Saturday, April 5, 2014

INTERVIEW WITH A MEXICAN STUDENT

When I arrived in New Orleans I was impressed with this city. Before I left Brazil, I knew that I was going to a new country and I knew that the culture would be completely different to me. When I arrived at Dillard University I noticed some cultural differences, and I liked that. This is because I like to learn about different custums and cultures. I realized that New Orleans has some people that come from other countries. For this blog I chose to talk about Mexican culture. I am going to write a little bit about a great person that I met here at Dillard. Her name is Anabel. She is from Mexico. Anabel was very welcoming when I arrived, and I realized that she is very kind and friendly, so I am glad to talk about her.
                          Anabel was born in Mexico City - Mexico. She has been here since august. Because she arrived in New Orleans two weeks before me, We are almost on the same page. Anabel is a Spanish teacher and she is here for a Master's degree. She is here by a governmental program. Unfortunately she is going back to Mexico at the end of summer. During the interview I asked her some common questions about her life and about her experience in U.S. She told me that in the beginning it was not easy for her to adapt to the U.S. because she has missed her family a lot and because the culture in the U.S. is different than that of Mexico.
                          Anabel had started to adept to her new routine in the U.S. It was not difficult for her because she said that Mexico and New Orleans are similar in the media, like television, music, etc. I feel the same way as Anabel because Brazil and New Orleans culture are so close. When I asked Anabel about New Orleans she said that, “New Orleans is a typical southern city because it is also a tourist town, the people here are very welcoming, and hospitable, and they are open-minded to accept you.” During her time here in the United States, Anabel traveled around the country. She went to New York, Washington DC and some places in Florida. She likes New Orleans, she likes people, she likes places and she likes the weather. Although she likes living in New Orleans, she misses her family and she wants to go back to Mexico. Living in the U.S. forever is not her plan. Even though Anabel wants to live her whole life in Mexico, she wants to come back to the United States to  study for a PHD, after words she wants to go back to Mexico.
                          At the end of the interview, I asked her to share some thing interesting  about her country or her culture. She told me about a Christian celebration in Mexico called the “Day of the Dead”. It is not a sad celebration but rather is a celebration of life. Mexicans believe that death is the beginning to a new life. Another interesting thing about she has dream of being a singer since she was a child. She would like to be a singer. She studied music in the past, but she left it to study languages. But here at Dillard she is taking some art courses to continue her passion of music.

                           To summarize I could say that this experience of living in another country, learning about different cultures, and living far from home is an amazing experience. Even though we are missing our family, this experience makes us grow up and became strong and wise. In this blog we have some examples about life outside our home country. To conclude, we may realize that living in another country with cultural differences is not an easy thing, but it is much important for our professional life as personal achievement. Finally I would like to say “If you have a dream fight for it. You must go after your goals. Work hard and be happy.”

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