Written by Linda Mains
WOW, relationships are strained between people today, even on face book they have an "it's complicated" button. I'm writing this after a 5 in the morning bender, A.K.A a hardcore party. I take my Vodka with Orange juice please, shaken not stirred. Am I giving you meaningless banter today? It's mothers day to boot, so my man quilted me into calling my nag of a mother, who irritates me, more then any crazy person you might randomly meet walking down your street. So I put in the call...funny, but I didn't reach my mom, my son answered the phone. Low and behold, getting a hold of him now that he's dating a hottie, and is 19, is like locating the Holly Grail. He said to me, oh hey is this my mom? Of course it's me, how many mothers do you have? Then he wished me a happy moms day, as he said it.
Now getting back to interacting with people, I didn't speak till I was 4 years old, I didn't really have anything important to say. Guess I've made up for not talking for 4 years. And when I did talk, my mother was standing next to the refrigerator. Do you know what my first word was at 4 years of age? I asked my mother who didn't speak a lick of English, for some water in Spanish. Which is really funny to me now, because today, I don't speak any Spanish. Language is really important, in bringing a people together. I'm dipping into my interracial memory bank to write this post. Ya, I use a lot of comma's when writing, and because of my interracial, complex language system, I can actually write this post from the heart.
I remember when I was 16 and I went to Coasta Rica, I didn't think I'd meet anyone, but I meant a guy my age. Now he didn't speak a lick of English and I didn't speak a lick of Spanish. So guess what happened? We wound up hanging out, and just looked at each other, while holding hands. It was nice. Now when my father went to Coasta Rica years later, he came back to tell me that Jose, was now a fat man with 6 kids, but that he said; Jose asked my father if I would marry him. OK, I thought that was really weird, all those years latter. But here's the thing, it doesn't matter with love, if you can speak to each other or not. It's all about the feelings.
Funny my mother wound up marrying an Iranian man, after she divorced my father. I actually asked her, so what are you trying to do? Become a world leader at interracial marriage. First she married a Jewish guy, and then married an Iranian guy. Which, I thought was weird, because, my mother looks like she could actually be from a Muslim country. Ya, it was a weird upbringing. One day at 15, my mother was married to an Iranian man, who had two kids, who where constantly beating each other up. It was strange. But language does bring people together, but it's not necessarily the only reason why men and women, and people in general, do come together. They come together, and make friendships, because, of all different types of reasons.
Now, I remember the story of the Tower of Babel, where people came together to worship some God or another, in a tower. Now, I'm guessing that, they all spoke the same language at that time. But God got Jealous, and he gave all the people in that city different languages...so that they couldn't speak to each other! They turned against each other and moved into different country's. Which brings us to the world today. Now my step brother and sister whom are Muslims speak 3 or 4 different languages. While I on the other hand, can't even pick up the other language which is Spanish that I should be able to speak. By the way that fact, has embarrassed me for most of my life.
It's embarrassing not to be able to talk to your relatives, especially, when your brother is one of them. Yes, I have a step brother, that my mother had in Coasta Rica, and left with her mother to raise. Now we have never really bridged the language gap that we have amongst each other. So me and my brothers relationship, is for the most part, non-existent. It's really weird, he moved here, and lived here for an entire 6 month's learned English, moved back and became an English teacher in Coasta Rica. We couldn't speak to each other, without a translator. Do I consider myself to be Spanish? Well, I believe to be really Spanish, you must learn how to speak the language. I've tried, I even took it in college, but...I just couldn't learn how to speak Spanish! I wound up dropping the class twice. To this day I still can't speak Spanish!
So in America interpersonal relationships are complicated, especially, when it comes to language. I realize that there is every kind of language in America, and there are a lot of different customs here in the U.S too. A lot of Americans come from family's like mine...where, there are two different cultures coming together. It's really funny to me, because, Thanks Giving at my Mother's house is a cultural experience. My Muslim step dad, ripped out the carpets in their Apartment, and put down tile, because he liked tile, it reminded him of his homeland. I asked him why he liked tile, he told me, because in Iran, you can't have rugs like in America. Why? Because of all of the sand! Isn't it, the little things, that comfort different types of people?
