oming to America,” this phrase began dancing around in my head when I landed in the Mexico City airport and continued as I passed through Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta on my way home from the International Cross-Cultural Professional Seminar in Mexico. The massive number of people winding their way through the immigration and customs maze was daunting.

Travelling to Mexico hadn’t had the same effect on me two weeks earlier. Perhaps it was what I had learned about the country, the people and the culture, or the experience of living and studying in Xalapa as la extranjera (foreigner), which opened me to this emotion. Whatever the reason, I found myself acutely aware of the confusion of where to go and what to do; the apprehension of having luggage opened and searched; and the fear of being lost in the crowd.

And I knew, first hand, how overwhelming this would be for a traveler who didn’t speak the language.

I knew very little Spanish before leaving on this trip. There were remnants of phrases learned in the 6th grade, but not enough to carry on a conversation, but I was determined to have a better command of the Spanish language when I landed on foreign soil. For three months before traveling to Xalapa, I studied diligently, listening to CD tutorials and completing exercises in the accompanying workbook.

I was prepared.

Then, I arrived in Mexico and quickly realized that my “expansive” vocabulary allowed me to speak rudimentary Spanish at best. I hadn’t lived with the language, and didn’t have a high level of comprehension. Our host family spoke very little English, so over the two weeks, we spoke to each other in broken phrases using some English, some Spanish, and a lot of pointing. We learned to come to the dinner table with dictionary in hand. “Como se dice?” (How do you say?) became a well-used phrase.

Language is not the only thing we Americans take for granted.

For lower income families in Xalapa, resourcefulness is more than a desirable quality; it is a necessity of life. Nothing is thrown away until it is completely spent. There is a use for most parts of every plant and animal. Absolutely nothing goes to waste. Still, the aura of poverty is everywhere – shanties with dirt floors and unhygienic living conditions; children dressed in ragged hand-me-downs; evidence of domestic violence and poor health and dental care; children as well as adults living on the street and begging.

It is no wonder that so many Mexicans seek to travel to America for a better way of life.

Got a dream to take them there
They’re coming to America
Got a dream they’ve come to share
They’re coming to America

“America,” Neil Diamond 1980
Album: The Jazz Singer Soundtrack

This phrase, “Coming to America,” evokes vivid images and emotions in me, because now I understand the reason, the intensity and the drive behind the dream.