Meet Ruth

My name is Ruth. I’m from San Pedro Sula, Honduras. It’s the biggest city in Honduras, and it’s the center for jobs in the country. I’ve been here at school for one year. I heard about OLC from a friend. At OLC, I’ve improved my listening. I think I need more practice speaking. For me, I’ve learned a lot of reading and listening. Reading is the best, and my listening is so-so. I started in the beginning class, and now I’m in the intermediate class. It’s really good. I’m very proud. In my job now, I need to speak English. Some people speak Spanish, and some people speak Marshallese. I need to speak English, so everyone can understand. I’m a machine operator at Tyson, and sometimes I lead and train other people. I’ve worked there for one year. I’ve lived in Fayetteville for one year, too. Before that, I lived in Missouri for two years, and before that, I lived in San Antonio, Texas for six months. In total, I’ve lived in the U.S. for about four years. Learning English has changed my life. I recently got my driver’s license. Before, I was scared for my driving test, because the person giving the test might not understand me. But they did. I left Honduras, because Honduras is very dangerous and expensive. In the United States, there’s a better future for my daughter. In Honduras, there’s no opportunity for young people, and my job there didn’t pay very much. I couldn’t pay for my daughter to go to school. The rest of my family still lives in Honduras. Only two of my brothers live in the United States. One lives in Texas, and one lives in Missouri. I don’t get to visit Honduras, because I have asylum here. That means I can’t go back. It’s difficult. Now I’m applying for my daughter’s residency, so maybe one day she can visit Honduras. My experience at OLC has been nice. The teachers here are very special. They are very patient. The community here is good, because we listen to different languages and meet people from different countries.