American Children, Now Struggling to Adjust to Life in Mexico

[silver_sandals]

IZÚCAR DE MATAMOROS, Mexico - Jeffrey Isidoro sat near the door of his fifth-grade classroom here in central Mexico, staring outside through designer glasses that, like his Nike sneakers and Nike backpack, signaled a life lived almost entirely in the United States. His parents are at home in Mexico. Jeffrey is lost.

When his teacher asked in Spanish

Comments

[romp]

Interesting. I hope changes happen that enable families to stay put.

[sesmo]

It's harder to move to a new country & a new language as a teen, but not easy at age 10 either. Hopefully he can catch up on the language quickly. He is still at the age where he should be able to pick up the language without accent. (somehow that skill tends to disappear around puberty.)

[koken23]

Oh yeah, he's going to have a tough time...

(I did this at ten too - from Argentina to Australia - and was miserable for a long time)

[sesmo]

I did it at 10 as well (and then at 14). I wasn't miserable that long. I was pretty lucky, and picked up the languages rather quickly. Though at 14 I didn't manage to do so without the residual accent.

[omimouse]

Yeah, I moved from the States to the Netherlands when I was ten, and the only reason I wasn't miserable was because it marked the end of the utter hell that was public schools as a smart child in Alabama. So I was pretty pre-disposed to viewing the move as a positive thing, to say nothing of the fact that it wasn't exactly like I had any friends to leave behind in the first place, so there wasn't much of anything to miss.

[eldvno]

What is this racist nonsense? There are many amazing schools in Mexico and UNAM is the best uni in central/south America. I don't have time for this patronizing bullshit.

[sesmo]

It's not racist to say that a kid will have a hard time dropped into a new country, where he doesn't speak the language, and kids make fun of him for being different. It's true of most countries (I'd say every country but I've only tried two.)