This is a featured content post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post.

Achraf Tchatikpi                                                                                                                          09/18/2016

Narrative Essay                                                                                                              FIQWS 200-315PM

                                                          From one place to another

Our environment shapes a great deal of what we become. When anyone thinks of New York City, it is usually of the tall buildings and the congested sidewalks that its inhabitants squeeze themselves through. Or the yellow cabs, Time square, Central Park; it is usually the big landmarks. It’s Downtown Manhattan that always is seen as the face of this epicenter. But in my opinion, it is the people that make New York extraordinary, the different cultures from the four corners of the globe that somehow blend into this perfect mixture. I have lived in quite different neighborhoods in different countries, and I believe subconsciously I carry each of them in me. These places and people have fundamentally changed my literary interests.

I was born in Togo, West Africa. It was a small French speaking country. I hardly recall any serious academic writing since I was only 7 when I left to join my mother in France.  Toulouse was a relatively small city compare to New York. Its authentic architecture and Middle Ages landmarks gave the city its unique splendor. I started my early writings in French, we wrote Redactions, which are comparable to essays. The idea of composing was very similar to English, it was the usual: Introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. Writing in French was complicated; there are too many tenses and certain words could not be used in the introduction because it could be too revealing, or too shallow. The grammar was also rigorous since there were a lot of very confusing punctuations. It was very easy to apply the wrong one, and Monsieur Beaumont, my 6^th grade instructor, was rigorous on the issue. He was so tall that he naturally dictates authority. He was friendly sometimes although all I remember is his

seriousness. Monsieur Beaumont used to said, “If you can think it, you can write it.” He pushed us to express our ideas into adequate writings and, relentlessly made us pay attention to punctuations. Since French was my native language, writing in it was not the problem, the correctness of the form was.

When I moved to New York at the age of 12, my early years were spent in East Harlem. It was mostly Hispanic but there was a considerable African American population as well. The Aroma of the many Mexican restaurants passed through my nostrils and gave me a craving for Quesadillas or a Burrito more than often on my way home from school. There was also a multitude of convenience stores and Bodegas that were also the hanging out spot for the community’s youth. Middle School 45 was my first English school; I was in an ESL class for 7^th and 8^th grade when I finally passed the Final ESL exam. The beginning was rigid; I was in a different culture, a different language and a new school. I was assigned extra readings to help better my literacy in the new language.  Outside of school I made a few friends that exposed me to the English outside of school. Just like French, I wasn’t too surprised that English has its vernacular; one which I am sure has different version in the communities’ downtown. It was important that I knew what was appropriate to say in school as opposed to in the streets. Although, it was at the beginning hard for me to differentiate since I was new to the language.

My French background continues to affect the way I write in English. My ideas are processed in my head in French and I write them in English, they are sometimes lost in translation. However, I preferred writing in English, since I believe it is a beautiful language and, moreover, it has less punctuation and fewer tenses than French. Reading in English has also gone from homework to addiction. Nevertheless, I believe the neighborhood I grew up and important figures in my life such as Monsieur Beaumont had an impact on my writing. Additionally my French background affects a great deal, my literary interests. For instance my choices in books, movies etc., and those interests in turn affect the way I think and argue.

Ash,

Great job on this. Aside from a few grammatical errors, the only lingering issue is that the ending still feels abrupt. Ending with a sentence that starts with “for instance” is somewhat unnatural. That said, you incorporated most of my changes, you followed the parameters of the assignment well, and you told us more about your French teacher.  Je parle un peu Francais, aussi!

Grade: A-