Even though my mother and I, still have a strained relationship threw out the years, she's a great mom, who helped me along with my step father. Helping me to raise my son...so, I thank them. Because, I couldn't of done it alone. I remember one day, I went to their apartment to visit my son, who was in the process of learning how to read a clock. He was asking my step dad in his little 5 year old voice, how to read the clock, and in a deep Iranian accent, my step dad, explained it to him. He accepted and fathered my son, who is part Jewish. Without him my son, would have grown up, fatherless. Another thing, I'm constantly, thanking my mother for. Anyway language is important, but it's not the only thing, that brings people together...love is whats really responsible for bringing Nations together, and without love any Nation is doomed.
Now getting back to interacting with people, I didn't speak till I was 4 years old, I didn't really have anything important to say. Guess I've made up for not talking for 4 years. And when I did talk, my mother was standing next to the refrigerator. Do you know what my first word was at 4 years of age? I asked my mother who didn't speak a lick of English, for some water in Spanish. Which is really funny to me now, because today, I don't speak any Spanish. Language is really important, in bringing a people together. I'm dipping into my interracial memory bank to write this post. Ya, I use a lot of comma's when writing, and because of my interracial, complex language system, I can actually write this post from the heart.
I remember when I was 16 and I went to Coasta Rica, I didn't think I'd meet anyone, but I meant a guy my age. Now he didn't speak a lick of English and I didn't speak a lick of Spanish. So guess what happened? We wound up hanging out, and just looked at each other, while holding hands. It was nice. Now when my father went to Coasta Rica years later, he came back to tell me that Jose, was now a fat man with 6 kids, but that he said; Jose asked my father if I would marry him. OK, I thought that was really weird, all those years latter. But here's the thing, it doesn't matter with love, if you can speak to each other or not. It's all about the feelings.
Funny my mother wound up marrying an Iranian man, after she divorced my father. I actually asked her, so what are you trying to do? Become a world leader at interracial marriage. First she married a Jewish guy, and then married an Iranian guy. Which, I thought was weird, because, my mother looks like she could actually be from a Muslim country. Ya, it was a weird upbringing. One day at 15, my mother was married to an Iranian man, who had two kids, who where constantly beating each other up. It was strange. But language does bring people together, but it's not necessarily the only reason why men and women, and people in general, do come together. They come together, and make friendships, because, of all different types of reasons.
Now, I remember the story of the Tower of Babel, where people came together to worship some God or another, in a tower. Now, I'm guessing that, they all spoke the same language at that time. But God got Jealous, and he gave all the people in that city different languages...so that they couldn't speak to each other! They turned against each other and moved into different country's. Which brings us to the world today. Now my step brother and sister whom are Muslims speak 3 or 4 different languages. While I on the other hand, can't even pick up the other language which is Spanish that I should be able to speak. By the way that fact, has embarrassed me for most of my life.
It's embarrassing not to be able to talk to your relatives, especially, when your brother is one of them. Yes, I have a step brother, that my mother had in Coasta Rica, and left with her mother to raise. Now we have never really bridged the language gap that we have amongst each other. So me and my brothers relationship, is for the most part, non-existent. It's really weird, he moved here, and lived here for an entire 6 month's learned English, moved back and became an English teacher in Coasta Rica. We couldn't speak to each other, without a translator. Do I consider myself to be Spanish? Well, I believe to be really Spanish, you must learn how to speak the language. I've tried, I even took it in college, but...I just couldn't learn how to speak Spanish! I wound up dropping the class twice. To this day I still can't speak Spanish!
So in America interpersonal relationships are complicated, especially, when it comes to language. I realize that there is every kind of language in America, and there are a lot of different customs here in the U.S too. A lot of Americans come from family's like mine...where, there are two different cultures coming together. It's really funny to me, because, Thanks Giving at my Mother's house is a cultural experience. My Muslim step dad, ripped out the carpets in their Apartment, and put down tile, because he liked tile, it reminded him of his homeland. I asked him why he liked tile, he told me, because in Iran, you can't have rugs like in America. Why? Because of all of the sand! Isn't it, the little things, that comfort different types of people?
Even though my mother and I, still have a strained relationship threw out the years, she's a great mom, who helped me along with my step father. Helping me to raise my son...so, I thank them. Because, I couldn't of done it alone. I remember one day, I went to their apartment to visit my son, who was in the process of learning how to read a clock. He was asking my step dad in his little 5 year old voice, how to read the clock, and in a deep Iranian accent, my step dad, explained it to him. He accepted and fathered my son, who is part Jewish. Without him my son, would have grown up, fatherless. Another thing, I'm constantly, thanking my mother for. Anyway language is important, but it's not the only thing, that brings people together...love is whats really responsible for bringing Nations together, and without love any Nation is doomed.
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