Episodio 24: College Life (Vida universitaria)

Duolingo English for Spanish Speakers Podcast

Cuando llegó por primera vez a la universidad Mount Holyoke College en el estado de Massachusetts en los Estados Unidos, Alexa González temía la hora de la cena.

Todos los estudiantes tenían que comer en el comedor, o dining hall… era un lugar enorme.

Y aunque había muchas opciones de comida, Alexa siempre acababa buscando una cosa en particular:

Rice.

In the dining hall, I always chose meals that included rice.

It reminded me of my home, 2,000 kilometers away, in the state of Florida.

My family is Cuban, and I was so used to the style of cooking that I grew up with.

I just wanted home-cooked food!

Más que a la comida, Alexa echaba de menos a su familia y su casa, o se sentía homesick.

Pero era demasiado tarde para echarse atrás en su decisión de estudiar a miles de kilómetros de su casa.

My biggest fear was eating alone because for 18 years of my life, I ate dinner with my family every night.

But when I went to college, I had to say goodbye to all of that — all of those traditions back home.

And I really missed my family.

I felt so homesick.

Welcome, bienvenidos y bienvenidas a “Relatos en inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo.

Soy Diana Gameros.

En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes, contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

Los protagonistas hablan en un inglés sencillo y fácil de entender para quienes están aprendiendo el idioma.

En cada capítulo, yo te acompañaré, para asegurarme de que entiendas todo.

Hoy, tres historias sobre cómo adaptarse a la vida universitaria.

Varios meses antes, Alexa estaba en la cama, tratando de dormir cuando recibió una llamada de la universidad: ¡había sido aceptada!

I actually missed the call because my phone was on silent.

I called back and it was the committee that reviewed my application.

They were all cheering for me.

They told me that I got into the college!

Alexa estaba feliz.

No solo había sido admitida, además, había recibido una beca completa en Mount Holyoke College.

I just couldn’t believe it.

I shared that special moment with my parents and grandparents.

But I didn’t stop to think, “Wow, this is real.

I’m really going to leave home now.”

Alexa había crecido en Miami, en el estado de Florida… rodeada de palmeras y playas.

Mount Holyoke se encuentra en el noreste de los Estados Unidos, a 21 horas en automóvil desde Miami.

When I applied to college, I never really considered how far it was from home.

La familia de Alexa es muy, muy unida.

De pequeña, ella no pasaba mucho tiempo fuera de casa.

As a kid, I spent my summers at home, cooking with my grandmother.

I never went to stay at a summer camp.

So, I never really knew what it was like to be away from home.

After I was accepted to Mount Holyoke, my mom asked me, “Are you really sure that you want to do this? Are you prepared to leave?” And at the time, I thought that I was ready to go.

Alexa no solo estaba lista, de hecho, estaba emocionada de ir a un lugar tan diferente al de su casa.

Un lugar donde nieva y los edificios se parecen al castillo-escuela de Harry Potter.

In my immediate family, no one went away to college.

My parents didn’t leave home to go to college after high school, and my older brother decided to stay in Miami for college.

So, this was a new experience for everyone.

En agosto del 2014, Alexa y sus padres viajaron juntos hasta Massachusetts.

I grew up in one of the biggest cities in my state, and my college was in a small suburban town.

It was a lot quieter.

I saw mountains for the first time while driving to the college.

And on campus, everything was so green.

There were lots of trees and so much fresh air.

Mount Holyoke College es similar a otras pequeñas universidades privadas en el noreste de los Estados Unidos.

Tiene edificios antiguos de ladrillo rojo y casi todos los estudiantes viven dentro de la facultad.

Pero a diferencia de la mayoría de esas universidades, Mount Holyoke es una universidad para mujeres, o women’s college.

I wanted to go to a women’s college because I wanted to be part of a community of smart, strong women.

Mount Holyoke opened in the 1800s.

It was part of a group of colleges for women only called the Seven Sisters.

They were created to give women more opportunities to go to college.

Todos los estudiantes de primer año en Mount Holyoke viven en dormitorios, o dorms.

Los padres de Alexa le ayudaron a mudarse, y luego… se fueron.

