Senior Chris Hernandez decided he wanted to pursue higher education in the United States three years before he made the move. Hernandez was born in the U.S. but had lived in Villahermosa, a city in southern Mexico, his whole life. He was in high school when he began preparing for the move.
“It’s something that you have to decide, and you have to be focused on that, because you’re going to go to another country, and you have to know why you’re gonna do that,” he said. “You have to learn so many things like how to ask things, the difference between words, like those things.”
So, in the summer of 2023, his dad and brother, who had been living in the U.S., came to Villahermosa. They flew with Hernandez to Monterrey and then grabbed a bus to Austin, arriving here in July.
“It was challenging mentally because you have to know you will use English for so many years,” Hernandez said. “It was hard because you have to … translate so many things. After the months you will learn, but it is progressive.”
Despite facing some difficulties at first, like language barriers, Hernandez’s experience with moving to Austin was relatively smooth.
“It’s a normal process,” Hernandez said. “Many people pass like me or in other ways, and I think other people have to respect how you enter into this country. I think you have to not care how people came here and just try to help them.”
Now that he’s been here for over a year, Hernandez is beginning the college application process and focused on what’s ahead.
“I think it’s better to live here because there are so many opportunities,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where you live. You only have to look for what you want to do.”
Like Chris, senior Abdiel Hernandez, who was also born in the U.S., decided to move from Allende, Coahuila to Austin in mid-August, with his sights set on college.
“I decided to come here to study and learn English,” Abdiel Hernandez said. “From my city, I traveled by car here. It wasn’t difficult. I just went through the international bridge, and I arrived here with my aunt.”
In Allende, Hernandez was able to communicate easier with a wider portion of the population. Like Chris, he has struggled at times with translation between Spanish and English.
“It’s been a little difficult, but I got used to it and learned things in English that have helped me,” Abdiel Hernandez said. “I learned a little English in school and thanks to that I have communicated. I also use the translator and some friends who speak English and Spanish.”
Learning English hasn’t been the only challenge. Life in Austin is somewhat different than life in Allende.
“In Mexico, for me, there was more freedom,” he said. “Everything was easier, and you had a lot of people’s help.”
Although both Chris and Abdiel left their homes when they were in the later years of high school, freshman Metzi Luna moved here when she was 12 for the “American Dream.”
In 2020, her dad traveled to the United States to work in order to send the family money to prepare for the move. After being separated from her dad for two years, in December 2022 Luna and her family drove 14 hours to the U.S. This was her first time in the country.
Information graphic by Lillian Gray.
“It was so different from my country,” she said. “English was so horrible for me. I used to know how to communicate with the others because everyone in my old school spoke Spanish, so it was more simple.”
Luna first started at Lamar Middle School and discovered that she was enrolled in orchestra. When she got to that class she was handed a violin, something she had never played before. So learning a new instrument in addition to the language barrier was a lot for Luna.
“I had to use a translator every time I had to speak to a teacher or classmate,” she said. “Once somebody made fun of me because I didn’t speak English.”
One thing that really stood out to Luna was that sometimes even when she wanted to use English or was trying to learn it, she was placed with other Spanish speakers.
“The people were moving me apart from the others because I don’t speak English,” she said. “I’m trying to do my best to be with the others and communicate.”
As she’s come into high school things have gotten a little easier.
“In McCallum now with my English, I feel comfortable, and I think the people at this age don’t usually make fun of you,” Luna said.
Still though, connecting with peers can be challenging.
“They think that just because I’m an immigrant I can’t be fun or I can’t talk to the others,” she said. “But I just wish they would know how funny I am in Spanish.”
As Luna continues to develop her English skills, she encourages her peers to meet students like her, Chris, and Abdiel halfway.
“Try to talk to us,” she said. “We don’t feel like we’re the others.”
