I come from a bilingual family. I speak both English, and a South Indian language called Telugu. I can read, write, and understand Telugu completely. Yet, I still here the same responses from my family members "why don't you talk in Telugu? Just say one word." To me and my brother they sound like puppeteers, commanding us to speak at their whim. If they understand us and we understand them what's the problem, right?
In a way the answer is WRONG. We just don't want to admit that we don't speak it well in order to save ourselves from the embarrassment from hearing ourselves struggle over saying the most simple sentence.
This becomes a real problem when we are in India and we get the laugh and nod to everything we say. We await our doom to be embarrassed, and laughed at.
After struggling for three months this summer though, it paid off. The language barrier was worn down, it was easier to communicate, to laugh, to connect, and to become closer to family who I rarely see. My cousin's became friends, my uncles and aunts, second parents. It turned out to be one of the best visits to India I have had so far.
