It was a cold fall day in Georgia. Daniella Phillips looked out on the property she lived on. She lives on this property with her dog, Baby Rocky (there is nothing baby about this dog, he is well over 100 pounds). As she looked out on to the property, she reflected. She realized that she never thought she would be here.

Not just here, as in the United States, but at this point in her life. She never thought she could be so happy. She finally had found her sense of purpose.

Phillips was born in Uruguay and had a fun childhood. She moved to the United States when she was 25 years old after Argentina’s economy had entered a recession. Anything that happens in Argentina has an effect in Uruguay, because Argentina is such a powerful country.

“Basically 99% of every single person that was my age, my high school peeps, my college friends, everyone left the country,” said Phillips.

Phillips was one of the last people to leave the country. It was tough for her, because she had no siblings and the decision to leave her parents was very difficult.

It was a weird time in her life. She had a good job in Uruguay and was finically stable but whenever she turned around another friend had moved away. Eventually, Phillips’ partner moved to the United States. Her partner pleaded and pleaded for her to move to the country as well. Phillips was naturally hesitant about moving to a country where she did not know how to speak the language.

One day, Phillips decided to go for it.

“My main idea was I am doing it for two years, make some money and come back,” said Phillips.

She embraced the challenge. Most people who left Uruguay moved to Italy or Spain, because that is where most Uruguayans have family or are from originally. It was the easy route, to go somewhere you know people and felt comfortable. Also, getting a visa was more difficult in the United States. Luckily, Phillips had that good job in Uruguay, and her visa was accepted.
When Phillips moved to the United States, she noticed that most people who move somewhere new try to stay around people like them.

Phillips thought to herself, “I cannot learn the language if I only speak my language.”
This led her to Romano’s Macaroni Grill, where she only got the job because one of the managers spoke Spanish. She wanted to be in the kitchen, but instead the manager made her into a food runner for her to have more interactions in English. Six months later, before she was fluent in English, the manager began to make her wait on tables.

“Good luck, you will be fine,” is what the managers told her.

She was scared to death to wait tables. It was not easy, but she continued to grow. Today, she is forever grateful those managers made her step out of her comfort zone, because this led to her being who she is today. It took her a little under two years before she was confident speaking with tables, but after that she described herself as a “snake in the grass.”

A snake in the grass is a perfect way to describe how difficult it was for Phillips to learn English. In English, we have all these weird sayings. These idioms do not mean what they literally say. A snake in the grass is a restaurant term for someone who is always taking tables, maybe even one or two they were not supposed to. These sayings though, are the reason that learning about a culture is very important when learning a new language.

“Like kicking the bucket, I do not know what that means. So, to me, you are literally kicking a bucket,” Phillips said.
Phillips grew more accustomed to the American culture through the friends she made at Macaroni Grill. For almost five years, when she would hangout with these friends, she would just sit and listen. She would have no idea what they were saying but eventually she began to gain more of the language.

Phillips ended up working at Macaroni Grill for 15 years. By the time she left, she ran the place. She was the head bartender who had more regulars than other servers would have guests on the floor. During this time, she would travel back and forth to Uruguay, and other places.

She felt as if she needed more though, she was happy, but never had that sense of purpose every human searches for. She had always thought about being a translator, but the timing was never right. But one day, she made the decision like she did when she moved to America and just went for it.

She had to take a 40-hour course in order to become certified at the University of Georgia. It was one of the hardest things she ever did.

“At one point, I had to ask myself if I was in a nursing class,” Phillips said.

The class was two hours a day, Monday thru Friday for a month. After all, if she could move to a country and not know the language and survive, why would this scare her?

After earning her certification, she became a freelance translator. She has more time to enjoy the land she lives on with a friend and Baby Rocky. She feels so much more fulfilled in what she does. She works mainly in hospitals and schools.

It is everything she dreamed of and more when she decided to just go for it.

Daniella Phillips reading a book in her home.