The Adolescent Experience of a Lifetime
Monique Webb
ENGL 1100.47

When boredom struck my older sister and me one weekend morning as we had just sat up and rolled out of bed, we came across an idea. Suddenly we were on a mission to play a Mickey Mouse flashcard game, but how would we get it? The cards were neatly organized on the top shelf of our bedroom unit, and our parents weren't in sight. Our hair unkempt with mini afro-frizzies, and our socks were hanging on for dear life to our heels. We could easily get the cards ourselves, or at least we thought so. I helped my sister step up onto the first ledge of the bookcase as she struggled to keep balance on her shaking tippy toes and grip the top magnetic cabinet doors with her sweaty fingertips. Finally, her fingers wedged between our prize and the door, but unfortunately, the bookcase gave in and gravity took over. Suddenly, the walls began to move and I felt lightheaded, and then we heard a loud BOOM! As the noise rang through our ears, we were suddenly frozen, but why? Now we had all of our toys. Louder sounds, like our heartbeats, some footsteps, and my dad's voice, scared us. As he struggled to open the door, the cabinet pinned us down and the door shut. He said, "What in the hell are ya'll doing?" and behind, we heard our mom's voice, "Ach du lieber Gott!" We weren't aware of what our parents said to us then, but now we are. Throughout the beginning years of our life, we are all able to hear and witness things, but we may not understand the importance of language until later in life. The key influences that taught me to read, speak, and write were from my parents, my upbringing, reading materials, and my adventurous journeys that would have an effect on me for the rest of my life.

My mother was born in Germany, where entertainment, people, and school all influenced her ability to speak English. She grew up in a household where my grandmother would play popular American songs on the record player and dance in her panty hose. My mom's interest in English grew as she watched American Forces Network television and read the Jet magazines, which contained information on American celebrities. My grandmother spoke German, Dutch, English, and some Italian, giving my mom the opportunity to learn English from her. English was, and still is, the secondary language to learn in German school systems, with German being the first. She educated herself more and more as she made friends and met my dad in the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. My dad was an American in the Army that was stationed in a nearby base. He and my mother fell in love, and, along with their love, grew her interest in English. She used translation books and soon became a very fluent English reader, writer, and speaker. When she and my father married and lived on a military base, they interacted with other foreign families that had taught themselves English. Very soon afterwards, my sister and I would be born into an influential cultural family that would show us many different ways of life.

On July 31, 1987, I was born into a bilingual household where my mom was German and my dad was American. A year later, we would be stationed to live in Germany, where I would learn a lot more than pooping and eating veggies. My dad was this strong, tall, big man who spoke English and only the necessary pinch of German that he had learned from living in Germany as well as from my mom. She was full of laughter and spoke as much English as German, except for when she was irate. I learned a lot from my parents from the ways that they composed themselves when they spoke, lectured, and played with me. My mom's enormous family played an important role in how I learned the German language. For example, my great-grandfather Opi interacted with me by teaching me about the history of Germany and its development, everything from castles to the magnetic railway systems. He couldn't just show me; he had to thoroughly explain things in German and sometimes explain meanings more than once, constantly asking "verstehst du?" – "Understand?" Every conversation broadened my mind to a new word that I could say in two different ways. I was open-minded about learning new things because I had a better understanding of how other people interacted with one another. I understood that, in order to learn, I would have to try and understand other people and their ways of living.

When I turned five, my dad retired from the active military, and we moved to North Carolina, where I attended my first year of school. I learned how to read and write English, and still traveled to Germany for two months every other year during the summer. My sister and I would stay with our great-grandparents, and each time, we would have a guideline of our vacation. We traveled to Italy from Germany by car and read the maps to my grandfather as he drove. We helped translate signs in Italy that were in English into German. When traveling in the large city of Koln, Germany, we would take the subways and read signs inside of the carts containing information about upcoming events, such as concerts and light shows. Each sign taught us more and more about the language. In 2002, I traveled overseas with a friend of mine, and we took a trip to Paris, France, with my grandparents.

When it was time to find our hotel, the Roc Roy, my grandparents struggled a bit. I walked up to a French woman who was helping and pointing other tourists to go in the right direction of their specific location. Thankfully, she spoke English, so she could tell me where the hotel was. I then told my grandparents in German, and we found it. If I would have only spoken one language, then we would have taken forever to find it because the city of Paris is very large. Sometimes other situations were a little more confusing, like the time when I went to a museum and the tour guide only spoke German, but we had English brochures to give us the guidelines on things that we had never even seen before. Traveling and learning the German language influenced me to learn more about the surrounding countries that I visited, such as Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria. I wanted to know about each individual's culture and traditions. Where did all of the incorrect stereotypes come from?

Throughout the eighteen years of my life, my grandparents have always sent me postcards and letters regarding my birthday and special events. Large boxes were sent filled with candies, chocolates, and perfumes that all came from overseas. Understanding that I love my grandparents just as much as any child and not being able to see them on a regular basis made me eager to want to learn to read and write in German. I talked little with my grandparents on the telephone due to the expensive phone charges. So, my best communication with them was, and still is, through letters and those boxes filled with delights just for my sister and me. I examined each little wrapper and the details including the prices and ingredients. One of my favorite chocolate candies is called "Uberaschungs Eier," which means "surprise egg" in English. It is a chocolate that is about the size of an average large egg, but the inside layer is white chocolate surrounded by a thin layer of dark chocolate. The surprise is hidden inside another golden yellow egg that contains a disassembled toy with instructions to building it. I desperately wanted to show my grandparents how glad and appreciative I was of their gifts. In return, I would write them back in English and try to translate it in German for them to read it, only to have my mom laugh and correct it and show me all me all my errors. After going over the errors, I would rewrite my letter perfectly. Going through this process is just like a schooling process: rough draft, second copy, and a final copy. Since I did this over and over, I became more familiar with German words and with the process for school assignments.

The lasting effect of bilingual literacy on my life is that I was raised in an extremely open-minded environment, which broadened my entire outlook on life and played a large roll in my literacy today. Today, I use literacy as a necessity to live and learn. In order to study for classes in college, I have to be able to read books, emails from friends and family, study guides, and assignments. Every exam, test, and quiz has to have written answers for my professors to see the level at which I am learning. I would not be able to just tell them about what I had learned. In my future years, I will also use my literacy skills to apply for a job. I have chosen to major in business, and my ability to speak two languages may become very useful in a career.

Today, I speak with my German grandparents about their health, other family members, and special occasions that are going to occur. I plan to continue traveling a lot when I graduate from college. I appreciate being able to speak two languages and those who speak more than one language because I know that they have an understanding of how difficult it is. It is interesting to compare different lifestyles. Another great advantage of being able to speak a foreign language in the United States is the privacy of communicating. For example, I can carry on a conversation with my mom and older sister in the public that we would not want anyone else to hear. This can become very convenient at times. In the future, if I have children, I will teach them the importance of language and how it has affected my life and those around me. I think the world would be a more progressive place today if everyone had a better understanding of others and their culture, including their language.