Jose Alvarado

Jose Alvarado, a 10th-grader from Honduras, came to the United States five years ago for a better life. He stayed in San Antonio, Texas, for three months before finally moving to Bowling Green. He came to the United States when he was 11 years old and went to fifth grade at Cumberland Trace Elementary.

Jose said, “I was not nervous about coming to this country but was a little scared before starting school because I didn’t  know anyone.” He didn’t know any English before he came here, and says, “It was difficult to learn the language.” The hardest part about learning English, in his opinion, was learning how to write it. He can now speak, write, and read in both English and Spanish.

Jose doesn’t remember much about the process of getting into the United States, because he was so young, but he believes that the first thing he did when he got here was probably watch TV. “The people of Bowling Green have been very nice,” Jose said, “My family and I have felt very welcomed.”  

He said the sports are his favorite part about Greenwood, and he plays for the Greenwood soccer team as a mid-fielder and striker. He has also recently joined the track and field team.

Jose’s favorite American food is pepperoni pizza, but his favorite Honduran food is beef tacos and pupusas, a traditional dish made with thick corn tortillas stuffed with a variety of different fillings. He said one difference between the U.S. and Honduras is that they only went to school for four hours a day. One of the things he misses about Honduras are the fireworks at Christmas time, the only holiday in the United States that we, as Americans, do this is the Fourth of July.