I cried so much after I said goodbye to my parents.

Even though I had a roommate in my dorm, I was basically by myself in a completely new place.

Adaptarse a su nueva vida en la facultad fue difícil para Alexa por muchas razones… comenzando por los cuartos de baño en su residencia.

I had to share a bathroom with 30 to 40 students who lived on the same floor.

It felt like going to a public bathroom.

One of the biggest changes was that I had to wear shoes in the shower because I was sharing it with so many other students.

A Alexa también le resultó difícil hacer amigos.

Había algunos estudiantes de Miami, y su compañera de cuarto era simpática, pero esas relaciones no eran suficientes; todavía se sentía sola…

I called my mom one day when I was feeling really sad.

I told her that I was thinking about coming home.

She said, “What do you mean? You’ve worked so hard to go to that college.” And I told her, “I don’t think I can stay here.

I feel really alone.

I’m really, really homesick.

I miss my family.”

Alexa echaba de menos su casa y llegó a pensar en dejar la escuela.

Pero habló con un profesor, quien la convenció de que se diera un tiempo para pensarlo.

I had to make a decision: I could stay at the college that I worked so hard to get to, or I could leave because I was homesick.

Siguió pensando en marcharse hasta que un día…

One October morning at 7:00 am, I woke up to the bells of the school’s church ringing loudly.

I knew immediately that it was Mountain Day.

El Día de la Montaña es una tradición muy especial en Mount Holyoke.

Los estudiantes tienen el día libre; no hay clases.

Se les anima a salir y relajarse rodeados de naturaleza.

Para Alexa, era algo emocionante pero a la vez aterrador.

Ella nunca había hecho senderismo ni había escalado una montaña.

It wasn’t dangerous, but I wasn’t used to hiking in the mountains.

I usually just walked on paths near beaches, because, you know, there aren’t any mountains in Miami!

Así que, en su primer Día de la Montaña, Alexa acompañó a su compañera de cuarto y junto con los demás, se montaron en los autobuses.

Alexa se sentó con personas que reconoció de las clases y de su residencia.

Everyone was so excited and talking to each other.

When I looked out the window, I could see the fall weather.

The leaves were changing from green to red, orange, and yellow.

We were all taking pictures and laughing.

It just felt like everyone was very happy.

Alexa también estaba feliz, por primera vez en mucho tiempo.

It was a new adventure, and I loved having that experience with my classmates who were starting to become my friends.

Durante muchas semanas, Alexa había extrañado a su familia y su casa… pero en la caminata, se dio cuenta de que tal vez, también en la escuela podría crear un nuevo círculo.

While we were climbing up the mountain, I realized that I was growing as a person.

And I thought, “Maybe I can do this!” I had to learn to welcome new experiences because that’s what college is all about.

Ya sea en una universidad grande o pequeña, encontrar un círculo de amigos en la universidad es difícil.

Hawa Sabriye no escaló grandes montañas, pero sí fue a una de las universidades más grandes de Canadá: la de Toronto, que tiene más de 60 000 estudiantes.

¡Eso es casi 30 veces más que la universidad de Mount Holyoke!

I always wanted to go to the University of Toronto because it was close to home and a really great school.

During my first semester, there was a big event for all the new students.

We were able to see all the different student clubs we could join.

It seemed like there was a club for every type of student, and I thought, “This place is so big and there are so many people!” It was crazy.

Hawa nació y se crió en Toronto, Canadá, pero su familia es originaria de Somalia, en el este de África.

Como la mayoría de los somalíes, Hawa y su familia son musulmanes.

Ella creció en un barrio somalí de Toronto.

Pero su identidad no era somalí.

I’m embarrassed to say this now, but as a kid, I didn’t think a lot about being a Somali Muslim.

I considered myself to be a Black Canadian.

That started to change in college.

I saw all those student clubs, and I thought, “Where do I belong?” I knew that extracurricular activities were a big part of the college experience for many students, but I felt like I had all these different identities: Black, Canadian, Somali, Muslim.

And I wasn’t sure which place was best for me.

Hawa quería ser maestra.

