Read or listen to Pamela Dorado’s full oral history. Available in English.
I have an older sister and a younger brother. My parents are both from Argentina; my mother is from the capital city, Buenos Aires, and my father is from the south of Argentina from a city called La Plata. I was born in Buenos Aires, and because of the economic situation in my country we moved here to Sydney. The change of country was quite different because my family didn’t really know anyone, and the language was totally different from my native language.
I knew some English from before, because I was learning it at school, but to be immersed in it completely was something different. I made friends quickly because people thought I was interesting, and because I’m from a totally different country that speaks another language that’s not English. My parents during my childhood and adolescence were kind and caring to me and to my siblings. They wanted us to be fluent in English but at the same time remember where we came from and not to lose our native language: Spanish.