Infinite Country

The narrative shifts from the omniscient narrator to Karina, who narrates in the first-person singular. She is a graduating high school senior who voices great resentment about being labeled “undocumented.” She also heaps scorn on fellow students who follow through on their suicidal ideation—which she views as primarily a way to get attention—as well as the school administration for bringing in counselors after a suicide and expecting parents to attend sessions on suicide prevention as well. At the same time, she has also suffered from panic disorder since her freshman year. Thanks to her mother’s limited grasp of English, she lives her school life apart from her home life.

Karina reports that, following the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, she and her brother have experienced an increase of anti-immigrant verbal attacks. She recounts her efforts to become fully Americanized, with a good deal of success—while Nando struggled and became marginalized. At the same time, she lost her grasp of Spanish and her sense of her Colombian heritage. Despite leaving when she was a child and her efforts to portray herself as a North American, she senses a rootedness in Colombia.