Y en la Universidad de Toronto, estudió dos carreras, una en Literatura inglesa y otra en Magisterio.

Al principio, le costó… sobre todo porque no sentía que hubiera gente como ella en el programa.

Tampoco veía muchos hijab, o velos como el que ella llevaba.

There were 32 people in my program, and there was only one other Black girl.

I was the only one wearing a hijab.

I remember thinking, “Where are the rest of us?” I took an African literature course for my English degree, and it was taught by a white professor from the U.S.

In class, I talked about the experience of being a person of color, but I never really felt comfortable in that space.

Y Hawa no sólo se sentía fuera de lugar en sus clases.

Ella vivía con su familia en casa y se iba a la universidad en transporte público todos los días… así que no tenía muchas oportunidades para hacer amigos fuera de clase.

I didn’t live on campus, so when I first started going to the University of Toronto, I didn’t have a strong feeling of community.

I decided to just concentrate on school work.

I spent a lot of time on the bus or the train doing work for my classes.

Fueron unos días muy solitarios.

Y durante sus primeros dos años, Hawa pensó que así serían las cosas y que no podía cambiarlas.

Hasta el día en que decidió involucrarse en actividades extracurriculares.

I wasn’t planning on joining any extracurricular activities.

A lot of students played sports, wrote for newspapers, or did other activities to discover what they wanted to do after college.

But I already knew that I wanted to be a teacher, so I just wanted to concentrate on my school work.

But then, one of my professors told me about WUSC.

WUSC, deletreado W-U-S-C, significa “Servicio Universitario Mundial de Canadá”.

Es un grupo que apoya a jóvenes refugiados de países de todo el mundo que van a estudiar a Canadá.

My parents had to leave Somalia in the 1980s because the political situation was really bad there.

They found a new home in Canada, so I thought it would be exciting to help other people in similar situations.

I said, “I want to sign up!”

La primera misión como voluntaria de Hawa fue dar la bienvenida a un estudiante llamado Ziky, que llegaba de un campo de refugiados en Kenia.

With the other WUSC students, I painted signs that said, “Welcome Ziky!” There were other WUSC committees from different universities at the airport, too.

Everyone was smiling, cheering, and hugging.

They were all super nice and welcoming.

For such a long time, I didn’t feel like I had a community at my university, so being around those people was so refreshing.

Después de esa primera experiencia, Hawa les dio la bienvenida a otros estudiantes refugiados.

Los guió por la facultad, les enseñó cómo usar el transporte público y comprar alimentos, y respondió a las preguntas que tenían sobre la vida estudiantil.

I was born in Toronto and I grew up there, but there was still a lot to learn about the city! I helped my students find new restaurants with cooking from their home countries.

They introduced me to different types of African foods and told me stories about their families.

We found new places to study on campus and we went to plays and concerts together.

I felt like I was starting university again.

But this time, I was concentrating on more than just school.

Mientras ayudaba a los estudiantes refugiados a empezar su nueva vida, Hawa descubrió que aún tenía mucho que aprender fuera del aula, ¡sobre el mundo, y sobre sí misma! Encontró espacios religiosos en la facultad que no conocía antes.

Pronto, empezó a formar parte de clubes de estudiantes donde no se sentía fuera de lugar.

One of the refugee students, Yusef, was a practicing Muslim from Syria.

So, I helped him find places to pray.

I realized that there were a lot of places to pray in buildings on campus.

I never knew they existed! As I was helping him find extracurricular activities, I also discovered the Black Students’ Association and the Muslim Students’ Association.

When I found these groups, I thought “Wow! These people are like me!”

Sin proponérselo, Hawa había encontrado un círculo en el que se sentía integrada.

Aún vivía con su familia… pero pasaba más tiempo en la facultad con sus nuevos amigos.

Soon, I started going to those student clubs with friends, even without Ziky and Yusef.

I started spending every Friday night with the Muslim Students’ Association and celebrating holidays with them.

I also listened to speakers with the Black Students’ Association.

The University of Toronto can feel so big, it’s easy to feel lost.

But these communities helped me feel like I belonged there, because they understood my experience.

