USA

Mauro from Ecuador: Searching for the American Dream

Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Mauro, from Ecuador, an immigrant living in the United States. Mauro’s story is inspiring and fascinating, and very common, from my experience, of the life of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the US. As many of us who have moved abroad understand so well, the lure of a foreign land in pursuit of a better lifestyle is almost simultaneously shadowed by the longing for the life missed back at home. Mauro’s experience is punctuated by the difficulty of establishing himself in the USA as an immigrant, even after calling the USA home for 14 years. Mauro talks today about his experiences in the US learning about many different cultures, and shares his admiration for the natural beauty of Ecuador.

Mauro’s friend and English teacher helped Mauro to tell his story. Here is how she describes Mauro: “Mauro is one of many Ecuadorians who have settled in New York. When he arrived, he spoke little, if any English. He is hard-working, striving for the American dream. Although he has come for the experience and opportunity, he is obviously nostalgic about his home country. As his friend and English teacher, I admire his determination and ambition. He describes the many cultures he has come to observe in New York and how it differs from his home environment in Ecuador.”

Please tell us about your experience in coming to America.

My name is Mauro I am an immigrant from Ecuador to the US. I live in New York. I moved to New York in 1998 because I wanted to know about how life is in New York. After 14 years I have learned there are people from many cultures here, like Indian, Italian, French, African, Caribbean, Brazilian, Mexican and South American people. We are different in religion, in food, in clothing . For example, Indian people wear saris,  which I didn’t see in Ecuador.

How do day to day things like food differ from the US to Ecuador?

In terms of food, Ecuadorian people eat more vegetables, potatoes, plantains, (they are like bananas) rice, mangos than Americans. In the eastern part of Ecuador, which is cold, we also eat guinea pig  and chicken. In the west, which is on the coast, we eat fish. In both parts of the country we eat steak. However, like North Americans, now that I’m here, I cook a turkey for Thanksgiving.

What do you think surprises visitors about Ecuador?

I think what visitors are surprised about Ecuador is its natural beauty. For example, Ecuador has many lakes, rivers, and fauna like birds, monkeys and turtles. There are so many different colored birds, like sand ducks. For example, in Ecuador there are ducks with red chests and blue feet with black or gray feathers. There are also many turtles (Tortugas) walking in the sand that are higher than a table and big enough for an adult to ride on. They are very friendly. Flowers in Ecuador are growing naturally around the lakes and mountains. If you go hiking, you will see flowers and find fruit called (silvertre) growing wild , which you can pick and eat. In the mountains there are different kinds of flowers with different colors, like a combination of yellow white and blue.

Molly, fulfilling her dream of living abroad in Argentina

This week we hear from Molly, an American who is currently living in Mendoza, Argentina.  Molly is currently having an experience that many of us Americans dreamt about when graduating from university: living abroad, and immersing herself in a new language and new culture. Read more to learn about Molly’s experiences in Mendoza and what surprises visitors most about Argentina!

Tell us a bit about yourself. How would your friends or family describe you?

I think that my friends would describe me as a passionate and driven person.

Where do you live? Where are you from? If those are different, can you tell us a little about what inspired your move?

I have been happily living in Mendoza, Argentina for the past 6 months. I came to Mendoza shortly after I graduated from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon in October of 2011. Although I made a beautiful home in Portland during my college years, there is no place closer to my heart than Berkeley, California. I was born and raised and Berkeley and am a die-hard Bay Area fanatic. My move to Mendoza was inspired by two factors; first, I fell in love, and second I have always wanted to learn Spanish. Since I was a child I have always known that after college I would dedicate one year of my life to fully immersing myself in the Spanish language.

If you would describe yourself as multi-cultural, tell us a bit about what culture you most identify with and why.

I have described myself as a multi-cultural individual from a young age. As a child I grew up in Berkeley, a very diverse and multicultural community. Living in Berkeley exposed me to a variety of cultures and backgrounds. As a kid I was regularly surrounded by individuals from different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. These backgrounds and the range of opinions that come from them, taught me what being multi-cultural is about. Today I live as a very multi-cultural individual, not only as an Expatriate living in Argentina, but as an American, a Jew, and a Christian. In all honesty I think the culture I most identify with is being from Berkeley, California. For me my identity as a Berkleyian captures my identities as a Jew, Christian and an American, because each of those identities has been articulated in a unique way within the borders of Berkeley.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

