Embracing Life in the U.S.

Roberto and Ana Rosa, originally from Cuba, arrived in the United States in 2021. Roberto is an independent journalist by profession and Ana Rosa is a psychologist. Roberto was a political prisoner and obtained a visa to move to the United States. His dreams were to join his children who already reside in this country.

In their 60s, they state that “We arrived at an age, our expectations were to live in peace and live with our children.” They found out about English classes through a friend who had taken classes at Skyline Literacy. “Our motivation to learn English was to insert ourselves more easily into American society, and interact with the natives of this country”

“Our challenges arise when we want to communicate. I remember we had an appointment at the free health clinic. The Uber driver did not speak Spanish, and I felt very frustrated. Because of the wait and communication, it took us 1 hour to get to the appointment. “I have to learn to be able to communicate, to go to a pharmacy. Just practicing “I don't speak English” took time.

With English literacy classes on the horizon, now after two semesters, we make ourselves understood. Together we now understand a large part and manage to communicate in complete sentences. No we do not feel stressed when we go out and interact not only with native speakers, but also with other people from different cultures and other parts of the world here in Harrisonburg.

In our English classes, our teachers are volunteers, very good people, very humane and warm in their treatment of their students, they are interested in our culture.

“Our Digital Literacy classes. At 60 years old, we are not exactly in the digital area, at first we had resistance because it was new content and all in English. But the classes were taught clearly. The teacher was prepared and organized.”

They both earned the Northstar Basic Computer class certificate. They feel confident in operating their computer. Roberto has a blog where he would like to continue learning about how to manage it without the help of his son and publish articles about culture and music. Rosa, is happy that you can now fill out health forms on your own; She is also a member of the International Women's Day committee in Harrisonburg. Rosa & Roberto are also members of JMU's Long Life Learning Institute. He concludes, learning English and Digital Literacy is a process, we feel connected and appreciated.