Olga de Jesús Bustos

Student

“My goal is to speak English as fluently as I speak Spanish.”

Olga de Jesús had many opportunities to practice her English while still living in her native Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. She first studied at a language school in her home town, which is a frequent stop for American tourists. Then her language skills landed her a job with a local restaurant.

But one day Olga decided that—to further refine her English skills—she needed to come to the United States.

“It’s great to be here,” she says, “because it makes me improve my English. It’s so different what you learn in school and what you learn in the ‘real world’.”

Olga is enrolled in SMC’s non-credit ESL courses, taking two English classes a week while working as a nanny with an American family. Her classes focus on grammar, vocabulary and spelling. “They check my homework,” says Olga. “And if I make a mistake over and over again, they explain to me what’s wrong.”

In her fifth semester with another year to go, Olga has already adapted well to the American culture. She even prefers her new lifestyle here to the one she had in Mexico. “I think what’s great is that people don’t criticize what somebody says here. If it feels okay with themselves, they just do it,” she says, adding that, “In Mexico people are always concerned with what other people think.”

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