I started to feel a bigger connection to my Somali heritage and I became more confident in my Black skin — and in my hijab!

Participar en WUSC cambió la vida de Hawa, incluso después de graduarse de la Universidad de Toronto.

Inspirada por su trabajo con el club, voló a Kenia durante sus estudios de posgrado y enseñó en el mismo campo de refugiados de donde eran muchos de sus estudiantes de WUSC.

Hoy, Hawa vive con el resto de su familia en Somalia.

Y todavía se mantiene en contacto con los estudiantes que conoció a través de WUSC.

After college, I knew that I wanted to continue working with people like Ziky, Yusef, and the other WUSC students.

So, I decided to move to Somalia — and my whole family moved back here too! I really love the work I’m doing.

Toronto is still my home, but I love being able to call multiple places home, just like I did at the University of Toronto.

And now I realize that finding a community of students like me changed my life — it’s definitely the reason why I’m here in Somalia now.

Como Hawa, Andrea Rodriguez-Marin Freudmann creció en Toronto… pero a diferencia de Hawa, no se quedó en la ciudad para ir a la universidad, sino que se mudó a otro lugar para asistir a una universidad con la que muchas otras personas solo pueden soñar: Harvard.

When I was accepted to Harvard, I almost didn’t go, because it was too expensive.

I remember asking my friends, “Do you think I should go to Harvard?” And they said, “What kind of question is that?! Of course you should go to Harvard!” I realized that if I didn’t go, then I would always wonder if I made the right decision.

Los estudios en Harvard son muy famosos por ser extremadamente difíciles.

Andrea siempre se había destacado en sus cursos, pero había asistido a una escuela francesa en Canadá.

Sabía que el sistema educativo de Estados Unidos iba a ser muy diferente.

Harvard is hard, and I knew that I was going to spend a lot of time studying.

During my first two years, I had to get used to doing work in English instead of French.

A lot of the other students went through the U.S.

school system, and sometimes I felt like I had to work a lot harder than them.

Como si eso no fuera lo suficientemente difícil, Andrea iba a estudiar el tema más difícil que pudo encontrar: ingeniería mecánica.

My goal was to study something that I wasn’t already good at.

I wanted to learn new skills and work on the things that were difficult for me.

That’s what college is for: to do things you’re not comfortable doing!

Para Andrea fue una verdadera lucha.

Pero pronto, ella se hizo amiga cercana de los compañeros que estudiaban ingeniería.

O, al menos de la mayoría de ellos…

The engineers spent a lot of time together doing homework and hanging out outside of class.

But not everyone was super friendly.

There was one student in my program named Alex who was really annoying.

He was really good at math and science, so he always talked about how easy the homework was.

But it was really difficult for me.

I thought, “Ugh, he’s so pretentious!” I just tried to avoid him during my first year of college.

Pero Andrea no pudo evitar a Alex para siempre.

En su segundo año, decidió apuntarse a una actividad extracurricular, a un club de ingeniería mecánica en la facultad, para poner en práctica parte de la teoría que había aprendido.

A lot of my classmates joined the club to get experience building things.

Our plan was to make a bicycle for a competition against other schools at the end of the year.

I thought it sounded like an interesting project, so I joined.

El club de ingenieros era muy divertido, excepto por un pequeño detalle…

Alex was also a leader of the club.

I wasn’t happy when I heard that he was involved.

But I stayed in the club, even though I didn’t want to spend time with him.

Y lidiar con Alex resultó ser solo uno de los problemas a los que Andrea y el resto del equipo tuvieron que enfrentarse.

Tenían poca experiencia fuera del aula, por lo que tuvieron que resolver muchas cosas por su cuenta, en poco tiempo.

I realized that bicycles are pretty complicated.

We had to design the bike, organize the team, order all of the materials, and then actually build the bike — all by ourselves.

In the beginning, we didn’t really know what we were doing.

And it was difficult to make the bike work.

A medida que se acercaba la competencia de construcción de bicicletas, Alex y Andrea empezaron a pasar más y más tiempo juntos en el taller.

Ambos tenían muchas ganas de ganar, así que se perdieron fiestas y viajes de fin de semana para trabajar en la bicicleta.

