The Vanderbilt Review - Profiles (Fall 2013)

11 Code-switching masters Dealing with dualities: Like my father When he duped Grandma Thelma By switching from The simple flavors found In the Spanish His mother was raised on To the English tongue She always had trouble swallowing, His ingenuity rewarded With a frying pan to the head; Like me, in Greece, Hoping to avoid the woman Trying to swindle American tourists: I-sorry-pero-yo-no-peaky-mucho-english; Like Grandma Thelma, Who left the tropical shores Of her native Puerto Rico For the cold winters of New York.

Rice and beans Is more than just a dish; It is the complexity found In the simplicity of a smile When, at your high school graduation, Your father, tears in his eyes, tells you That your abuela is shedding her own tears of joy In heaven.

I want that smile spread over my face When I die.