I knew that the rest of my life was going to be different, that this was a turning point.

我知道我的後半生會有所不同，這是一個轉捩點。

My name is Anna Traversa.

我叫安娜-特拉維薩

I'm originally from Argentina, and I have now lived in the United States for close to 11 years.

我來自阿根廷，現在已經在美國生活了近11年。

My parents were 40 when I was born, and I was an only child.

我出生時，父母已經40歲了，我是獨生子女。

My mother was a house maker and my father was a carpenter, So everything about me was making me independent as soon as possible.

我的母親是個做家務的，父親是個木匠，所以我的一切都在讓我儘快獨立。

I learned to read and write when I was two or three years old.

我兩三歲的時候就學會了讀書寫字。

Uh, everything was about having a successful school experience that would lead to a job a soon as possible.

呃，一切都關於有一個成功的學校經驗 這將導致一個工作儘快。

There were not many books at home, and I grabbed every book I could wherever I could, And I just, you know, got change in my pocket.

家裡的書不多，我把所有的書都拿了出來，不管在哪裡都可以，我只是，你知道，口袋裡有零錢。

And I got used books in English, reading about everything and anything on day that opens up the world.

而我拿到了二手的英文書，在打開世界的日子裡，讀到了一切的東西，一切的東西。

In a sense, at least in your head.

從某種意義上說，至少在你的腦子裡。

I had an opportunity.

我有一個機會。

I was 26 at the time to have six weeks in Massachusetts on an exchange program.

當時我26歲，要在馬薩諸塞州有六個星期的交流項目。

I came to U Mass.

我來到馬薩諸塞大學

Amherst, the very first day I arrived at the university.

阿默斯特，我到大學的第一天就。

Uh, you know, somebody was walking me around and said, And that's our library.

呃，你知道，有人在我身邊走來走去，說，那是我們的圖書館。

And it was a 26 story building.

而且是一棟26層的大樓。

And that, to me, was unthinkable that there would be a library that had over four million books.

而這一點，對我來說，是無法想象的，有一個圖書館，竟然有400多萬本書。

I had access to any knowledge that I wanted, and my mind just exploded.

我可以獲得任何我想要的知識，我的大腦就會爆炸。

I was sharing classes with people who could talk.

我是和能說會道的人一起上課的。

I mean, this was literature, right?

我的意思是，這是文學，對不對？

But they could talk about politics, philosophy, history, science.

但他們可以談論政治、哲學、歷史、科學。

They had a background in absolutely everything.

他們絕對是有背景的。

This was a whole different world, and I wanted to belong in this world.

這是一個完全不同的世界，我想屬於這個世界。

And the very last day I was there, three office of international Students asked me to come over and said, If you ever want to pursue a master's degree, you will have a full waiver of tuition from U Mass.

而就在我在那裡的最後一天，三個國際學生辦公室叫我過來說，如果你有一天想繼續讀碩士，你將得到U Mass的全免學費。

Let's put it this way.

這樣說吧。

I did not exactly get their support.

我並沒有完全得到他們的支持。

Um, it was unthinkable to them that, you know, once I was already teaching at the university, I had a secure job.

嗯，這對他們來說是不可想象的，你知道，一旦我已經在大學裡教書，我就有了一份穩定的工作。

I had been studying pretty much all my life.

我這輩子讀書讀得差不多了。

I wanted to study more.

我想多學習。

I wanted to continue studying and away from the family.

我想繼續學習，遠離家庭。

Why?

為什麼？

So I had that to deal with.

所以我得處理這個問題。

I knew what I wanted.

我知道我想要什麼。

I knew that the rest of my life was going to be different, that this was a turning point.

我知道我的後半生會有所不同，這是一個轉捩點。

That it was a turning point I was choosing.

這是我選擇的一個轉捩點。

And I took my path in the hope that one day they would understand eso by the end of that year.

而我走我的路，是希望有一天他們能在當年年底前明白eso。

I'm talking about 90 90 and I was actually I found out once.

我說的是90 90，其實我是我發現了一次。

I was at, um, s as a graduate student that I was the first ever Latin American student in the English program at, um S.

我是在，嗯，S作為一個研究所學生 我是有史以來第一個拉美學生 在英語課程，嗯S。

And then, of course, I ended up, uh, writing the test.

然後，當然，我最終，呃，寫了測試。

Once I came to the United States to work for E T s eso everything comes full circle, right?

一旦我來到美國為E T S工作，一切就都圓滿了，對吧？

My name is Anna Traversa.

我叫安娜-特拉維薩

I'm originally from Argentina, and I'm a Tofel success story.

我來自阿根廷，我是託菲爾的成功案例。