Cruz, Estefany

English IV

Mrs. Reeves

3 March 2019

My Past

“It is never easy to say goodbye to people you care about” (Tom Petty). I am from a small

city in Guatemala I was born in august 30. My parents got married when they were 18 years old very

young and we are 9 in my family 7 siblings I'm the number six. When I was 5 years old, I started living

with my grandma and my siblings. Because my parents moved to U.S. I can say that it was a difficult time

for my siblings, but not for me because I can’t even remember my parents at that age. I don’t have

memories of them.

My childhood with my grandparents was excellent. I enjoyed my childhood being loved by them.

We went to church every Sunday. I also played soccer for my school. My siblings and I were always good

children. Over the time when I was 13 years old, three of my siblings graduated. One year later my two

older sisters and brother moved to U.S, so my three sisters and I still stayed with my grandparents. Then,

one year later the most difficult event of my life arrived. My grandma was diagnosed with cancer. In

October 2015 she passed away. That was the reason why we moved to U.S. We left my grandpa with his

son and his son’s family. That was a very sad for us.

In March 2015 we left our country. It took a week and three days to come to U.S. We were very

grateful with God because the process to get here was not bad. Obviously, I felt so sad because grandma

had died, and I had to say goodbye to people I used to see all the time. So, when I got here, and I saw my

parents I felt better, and I got used to a new way of life. August 8 was my first day at school. I was really
nervous but over time I learned the language and I met new friends from different countries. They are

incredible people.

The name of my country is Guatemala, Guatemala is a small country in Central America.

The government type of Guatemala is a representative democracy. Guatemala has around 13.3

million in population. The religion in Guatemala, or most dominant religion, is Roman

Catholicism. The language of Guatemala is Spanish but also has more than 20 Mayan languages.

The biggest export are bananas and coffee. Guatemala’s GDP in 2013 was $81.5 billion.

Guatemala is the largest economy in Central America (Marsden, Haro, Winter, Derwal, &

Morandi 2014).

One of the parts of the culture of Guatemala is that most of the people wear brightly

colored clothing and fashion the same traje, or suit, that their ancestors wore (Marsden, Haro,

Winter, Derwal, & Morandi 2014).

The traditional food in Guatemala are tamales. Usually Guatemala has various types of

food, but tamales are the most popular.

 Works Cited

Anderson, Thomas P., and Charles L. Stansifer. “Guatemala.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 4 Feb. 2019,

www.britannica.com/place/Guatemala/Climate#ref40929.

“Guatemala's Government Structure & Economy.” Guatemala's Government Structure &

Economy, www.anywhere.com/guatemala/travel-guide/government-and-economy.

Marsden, Luis, et al. “Guatemala Country Profile - National Geographic Kids.” Kids' Games,

Animals, Photos, Stories, and More, 21 Mar. 2014,

kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/guatemala/#guatemala-volcano.jpg.