Somali Immigrants: A Bilingual Analysis

There is an abundance of ways to identify oneself. I perceive myself as a Somali Muslim American Immigrant. The reason i identify myself in such categories isn’t of distinctiveness, because living in Minnesota with a high population of Somali Immigrants doesn't seem to distinguish me as much. However, in order for me to tell my story, i must divulge into my background.I came to the United States during third grade from Kenya and was able to finish high school in Minnesota. After graduation ten years later, i went on a family vacation back to Kenya, and also had the privilege to visit Somalia for the first time in my life since the war that my parents fled ruptured in my country 25 years ago. It was an eye opener, and life changing experience that for me to put into mere words would be utterly

This passion to learn something that someone who came from a different part of the world could communicate with me gave me delight. With in my home we speak about 6 different languages,and everyday my parents push us to familiarize ourselves with something unknown so we can fathom even a little about others. In August of 2015, i made a decision to move to Egypt and pursue education in classical Arabic linguistics.The reason i came to this conclusion was this would further my vocation of helping people; which would help me understand people on a more personal level, and one of the ways is communication through different languages and understanding of different cultures. Within few months, i quickly was able to adapt to the new environment and learn not only classical Arabic but modern day Egyptian Arabic, giving me the upper hand of knowing two different dialects in Arabic. With life, i was shown over and over that sometimes not everything will go according to plan. I had to postpone at the end of January of 2016 my program due to major family issues that my parents had to ask for me to come