Alex

I chose my grandfather as my personal hero. My grandfather was a person who had to undergo through a very difficult time: World War Two. At those times it was very hard for him to put up with it, even though he was scared he had a lot of courage, hope and adaptability. When he told me about his life he made me feel that although today I have problems those were much more serious and it was REALLY hard. Nowadays, for example, if I complain when I don’t like my food, I talk to him and I start reflecting on how I am and a lot of those things make me feel that he is my personal hero.

His name is Alex but I call him Chain. He was born in Russia and when he was 5 years old he had to go through World War Two. In those days things were really difficult. The mines were exploded and there was a lot of rationing. There were bombs and it didn’t affect only economically but also emotionally. As a little child it was very difficult to put up with it. He had to live under the control of some people and that was terrible. Every time a bomb fell on his country he would say “Why was I born here, why here”. My grandparents told me that there was no “I don’t want to” or “ I don’t like it” as I can tell my parents nowadays when I feel like not doing something. He saw people with no food. They had to move with a group of people to Italy for a certain time. They were called Evacuees.

My Grandfather went to live to Italy where he lived in some special tents. Of course they were very poor as they didn’t have much money. Edward, his father worked very hard to have some money and food as I said before there was NEGATION TO ANYTHING. Then the Italian government told them that it was time to leave. There were many places to immigrate such as Australia, Argentina. United States was also a possibility but they received a quantity of people from each country every year so it was more convenient to come to Argentina. A friend of my Great Grandfather had a relationship here so that they could have a Visa to enter the country. They came by boat to Argentina where people were generous. They offered homes, and jobs. Argentina had an abundant amount of food. My grandfather arrived and went to the Hotel for Immigrant people to stay for 14 days. This friend of my great-grandfather had a friend who owned an apartment to rent. My grandfather's father and mother got divorced when they got to Argentina. My great-grandfather worked as a salesman but he was really intelligent and that was passed on to my Grandfather. Then my Grandfather also worked as a salesman.

In my personal opinion, my grandfather had a similar situation to Annemarie who had to undergo the Second World War. But he had even similar moral values as courage that he used to keep together with hope, bravery and faith. Annemarie could go on as my Grandfather but what Annemarie will never do is love me as much as he does because she is a fictional character based on a true one. So this was hard to compare but then I thought about Annemarie as a real person and that made it much easier.

To conclude, my grandfather is a great person that had to undergo through very hard moments. When he told me the story of his life I felt like crying because it was so emotional and sad I couldn’t help it. Now he is always giving a hand to others and that is something I like about him. I feel really lucky to have such a hero as my grandfather.