Diego Lamas

Diego Lamas is 18 years old and was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He came to the United States when he was about 8. He is currently attending Triton College for his associates in science. Diego plans to transfer to a four year university and major in chemical engineering.


I came to America when I was around ten years old. In Argentina, where I lived, was a quiet place, unless it was a day of festivity. I didn’t live in the city but in a place aside from the city, kind of like a suburb. It was called “Lomas de Zamora.” It was a place where you could hang out every day. There was rarely any crime. A kid could walk to the store and not get robbed. Now, I think it’s a different story. You had that at-home feeling. It was a pretty nice place.

My sister came to visit Chicago in 1988. Originally she just came to visit but she ended up liking it. She found a job, got a car and decided to stay. Her boyfriend came to visit and also decided to stay. In 2000, my sister invited my parents and myself to visit. We also ended up staying. I started going to school and getting involved in the American culture. I got sucked into the American culture. I wouldn’t say that I got sucked in, more like integrated into the American ways. So, we decided to stay here. Going back to Argentina is not a possibility. We are here for a reason. Our lives are better. We are accustomed to the culture here. We have a stable life now. Maybe in the future we’ll visit.

The hardships for me in America didn’t last very long. I think the biggest hardship was the social aspect of it. It was mostly the language barrier and the fact that I wasn’t Mexican. The kids looked down at me differently because I came from a way different culture than they did and because of the way I spoke. All the kids were Mexican so they didn’t know where I came from or how different it was from their cultures. That had to be the only negative factor. It was hard to make trustworthy friends.

Things in Chicago move too fast. Everyone is in a hurry and wanting to finish things quickly. Everyone is just trying to get through the day. They don’t appreciate and enjoy their life. In Argentina, people stopped and enjoyed. They sat down and spent time reading. This also transcends into the educational system. In America, they teach their students to be like soldiers. They don’t teach how to ask questions but just feed you the information. They teach you the way things have to be done but they don’t explain why. This applies to every discipline, not just math. In Argentina, if you buy a desk, it doesn’t come with a manual or directions. They figure it out on themselves.

I came without a purpose. I don’t think I’ve ever thought until I came here and saw people. I never thought of society and never paid attention. I think it was probably because of immaturity. There is peer pressure in everyone. Peer pressure leads people to do and act a certain way. You don’t see gangs or organized crimes in Argentina. You see that a lot here with young people. My initial purpose here was to not be like that. I knew you could choose a certain path and you could tell where you were going. I wanted good grades and I wanted to be better. I liked being in fun competition with others. I wanted to be at the top of the food chain when it came to knowledge and intelligence. Partly, it was because I have a thick pride. In high school, the ambition to learn became natural. Now, I’m not happy with an A unless I learned something. Not learning anything is frustrating.

--Vanessa Munoz