“I always thought it was interesting growing up with stories of how my family moved around, and we had different cultures. Now I have my own story”

Story #23

Nicole Farha Cerwinka, Mexican

Interviewed & Written by Allison Hechmer

Edited by Roni Deckard and Noor Mchallah

In August of 2015, Nicole migrated with her family from Mexico to New York as her dad was asked to transfer to his company’s office based there. Choosing to relocate internationally with his wife and children was not an easy decision, but moving to the U.S. offered exciting opportunities for his family.

Nicole and her brother were raised in Puebla, Mexico. Leaving behind the place she called home was a challenging transition. A handful of Nicole’s extended family members live in Mexico, “so, most people from my mom’s side are there (in Mexico). It was difficult being away from my family, it was just my parents and brother,” said Nicole.

Upon moving to the United States at the age of 14, Nicole and her family settled in a neighborhood in Westchester County, just an hour outside of Manhattan. As a migrant and new student, Nicole sought to form connections with other people her age but struggled.

“I joined a group of friends, but they were already very close before I arrived. So half the time they would start talking about something, and because I didn’t grow up here, I wouldn’t know about it.”

When Nicole began attending high school in New York, she encountered significant cultural barriers, both inside and outside of the classroom.

“One of the most difficult parts of migrating was speaking in a foreign language. I started English lessons in 4th grade, and I moved at the end of 8th grade, so I had four years of English lessons by then. I was pretty good at it, but I had never spoken English in a class that wasn’t language based,” recalled Nicole.

Nicole encountered linguistic barriers with her friends as well; “I had a good friend and when she tried to speak to me, she would speak in an exaggerated way with her lips, and it was frustrating for me.” 

Throughout her first year, Nicole continued to try and fit in with her peers, but they often struggled to embrace or accept some of her cultural differences.

“The English I learned in Mexico was British-English, so I had always seen ‘donut’ spelled like ‘d-o-u-g-h-n-u-t’. We were in Homec, and we were talking about favorite desserts, and I read donut off of American spelling. I said ‘DON-NUT’ and everyone was laughing,” said Nicole.

The biggest challenge for Nicole has been balancing her cultural and national identities. Nicole comes from an ethnically diverse family. Her mom is Mexican, German, and Austrian by blood, and her dad is a mixture of Mexican, Canadian, and other ethnicities. Before moving to the United States, Nicole already struggled to define her cultural identity. As someone who is racially white, but nationally Mexican, she was periodically bullied for not fitting the mold of a traditional Mexican person.

Nicole said, “People didn’t believe I was from Mexico because I was white. I would have to tell them that from my mom’s side I was German. But then they would assume I was German, and I’m really Mexican!” Being a migrant in a school with a predominantly U.S.-born student body was tough, but learning to embrace her mixed cultural identity from abroad was also difficult.

Since high school, Nicole has found more opportunities to explore her identity. She takes pride in being an international student and has met more people who understand her unique experiences.

“Personally, it has been a bit lonely [at Boston University] because I am close with my family, but I think it has been easier meeting people who are more similar to me with international backgrounds,” said Nicole.

When asked how migration has changed her, Nicole replied, “I think it’s always been a part of who I am, because of how I grew up with Mexican and German culture. I heard a lot about how my great-grandparents moved from Germany to Mexico. And my great, great, great grandparents from my dad’s side, one of them went from Syria to Canada, had children there, and then one of his children went to Colombia on a business trip and fell in love with a Colombian woman.” Nicole’s ancestors were also immigrants, and she noted the connection she feels to them through her own journey as a migrant.

Despite the challenges in moving to the United States, Nicole is empowered by her own family’s story, saying, “I always thought it was interesting growing up with stories of how my family moved around, and we had different cultures. Now I have my own story.”