Reading
2
Comments
Sixteen years ago, I left the country I was born in (Venezuela) and moved with my parents to Madeira Island, Portugal. I was three years old. I do not remember anything from Venezuela. I was too young to even realise that that was my first time emigrating.
My parents left Venezuela because they did not want me to grow in a country that has high levels of delinquency and political issues. For them, Madeira Island was the best destination not only because it was (still is) a peaceful island but also because my whole family is originally from there. As the years passed, I started to feel more and more connected with the Portuguese culture, I made important friendships and even my Portuguese became better than my Spanish.
However, years later my parents were unemployed and it was really difficult for them to find another job due to the terrible crisis that Portugal was facing. Fortunately, in 2015, my dad found a job in England. One year later, my mum left as well so that she and my dad could find a house for all of us. Two months later, it was my siblings and my turn to leave all behind and start a new chapter in a new country. Once again, I was emigrating but this time things were not as easy as I thought they would be.
The first time I emigrated I was a little child who was clueless about everything. This time I was an adult. I felt homesick. I missed my house in Portugal. I missed my grandparents. I missed my best friends. I missed the amazing weather. I missed and I still miss so many things. It is true that my life in Madeira was not perfect. My parents and I suffered from xenophobia. Nevertheless, I was raised there, all the bad and best moments are from there.
Some people have this idea that being an immigrant is easy. You just leave the country you come from and go to another one and BOOM your life suddenly becomes better. Well, that is not completely true. Whilst that can happen for some, others have to sacrifice themselves and work non-stop in order to survive. People will only realise how hard it is once they are going through the same situation.
Although this new chapter was tough, England is a beautiful country and people are quite nice so I feel grateful for that. The longer I stay here, the more I will get used to this country. Also, no matter where I am, Portugal will always be in my heart.
To sum up, what I want to say is that being a foreigner takes courage. Courage to start everything again. Start from scratch. Courage to face discrimination. Do not ever feel ashamed for being a foreigner. Do not let anyone say that you are inferior just because you are an immigrant. You should be proud of being able to represent your country somewhere else. All nationalities are equally important and deserve to be respected!
Some people have this idea that being an immigrant is easy. You just leave the country you come from and go to another one and BOOM your life suddenly becomes better. Well, that is not completely true. Whilst that can happen for some, others have to sacrifice themselves and work non-stop in order to survive. People will only realise how hard it is once they are going through the same situation.
Although this new chapter was tough, England is a beautiful country and people are quite nice so I feel grateful for that. The longer I stay here, the more I will get used to this country. Also, no matter where I am, Portugal will always be in my heart.
To sum up, what I want to say is that being a foreigner takes courage. Courage to start everything again. Start from scratch. Courage to face discrimination. Do not ever feel ashamed for being a foreigner. Do not let anyone say that you are inferior just because you are an immigrant. You should be proud of being able to represent your country somewhere else. All nationalities are equally important and deserve to be respected!
I hope you a lovely day! (:
Jesika Gomes x
 and moved with my parents to Madeira Island, Portugal. I was three y...){kind=link}
2 comments
Lovely post! I'm technically an emigrant too as i left the UK when I was 6 to come to France. Although I didn't feel it back then, I recently moved back to the UK and actually found it really hard. I really relate to this post.
ReplyDeleteLoneTeenTraveller | Travel Fashion Lifestyle
I'm glad you liked the post. It's always hard in the beginning to move to another country but I believe that you'll get used to the UK soon. I wish you all the best! (:
DeleteJesika x