People who come to America from a different country are not fluent in English. My grandma and I had to experience this language barrier. I was in 8th grade in middle school, when my parent first told me about my grandma moving in with us. Because my grandma lived in Haiti, my sibling and I waswere happy when we heard of this news because we never got a chance to meet her. I only heard stories about her from my parents, uncle, and aunts told to me. They described her as affectionate, caring and a dignifydignified women.
She came in the middle of winter. theThe frigid air was blowing while snowflakes fell upon her long white hair. Stepped outside the grey Toyota Camry wearing a fur coat clutching onto her brown purse. The chilly weather outside made her startedstart to speed walkedwalk herself inside the house. When she finally entered the house, I greeted her. Since my grandmother only knew how to speak Creole, it made it hard for me to communicate with her. Fortunately, I could understand everything she was saying because my parents are constantly switching from English and Creole when speaking to my sibling and me. She and I will start our conversation like this with the continuous help from my parents translating for us.
Koman oue ye pitit mwen
I'm doing well. How about you?
Mewn byen.
Ki jan se jou ou prale
It is going good. How about your day?
Li pa pral bon pitit mwen
Eventually, I started to realize that if I wanted to build a relationship with my grandma that I have to be able to speak, read and write Creole fluently.