Iva’s story: Living the American dream / Iva proziva pravy Americky sen

Iva from Ohio is yet another Czech incognito blogger that I discovered on-line. Her blog called “From Ohio With Love” won her couple of awards so be sure to check it out! I asked her to write us a short story about her life, her beginnings as a Czech soul living in a completely strange coutry. And it looks like she turned out pretty good!!

CZ: Zase jsem nedavno odhalila dalsi ceskou blogarku!! Iva zije v Ohiu a ma super bloz vany “From Ohio with Love”. Vyhrala za nej  hodne oceneni, tak se na nej urcite mkrnete.

IVA’S STORY

I came to US in 1997. The transformation was brutal, but nothing that a 21-year old could not handle. The biggest challenge was the language. I studied English since grade school and even graduated high school with flying colors. But it was British English and pretty much just the basics. Add to it my (back then horrible) Eastern-European accent and how much different American English sounds (especially the slang – oh my!) and the result is that you have to start to learn all over.

The TV became my best friend. I loved that I was able to read people’s lips. It did not work with cartoons though, as the animated characters’ mouths just opened and closed randomly, not matching their spoken words. Listening to the radio was the worse. The people talked so fast and I could not see their lips. It took me another 2-3 years to finally master the skill and understand what was said on the radio shows. I went to college for a couple of years, their ESL classes made it easier, too.  However, living day-to-day life, listening to the natives and not being afraid or embarrassed to speak was the best experience I could get.

Eleven years later, I still learn something new every day. I’m back at school, trying to get my Medical Assistant diploma, and work full time for an immigration law firm. Helping others live their American dream. Just as I live mine… and I would not want it any other way.

CZ: Prisla jsem do USA v roce 1997; prizpusobeni mistnimu zivotu bylo dosti brutalni, ale nebylo to nic, co by 21-leta holka nemohla zvladnout. Nejvetsi prekazkou byla anglictina. Studovala jsem jiz od zakladky i jsem z ni delala zaverecne zkousky na stredni skole, ale byla to bohuzel anglicka anglictina a pouze vlastne jen jeji zaklady. Ted si k tomu pridejete muj – v te dobe – hrozny vychodo-evropsky prizvuk a a to, ze jsem neznala zadny americky slang, vysledek byl takovy, ze jsem se  vlastne cely jazyk musela naucit znovu. Televize se stala mou nejlepsi kamaradkou; hrozne se mi libilo, ze tem lidem muzu cist rty. Bohuzel to ale nefungovalo s animovanymi filmy, jelikoz temto postavickam se pusa nehybe. Nejhorsi bylo poslouchani radia: nejen ze jsem nemohla cist jejich rty, ale taky mluvili hrozne rychle. Trvalo mi 2 az 3 roky, abych radiovym programum plne rozumnela. Chodila jsem take do skoly, kurzy ESL me dosti pomohly, ale nejlepsi praxi jsem zakusila v kazdodennim zivote; proste jsem poslouchala rozhovorum rodilych Americanu, ale take jsem se nebala nahlas promluvit, i kdyz jsem se nekdy citila dosti trapne. O 11 let pozdeji  se stale ucim neco noveho kazdy den. Chodim opet do skoly, a to abych dostala tzv. “Medical Assistant Diploma”. Take pracuji na plny uvazek pro imigracni pravniky, snazim se pomoct ostatnim, aby zakusili co ja, zit ten prosluly “Americky sen”. A jinak bych zit nikdy nechtela….