A typical day for me in Mendoza involves me waking up for work at 8:30, walking thirty minutes to my office in downtown. Here in Mendoza, I walk more than I have ever walked in my life! My time here has shown me just how car-dependent we are in the United States of America. If only summers here weren’t 40+ Celsius I don’t think I would mind as much. I work for a Tourism Agency called Malbec Symphony as their Website and Sales Manager. I find it fascinating that my first out of college job is in Argentina, in the field of tourism, and that I am getting paid a third of what I would be making in the States at a job I would never get right out of college. In just over 2 months I have learned a lot about how business works here in Argentina, and have finally come to the conclusion of what I want to get a Masters in: Business. First year out of college agenda: Check! After my tourism job I head to my second job working for a wine magazine called Wine-Republic. My work at Wine-Republic exposes me to a wide range of locals and foreigners involved in the wine industry here in Mendoza. I am steadily building up my wine repertoire. From box wines to Argentina’s finest Malbecs, I have done a full 360 in regards to wine! My third job is nannying for a truly amazing Expat family. After work I spend most of my time with my friends from my Argentine soccer team or with my “adopted” Argentine family.

What is the best part of living in Argentina? The worst?

Hands down, the best part of living in Mendoza is the calm and relaxed style of the people. Although occasionally I do find that people are too relaxed in relationship to business (I don’t know how the economy functions with a 4 hour siesta in the middle of the day, and people’s bed-times ranging from 1-3 a.m). Overall, I really like the calmness and family-oriented style of Argentine life.

What language or languages do you use on a day to day basis?

I speak a wonderful mix of Spanish and English throughout the day. I find myself hopping back and forth between the two languages in a way I had always dreamed about.

Describe a favorite typical meal from Argentina

My favorite meal in Argentina contains; empanadas, asado, matambre de cerdo and salad (tomatoes and cooked onions).

What’s something that visitors are often surprised by when getting to know Argentina?

Visitors, myself included, are always surprised by the fact that there is literally never any gas here in Mendoza. People have enough money to buy an Audi, but their gas stations don’t have gas to put in that $90,000 car.  Wrap your mind around that!!! We complain in the States because our gas prices are so high, imagine complaining because you can’t go away for the weekend because there wasn’t any gas for you to put in your car.

Easter around the world

Our contributors describe Easter celebrations in their countries, how traditions have changed over the years and the history and significance of those celebrations. They share their family traditions as well. Learn more about Easter in Australia, Costa Rica, France, Portugal and the United States.

Photo: Australian Bilby Appreciation Society

Australia – Liz

Easter in Australia can be summed up in one, sweet and very commercially oriented word – chocolate! For at least a month leading up to Easter chocolate eggs and bunnies can be spied creeping their way all over the supermarket shelves. While the religious meaning of Easter is pertinent for some, most Australians enjoy the four day weekend and chocolate fest that ensues.

Popular options include the Lindt gold bunny, Cadbury crème eggs and the uniquely Australian chocolate bilby, a chocolate incarnation of a near extinct native animal, similar to a bandicoot. People also love to scoff hot cross buns which appear in bakeries during the month leading up to Easter.

The Easter bunny traditionally leaves chocolate eggs for kids overnight in the vein of Santa Claus, while some families have adopted the Easter egg hunt, though this isn’t something that has always been typical of the Australian Easter (when I was a kid no-one did this – I think we’ve adopted this from Europe and the US in recent years). However the chocolate arrives, as long as it does I say!

Costa Rica – Nuria

Nuria shared that “in Costa Rica it does have a very religious meaning, and we actually celebrate the whole week, so for us it’s “Holy Week” instead of just “Easter”. Read more about Costa Rican Easter celebrations here. (more…)

Aslak: Enjoying the outdoors and family life in Oslo, Norway

Culture shock in your own country? Absolutely! Read more to hear about Aslak’s fondness for Norway and particularly Oslo, how fantastic the outdoor and family oriented lifestyle is there, and how it feels to have culture shock when coming back home.

Where do you live? Where are you from?

