Used Car Lesson

by Dora Lewis

In October, 1979 I got my first used car. It was a 1977 Datsun 710. The inside looked and smelled good, and the color was tan. the seats were made out of leather. In two weeks, the car needed a new motor! The car did smell like oil sometimes, and needed oil all the time. I even kept a can of oil in the car.

Willie, who was my boyfriend, and I were going to get something to eat at Nuckle's Restaurant where there was good country food to eat. The food smelled and tasted good. Their chicken pot pie was full of vegetables with a flaky crust; also corn bread, golden brown and moist. Everybody should have tried the roast beef.

We were on the 16th Street bridge, getting on the old ramp for Highway 29N. I pressed hard on the gas pedal because I wanted to get my food and go to work. The car seemed fine on the way to work, but it began to smoke and make noises on the way home. We stopped at a service station, but it was closed, so we got out of the car because it was smoking. I wanted to get out of the car earlier because I thought it was going to explode! We had to get back in the car even though I was scared.

I called the dealer the next day, and had the car towed to the lot. The dealer repaired the car, but the experience left me with doubts about buying another used car.

My First Time at the Beach

by Narbel Arzate

My first time at the beach was fun. I went with my girlfriend Emily and two other friends, Jennifer and Coby. Emily, Jen and I used to work at Jack Astor's Bar and Grill. We were very good friends and we decided to go for four days to Sunset Beach. Sunset Beach is in North Carolina and it is a beautiful place.

My first day was very exciting. When I went to the ocean, I thought it was so beautiful, I did not believe I was tehre because it was like a dream. I never thought that I would have an opportunity to go with my friends and a girlfriend. The water was cold, but beautiful and loud. I can't believe how many people were there.

The second day we wall went and had breakfast. I'm never going to forget that day. I thought, "It was the best breakfast I ever had in my whole entire life." Around 12:00 we went to play putt-putt. That became one of my favorite games, and alter in the afternoon we went to play bowling. That's one of my favorite sports. Bolwing was fun and we spend about three hours there. We were very tired. We went and had dinner at the place where we were staying. We talked a lot and we didn't go to bed until late.

The third day, in the morning, we had breakfast at the same place. After that we all went shopping. We went to different stores. It was amazing. At night we went to a very nice restaurant. After that, we went to watch a movie. Then we went home and stayed up late again. Everyday we used to go to bed late just talking and getting to know each other, especialy about my culture versus theirs and how I grew up. You see, my culture and how I grew up was very different from how my friends grew up.

I was born in a small town named Chacamero Grande, in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. My parents had six children including me. I was the fifth child in the familiy. I have one brother and four sisters: Hector, Rossy, Marfiela, Jesenia, and Perla. My parents were farmers. The whole family used to work hard, so we didn't have time for vacations. Plus, they were too expensive for us because my father was the only one who used to make money. We used to grow corn and other different plants. We had about 80 cows. My father's job was buying cows from other people and re-selling them. He used to make money off of that, but it was just to survive. It was tough to keep living that way. I was not able to go to high school because there was a lot of work at home. For example, I had to milk cows at four or five o'clock in the morning, go to school at six, come back around three o'clock, eat lunch, then take a small break around three thirty. After that, I had to feed the cows again and I did not finish until around seven at night. There was not even enough time for myself.

My friends had told me that their parents always used to take them for vacation. They used to go on trips for school and church. They had time to play sports in school. They didn't have to work until they were sixteen years old and they also got a car when they were sixteen. It was incredible the life they were living. My life in Mexico was completely opposite. I started working when I was about eight years old, I never had a car, and I never got to go on any trips or even celebrate my own birthday! Because I had that kind of life growing up, I can enjoy and appreciate everything I am experiencing here in America.

Sadly, the forth day came, and it was time to come home. In the morning we started cleaning the place and making sure everything was done. We had a breakfast together and we went back to the ocean to say good bye. We left about two o'clock. On the way home, all I remember thinking about was coming back again.

Ever since our trip to the beach I always wanted to go back at least once every year. It was a great experience getting to know Jen and Coby and spending time wth my girlfriend too. I learned a lot of new things. I practiced my English a lot with them because we were there for four days. I learned some new words, ate at new restaurants, and had a whole new experience in general. This was a vacation that I will never forget.