The Blogicito seems to be developing quite a Honduran expatriate reader base. I like that! I seem to be getting more and more Honduran readers who tell me that they told their brother in Houston or sister in New York about the Blogicito and he/she loves it. Who woulda thunk it? I'm glad to have you!
I've also received tons of email from American women whose lives are being turned upside down by immigration situations of their significant other. Real heartbreaking stories. The same goes for Hondurans who have been deported, some who were brought to the US as babies or small children and are now being sent back not knowing the culture, not knowing their family here, and sometimes not even knowing the language very well.
It's easy to have a black and white opinion on immigration in the abstract. It's a lot harder when you know the human beings involved. I know that immigration is a hot issue right now, but how can anyone not feel empathy?For anyone who doesn't, imagine this: You've grown up in the US and are now a 20-something and all of a sudden one day, immigration picks you up and says you are going back to, oh, let's say, China! You don't know anyone there, you don't speak the language, if you have relatives, you don't know who they are and they don't know you. You are dumped off the airplane in Beijing and expected to figure out how to make it on your own. Oh, then add in the fact that your wife and children now have the choice of moving to China, probably to a life of poverty, or never seeing you again.
Sad, sad, sad! But it can be hard even when you aren't dealing with a deportation situation. I received a happy email from an American wife of a Honduran, a couple who is working through the immigration issue right now. As many of my Honduran readers do, the husband, who we will call J, wrote to me in Spanish and I wrote to him in English, taking the easy way out. ;-) I then heard back from his wife (reprinted with permission):
Hey, Gringa!
My husband J sent you an email this week and was so delighted that you wrote him back. I'm sure the blog keeps you busy enough, but I felt compelled to send you a quick note to tell you how much your thoughtful response meant to him and how much your blog has meant to us.
J and I met in Honduras through a mutual friend, and got married here in the states after exhausting all our resources trying to spend more and more time together. Although it was chaos from the start (e.g., day one: I run home from work at lunchtime to offer him a pepperoni calzone, forgetting the significance of calzón in spanish. hilarity ensues), over time we've worked through most of the immediate culture/language issues and now have the luxury to focus on more abstract differences between our home countries. Your experiences have made for a lot of lively dinner conversations in our home as well as a lot of fun little "That's what La Gringa was talking about! You just pointed with your lips!!!" moments :)I've looked to your blog for insight since the early days when I was traveling to Honduras alone and have always really appreciated your observations and takes on the issues facing Honduras today. I introduced J to your blog some months ago to give him something to read in English on a subject dear to his heart, but I really think that it's been much more than that for him.
As American culture is still often bewildering for him, I think that exposure to American sensibilities in the context of 'normal' situations has really helped him appreciate our values and paradigms much more than my feeble attempts to explain the "honor system" (ha ha) ever could, and that reading your blog has been instrumental to his adjustment to life here.
So anyway, I just wanted to say thank you again, because it really takes a lot to get J to write a letter. Your blog has really made a difference in our lives and we'd both like you to know that :)
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Wow. That made my day. What a tremendous compliment! It's kind of amazing to hear that the Blogicito has a part in someone else's life. I wish the best of luck to both of you in getting that US residency. Write any time to let me know how it's going.
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By the way, for any of you wives or husbands who are moving to Honduras with your spouses (deported or not), consider joining our Honduras Living discussion group. You'll find a lot of support and good, honest answers to the million questions you might have.
Click to join Honduras_Living
This is the best place to get information about living in Honduras!
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