Latina Mom in the South...

Man am I proud of being from Puerto Rico-Hell yeah! - I would not change that about me.  But let me tell you something, being a Puertorrican mother in the South is no joke.  From having to decipher some of the most common southern sayings, to having to adjust to the southern accent, to attempt to communicate with this wonderful southerners...was no easy joke. The truth is....it all depends how you want to take it.  I take it day by day.  Before I'm asked to repeat myself I just take a deep breath and repeat myself slower - you see when I speak slow I feel so stupid.

Me, I asked them to repeat themselves too, but not often, as stubborn as I am I try to figure out what was said...and I will say that 7 times out of 10 my guess is right.  With names, OMG, that is a different monster.  Then I remember my own name...and then I wonder how they feel when they are trying to call me by my first name (sweet revenge).

Anyways being a Latina Mom has been rough for me, but it also has been difficult for my children.  They are with me all the time, so for them Mama does not have an accent yet all their friends say that their mama sounds funny.  The kids can be cruel but they can be also so adorable.  I keep telling my kids that I do not get offended when people make fun of the way I sound, or when I use the wrong verbs, etc.  I am aware that my knowledge of the English language is not the best...but hey...when you learn how to perfect another language then you have the right to lecture me.

The looks, OMG, the looks I get from people!!! Let me walked into Rush's (chicken place) and all the white folks turn their heads at me like I belong in a circus or something.  Sometimes it bother me...and others I really don't care.  The only thing that I will not tolerate in the South or anywhere else is for someone to tell me to speak in English....if anyone dare to tell me to stop speaking Spanish to my friends because they do not know what the hell I am saying...Lord help me...they better walk away as soon as I open my mouth because nothing pretty would come out of it.

Enough said about being Latina in the South.  I learned to like it, I love most of the people, and it has its charm, no doubt about it.