Y después de pasar tantas horas con Alex en el taller… Andrea se dio cuenta de que se había precipitado al juzgarlo.

I learned a lot more about Alex when we started working on the bike.

I thought he was going to be horrible, but he was really patient — even kind.

He had more experience than me, and he taught me how to use different tools.

He was very respectful when I asked questions, and he even laughed when I made bad jokes.

It was actually really nice working with him.

A pesar del arduo trabajo de Andrea y Alex, el club de ingenieros no logró terminar la bicicleta a tiempo para el concurso.

Pero Andrea y Alex habían construido algo que ninguno de ellos había planeado…

Alex and I still went to the bike competition, even though we didn’t have a bike.

We wanted to learn how the other teams built their bikes.

We spent the whole weekend together.

I hurt my ankle the week before, so Alex held doors open for me and offered to carry me down the stairs.

That’s when I knew that I liked him as more than a friend.

Cuando terminó el semestre, Andrea y Alex se quedaron en Harvard durante el verano: Andrea con una beca para investigar en un laboratorio y Alex para trabajar en una tienda de bicicletas cerca de la facultad.

By the end of the break, we were officially dating.

Pero a los amigos ingenieros mecánicos de Andrea y Alex les gustaba mucho el chisme… Así que al principio trataron de mantener su relación en secreto.

We didn’t tell people that we were dating because we didn’t want to cause drama in our group of friends.

So sometimes, we kissed at school in places where no one could see us.

But then, some people saw us holding hands, and we thought, “This is stupid!” So we told everyone.

People were a little surprised because most engineers don’t usually date.

We’re so busy with classes that it’s hard to have time for relationships.

Incluso después de que sus amigos supieran que estaban saliendo, Andrea y Alex pronto se dieron cuenta de que mantener una relación a largo plazo en un lugar como Harvard requería casi tanto trabajo como construir una bicicleta.

It was hard to be a couple and colleagues.

Our third year at university was difficult because we were teaching a class together, working on the bike together, taking several classes together, and dating.

Spending all that time together in very stressful situations was not easy.

Pero Andrea y Alex se mantuvieron firmes.

En su último año, Andrea fue aceptada en la escuela de posgrado con la que soñaba y Alex consiguió un buen empleo como ingeniero… y ambos estaban en San Diego.

Andrea se dio cuenta de que se graduaba de Harvard con algo tan importante como un título: ¡una relación con alguien a quien amaba, que la hacía una mejor persona, y una mejor ingeniera!

The relationship took a lot of work, but I think it was really good for me.

It made me more productive.

Alex and I realized that being together made us both really happy.

Now we live in San Diego.

We both love our jobs and going surfing together on the weekends.

We always have so much to talk about.

It just works!

Andrea Rodriguez-Marin Freudmann es estudiante de posgrado en San Diego, California.

Hawa Sabriye, nuestra segunda narradora, trabaja para una agencia de Naciones Unidas en Mogadishu, Somalia.

Las historias de Andrea y Hawa fueron producidas por Lauren Spohn, quien cursa una maestría en historia en la Universidad de Oxford.

Nuestra primera narradora, Alexa González, participó en el Día de la Montaña todos los años.

Se graduó de Mount Holyoke College en el 2018.

Ahora vive cerca de Filadelfia y está cursando una maestría en psicología.

Su historia fue producida por Alexander González, un periodista de radio con sede en San Francisco y hermano mayor de Alexa.

“Relatos en inglés” es una producción de Duolingo y Adonde Media.

El diseño sonoro, musicalización y mezcla estuvieron a cargo de Samia Bouzid, Giovana Romano Sanchez, David De Luca y Andrés Fechtenholz.

Masterización a cargo de Laurent Apffel.

Nuestra asistente de producción es Caro Rolando, la editora es Stephanie Joyce.

Nuestro gerente de producción es Román Frontini, el gerente editorial es David Alandete y la directora ejecutiva es Martina Castro.

Puedes suscribirte en Spotify, Apple o tu plataforma preferida.

Yo soy Diana Gameros.

Thank you for listening!