Expression

Approx. time 

Explanation

Dominican Republic

1:32

Caribbean country occupying the east end of the island Hispaniola, which also contains Haiti http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Republic 

remarkable circumstance

1:42

extraordinary or amazing situation

specialized surgery

2:25

difficult medical operation

Lansing, MI

2:38

capital city located in south-central part of state

Holy cow! 

2:43

Wow!  I’m surprised!

volunteer work

3:10

doing the work without charging money

brand-new

3:41

fresh, very new

legal guardian 

3:57

adult with legal responsibility of a parent

bilingual

4:01 

speaking two languages

recuperating

4:41

recovering after surgery, regaining health after illness

monolingual

4:43

speaking one language

as a matter of fact

4:54

This may surprise you, but it’s true.

Ann Arbor, MI

5:01

city in southeastern part of state, home to the University of Michigan

prolonged

5:14

extended, took a longer time

down there

5:37

in that southern location (down = south on the map, up = north)

pretty forward request 

5:57

direct or strong request; pretty = a little bit, but here it is a polite ways of saying “very”)

Nope!

6:25

informal way of saying “no”

depict it as

6:41

tell or show it this way

dirt floor

6:47

built directly on the ground, without wood, cement, or carpeting

outhouse  

6:52

small building away from the house with a pit toilet and no running water

once

7:29

after this has happened

biological parents

8:00

birth parents, original parents, related by blood

Montessori school

8:19

type of school which focuses on independence and a child’s individual development

one-to-one attention

8;22

direct attention (between teacher and student)

work me through

8:38

coach me along the way

family of origin

9:07

birth family, blood family

straddling two cultures

9:12

with one foot in each of two cultures

reverse culture shock

9:48

experiencing difficulty with difference going the other way

re-acclimated to

9:52

used to, accustomed to

That’s the norm.

10:07

That’s the usual.

down to the D.R.

10:15

south to the Dominican Republic

navigate

10:20

steer, find the way to go

double whammy 

10:28

two difficult circumstances at the same time

profoundly

10:36

deeply

prevalent

10:47

very commonly found

take a step back

11:06

wait, don’t go forward right away

Where do I fall…?

11:53

On which side do I find myself?  Where am I?

formative years

12:18

years of growing, learning, developing sense of self

F-1 visa

12:25

student visa for studying in the U.S.

H-1B visa

12:30

worker visa for being employed in the U.S.

house with a white picket fence

12:49

American middle class dream: home with a decorative wooden fence around the yard

see what is out there 

13:24

see (what is out) in the world

tour them around

13:58

take them to see many things

circle of friends

14:25

friends who surround you

aren’t very pro-immigrant

14:50

polite way of saying they don’t like immigrants

think outside the box

15:10

think beyond what is normal

plateauing 

15:42

not growing, staying level or stagnant

hit the nail on the head

16:16

precisely; you are exactly right

surround yourself

17:21

put yourself in a position where they are all around you

stop by someone’s

17:44

make an informal visit (to someone’s house)

go out

17:49

leave your house for an activity at a bar, restaurant, concert, sports event, movie, or other event

Grand Valley State University

18:36

university in Allendale, MI www.gvsu.edu

West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

18:45

www.hccwm.org