The journey of my life

The journey of my life

El proceso de escritura en Soy Autor ha demostrado ir The allá, writing process in en Soy una Autor evoques an authentic más al convertirse experiencia auténtica de experience of self discovery. The following piece is the auto descubrimiento. La presente obra es el resultado result of the collaborative work between students and del trabajo colaborativo entre estudiantes y docentes, teachers to find the hear t of the story, through the para encontrar el corazón de su historia y reflejarla en publication of their first illustrated Memoir. su primer memoir ilustrado.

With the support of:

En colaboración con:

Embajada de los Estados Unidos El Salvador

The journey of my life

In the year 2008 in the month of May I took the biggest decision.

I sighed deeply and though of the person who motivated me to undertake given trip.

Yamileth, a young 24-year-old woman with skin as white as snow, hair as dark as when the moon hides at night and a very sweet gaze. She had made the decision to travel to the United States and I, had decided to follow her.

And taken the advice of two friends, Elmer and Tavo, I put my hand into my left pocket and took out two hundred dollars that was what I had destined for the trip.

And like that, I went to say goodbye to my parents.

My mother told me: - God bless and protect you. My mother, a woman of fair skin and very special. And my father, opposed to everything. A bitter man, but at the same time you could see the big sadness in his eyes.

Tecun Tecun!

They’d shout as if they would be selling tomatoes.

It was the collector of that bus that made its way from the San Salvador terminal to the Mexican border. I felt this really cold sweat as if I was a beer just taken out of a refrigerator.

- Hey! – said Elmer – Everything ok?

- Yes – I replied.

At the same time, I saw big sadness in his eyes because he was leaving his wife and children behind.

We got to El Salvador and Guatemalan border. We saw a lot of fuzzy people like a bee hive trying to exchange currency and the “exchangers” taking advantage of the innocence and ignorance of many.

“Almost one day in bus” I thought.

“Those who came for the train, have arrived to their final destination” shouted out the collector. I sighed deeply and I was very nervous that I was almost shaking like jello. I knew that the danger was about to start, where the people took advantage of the undocumented.

- Hey! – said Tavo – they charge us 10 pesos to cross the river.

The river was so dark it looked like chocolate. In it, some kids that pulled the rafts, looked like oxen pulling wagons.

I knew that on the other side of the river I’d find the town of Hidalgo, a Mexican town known as a spot for trafficking in persons and more. The “exchangers” of dollars with vulture like faces.

There was a shout.

It was a young man in a bicycle.

- Where are you headed? – He asked. Elmer looked straight into my

eyes and said: - What do we do?

All of a sudden I heard a very attentive voice saying

“we want to go to where you board the buses that go to Tapachula”. It was Tavo responding to the young man.

- How much do you charge for taking them?” – Fifteen pesos, he replied.

“To Tapachula to Tapachula”.

The three of us looked at each other firmly, with much fear, since we weren’t the only undocumented ones that were going on the bus. It was so full that we felt like canned sardines.

As we moved along we felt a lot of panic. I, I just thought of Yamileth.

I knew that she had gone by the same place that I was going through. I was at a town called Mapastepeque. We rested in the shade of some mango trees, we felt an immense freshness.

- You think it’s still a long way to get to Arriaga? – Tavo asked me.

- I don’t know. – I responded.

Our objective was to get to the town of Arriaga where the train makes its last stop, because the train tracks had been damaged years back.

We walked almost 2 hours on mountains that surrounded an immigration stand. Elmer, very nervous, looked at us as if he wanted to say something. – What’s wrong with you?” – I asked.

- I’m scared. – he replied.

Since that place was very famous because of the thieves.

But luck was with us.

We went by without problems.

TU-TU-TU-TU you could hear from afar.

It was the sound of a locomotive. It was sign that we had arrived to Arriaga. I had never seen so many trains, they were so long that they looked like lines of worms.

I felt really tense being there in the middle of so many people trying to board. I had never set foot on a train, I felt big thrill and fear at the same time, when I remembered all the stories that others had told us.

We arrived to cities, hid from the police, slept in train stations, resisting the cold and the hunger, but with the biggest hope to see my lovely Yamileth.

Tu tu tu tuuuu That was the sound of the trains in Mexico city. They were gigantic trains with almost 100 wagons. We knew that each day that passed, meant being closer to our destiny.

Finally, we arrived to Cobarca, this is a city in Sonora city, Mexico. “Hey, let’s rest and find some food. I also want to make a phone call� - I said.

At the other side of the phone…

I’m in Cabarca… - I said Good! You are half an hour away from the bus that will take you to Altar, Sonora said the voice on the other side. He was going to be the one to help us cross from Sonora to Arizona.

Our hearts were beating with excitement because we knew our final destination was about to come.

When I got the the Altar border, I heard:

-Hey, who’s Miguel?

-It’s me! - I replied.

He was the one in charge of the “coyotes”.

He told us to get on a truck that took us to a big house. In there, there were a lot of people from different nationalities waiting to cross the border. There, we were fed and they gave us clothing. That is the place where people get ready to cross, and from there, the coyotes call their relatives in the United States to negotiate the price to cross the border and achieved the American dream.

Days went by and the coyotes put together a group of 13 people. They gave us a bag with food and two gallons of water. They put us in a truck and went to a ranch that was about 100 meters away from the wall that separated the two borders. We were just waiting the right time to leave.

The sun burned and the breeze was hot in our faces. My heart was fearful.

It is almost the time - the coyote said.

He told us to call him Hamburguer. We all thought that was hilarious, and later he explained to us that was the name he used as a security measure.

Among thorns and bushes we kept going forward.

Hares and coyotes crossed our paths.

When night arrived, Hamburguer let us rest for a bit, but I couldn’t help feeling panic.

Ahuuu, ahuuu, ahuuuu

That was the coyotes singing. Although the night was dark, a thousand stars lit up the darkness and the hope to see Yamileth helped me again to be brave.

I felt very tired, my eyelids fell exhausted until I was sleeping like a baby on a bed out of dry leaves. Morning came. We were three hours away from the point of “delivery�, Hamburguer said. We got on the truck again and two hours later we were in Phoenix, Arizona.

I achieved the American dream!

That was the last time I saw my friends.

Their destiny was Los Angeles and mine was Utah. Ulises went to get me and took me home.

I was so excited to see Yamileth!

After so many adventures, sufferings and joy… After going

“half of the world” just to see her…

She was not there anymore.

They told me that she had been deported back to El Salvador.

My name is Miguel Ángel Me llamo Betty

My family name is Ordóñez Vanegas

Mi familia es de apellido Hernández Rodríguez I’m respectful, friendly and sociable

Soy amigable, curiosa y un poco amable My sister is Cecilia Beatriz

Hermana Mirna, Dinora, Delmi, Melissa, I grewdeupPatricia, surrounded by plantations and rivers Julissa in Lourdes city

I like la playing soccer, helping others and writingy amor Crecí entre naturaleza, entre paredes de adobe I’m happy because I finished this program, though I feel sad

En la ciudad de La Palma, Chalatenango

because I wish there were more programs like this.

Me gusta aprender, divertirme y escribir

I give to the world my way of thinking and helping others

Me siento contenta I’m afraid of failure and yofnerviosa not fitting

to see others havede success LeI would regalolove al mundo mis ganas luchar I’m Miguel and I’m an author.

Me da miedo perder lo que más amo Me gustaría ver a mis papás y a mi hijo Soy Betty y soy luchadora.