I am from Oslo, Norway. Oslo is the capitol of Norway. The city it self has about 600.000 people and Norway is just about to become 5 million people. Apart from the 2 years I spent living in Barcelona, Spain and 2 x 1/2 year living in the US (Texas, Utah, Minnesota) I have lived here my entire life and I am very fond of the city.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

A typical day for me is all about family and work. My wife and I try to share the responsibilities at home equally, so that I normally take care of
the mornings and she takes care of the afternoons. That means that in a typical day I get up early and make breakfast for the kids, fill their lunch
boxes and make sure they get safely to school and kindergarten. After that I have a 30-40 minute commute to work. I work as a consultant but my clients are mainly centrally located in Oslo so I rarely have to do extensive traveling. Most days I can ride my bicycle to work.

After a full day’s work I rush home. It seems there is always some football (soccer) match, handball practice, parents meeting at school or something going on, so I normally just manage to get through the door before heading back out again.

Once the day’s activities are over and the kids are in bed I pick up the computer again and put in a couple of hours of work before heading to bed.

I know you lived in Spain for a couple of years. Did that experience change your view of your own country at all? If so, how?

Yes. The same thing has happened to me both when returning from studies in the US and in Spain, although I was more prepared for it the second time around. The thing is, that when moving abroad you are mentally prepared for the fact that there will be cultural differences. When returning home, you are not expecting there to be any differences, since this is “your own” culture. However, you have accustomed to your new culture and can actually experience a small cultural shock. This can be small things and it can be big things.

When returning from the US I was surprised by how rude Norwegians are. While as in the US, someone would say “excuse me” while passing you with a 2 feet distance in a supermarket isle, people in Norway can literally bump into you without even acknowledging that you are there.

What is the best part of living in your country? The worst?

Oslo has a great nature with great outdoor possibilities very close to the city core. The city is surrounded by a forest (“Marka”) which can be used
for skiing in the winter time and walking, running, bicycling, fishing, camping and more in the summertime. In the summertime the Oslofjord provides great opportunities for swimming, fishing, boat life and even beach life(!) as well.

There is also a broad acceptance in the Norwegian work life for having family obligations to attend to. Even in client situations it is most of the
time OK to reschedule a 4 o’ clock meeting because you have to pick up your kids at the kindergarten.

Of the things I like the least about Norway is a tendency among people to try to pull other people down, especially if they are successful and know
it/ show it. Going your own ways and achieving success is jealously looked down upon. There’s a poem in a book from the 1930s quoting a “law” starting with the line “you should not believe you are something” and it goes on “you should not believe you are as good as us”. All Norwegians are familiar with this law and even though not accepting to conformity is more accepted than ever, the tendency is still there.

What language or languages do you use on a day to day basis?

Norwegian, obviously, and I read and watch news, books, movies etc in English. No Spanish, desafortunadamente.

Tell me about a national hero in your country (can be anyone- living or not, internationally famous or not). Who are they and what are they admired for?

I will go for Roald Amundsen. 100 years ago (14th of December 1911 to be exact) he was the first man to reach the south pole beating the British Robert Scott. Winning the “race” to the South Pole and beating the British was an incredible achievement. For a small and new Nation (we got our independence from the Swedes in 1905) it had great significance far beyond the individual achievement. Skiing is Norway’s national sport and Norwegians take great pride in staying outdoors. Even today explorers and adventurers are greatly respected and admired in Norway.

Tell me about your favorite holiday, and what cultural traditions you practice to celebrate on that day.

The 17th of May! In 1814 Norway got its constitution and the day is celebrated with great children parades in the streets of every city and small town. The National day is all about creating a great party for children.

What’s something that visitors are often surprised by when getting to know your country/culture?

There are no polar bears in the streets! Definitely not in Oslo, and not even anywhere on the Norwegain main land. (There are however polar bears in Svalbard, a Norwegian island far north).

Photo essay: Texas wildflowers

Spring has officially arrived in Texas. Here are some pretty wildflowers that grow in the Lone Star State, including the state’s official flower, the bluebonnet.

(more…)

Brazilian Paradise

As a Brazilian, I´d highly recommend Tropicaldaydreams blog for the ones interested in Brazilian culture and life.

This is an excellent blog about Brazil that goes deep into some issues such as cultural differences, economic issues in Brazil, as well as in-depth reflections on Brazil´s problems, such as incarceration. The author, Barbara Lowenstein, has lived with her husband in Brazilian paradise, Búzios, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, for a decade. So, she brings to her blog a fresh expatriate view of the country with an insider perspective. This is a blog that has much to contribute to understanding what Brazil is about, demystifying stereotypes and getting to a more solid view of the country´s beauties and socio-economic challenges.

Photo from Barbara’s own collection.

(more…)