Profile: Student born outside U.S.

Profile: Linnette Romero Strategic communication major
Hometown: San Salvador, El Salvador
Year: Sophomore

Linnette Romero has lived in the U.S. for over two years now and there are still two things she can’t get used to- driving and Americans.
In Romero’s home country of El Salvador, there are barely any laws or regulations concerning the rules of the road.
“It’s a free-for-all and so much easier to understand. Everyone does their own speed, which is very fast, and people just know how to drive. There are no four-way stops or yielding- you just drive.”
She admits she gets frustrated on a daily basis, but she agrees it is safer to drive in American versus El Salvador.
“There are a lot more accidents back home, definitely. And there are a lot more walking people, pedestrians, injured,” Romero reported.
But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Romero; she finally received her U.S. driving permit and is getting used to the roads, but the people still are much of a mystery to her. She says mastering the language is one of the issues, the rest she just chalks up to the “very different” people.
“I think a lot of the time, Americans come off as arrogant, but it’s just because they’re outgoing and more friendly, also louder,” Romero says with a laugh. “They mean well, but the rest of the world has a bad, negative image of them.”
Romero says she loves living in the states and she thinks she’s almost perfected American kids’ use of English slang. When she first moved to the states, Romero said she had a very difficult time, but, ironically enough, she said listening to American music – pop, rap and hip hop – helped her understand much faster and easier.
“It sounds kind of dumb, I know, but what we are taught in the classroom and how formal it is, is not how people really talk, especially at college.”
Romero says she is a naturally shy person; her friends at home in El Salvador gave her the nickname of “la ardilla” or “squirrel,” when she was younger because she was so quiet. When she first met Iliana, Romero said she didn’t know if she and her super-involved, talkative, engaging roommate would get along. The “squirrel,” however, soon made quick friends with her newly christened roommate, “la pajarita,” or “little bird.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without her; she’d like having a best friend, a study buddy and a sister, all in one,” Romero said.
They often are mistaken as sisters, Romero said. Though Romero is barely five feet tall and Iliana seven inches taller, both sport dark, chocolate-brown eyes, nearly black hair and similar complexions. Tight, corkscrew curls adorn Romero’s head and brush her shoulders, however, Iliana’s hair is pin-straight and nearly to her waist.
The two are basically inseparable, Romero says, except for one instance; they cannot drive together.
“She drives like a grandma!” Romero said, "It drives me crazy!"