. They exchange money for people passing through, and they probably earn something in return. Since it was already night, the guide had told us that we should find a hotel to spend the night in and we would continue our journey the next morning. So we quickly headed to a hotel for dinner and then rest. For me, it was the first time I was so far from home, so it was difficult to get comfortable. As the sun rose on the second day, we were already up for breakfast and then off to continue the journey.

To be continued…