University of Colima, Mexico
I crossed the US-Mexico border every day – with the corresponding revision process – during my entire undergraduate education. I studied in El Paso, TX, and lived in Juarez, Mexico. I recall my first university physics class. I basically did not speak English, my professor did not speak Spanish, and of course the class was in English. My physics and math levels were good enough to be able to solve all homework and test problems. I was doing fine, that is, until the professor decided to include several wordy lab-related questions in one of the midterm exams. I did not understand the questions, and even if I had, it would have been impossible to write the answers. I left them blank. Next day in class, the prof starts giving exams back. When he gets to me, he throws the pieces of paper onto my table and says, with a heavy Texan accent: ‘Next time bring your English-Spanish dictionary.’ I was delighted.