With a European tinge....

Short but sweet, this final post reveals the complex identities experienced by Andree.
*****************************
My mother did not adapt to the Salvadoran life. She retained her French habits.

(Was that challenging for you? Or did it not affect your perspective?)

Oh, yes, it did affect my perspective in the sense that, well, she was critical. She was quite critical of customs that were different.

(This is a hard question, and a lot of people—if you had to pick some adjectives to describe yourself in terms of ethnicity, identity, religion, what adjectives would you use and in what order? For example, for me, I think I would say I’m American, number one, and then I’m Jewish, and then—I’ve actually never done this before. I don’t know what I would say. Maybe I have some Latin American cultural background. That’s what I would say.)

I was going to say, well, it’s not an adjective, but I’m a woman. (laughs) Jewish. Salvadoran. With a European tinge-- French.

(Do you feel American?)

(pause) It’s funny. When I’m here, not really. I’m not really from anywhere. I’m really a hybrid. I’m really an aguacatera, a mongrel. (chuckles) English is my best language, the one I’ve worked and studied most. But I don’t feel—first of all, “American” is a term that I don't use. I think we should say North American,or person from the United States. The adjective “American,” I think, is for all of Latin America also. I don’t consider myself from the United States. However, when I’m in a Latin American environment, I realize that I’m not there either. I guess I’m a little bit of it all.

Transcript by Sandy Adler, Adler Enterprises LLC.