My native language is Spanish, yet I have always craved the English language. This unexplained desire has shaped my most significant life decisions, and I believe was triggered as a result of being born in a foreign country. I was born in Hong Kong, China, due to my father’s job. During my pre-school years in China I attended an English/Chinese dual-language school which I believe was where I first dipped my toes into this small puddle containing the English language. It was later in life that I discovered there was an ocean of knowledge available and I wanted nothing more than to let myself sink into it.
When I was five years old, it was time for me and my Argentine family to head back “home”. As I grew older, however, it was clear to me that I did not feel as attached to the culture and language in Argentina as the people around me. My father is Italian—a nationality which passed down onto me—and knew how it felt like to be a fish out of water in a country which did not seem one’s own native land. In order to ease the transition, my family enrolled me in primary and secondary schools that included dual English/Spanish education as well. During the nineteen years I have spent living in Argentina, the amiability of the people and their strong attachment to the country’s culture made me admire and respect the nation that welcomed and nurtured me. I had come to realize that it was not a native country what I felt attached to, but rather the English language. So when the time