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What makes someone leave their homeland to adventure in a
new culture? For some it’s a taste for the unknown, the
excitement that comes with being in a new and unfamiliar
place. For others it's simple boredom with the usual. This
is, of course, discounting practical reasons like education
or economics. No matter what reasons you pick, life in a
foreign country has its ups and downs. And Seattle isn’t
any different
According to the 2000 Census, one out of six people in
the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area is foreign-born. They are
everywhere in the city. Working, studying, buying groceries
at the store, taking the bus, jogging in the park. Some are
so well-blended in the mix, you can’t even tell the
difference
But, for some of them, difficulty with the local language
is a barrier which keeps them from fully embracing their new
home. So, what can one do in order to overcome that
difficulty? Joining groups that meet periodically to chat in
a certain language is one way. The popular one right now is
Meetup.com, a website dedicated to various group gatherings.
You can also find them in places like Craigslist.org, campus
billboards, cafes and restaurants. Of course simply going
out is always a good way to meet people (ahem… ESL
students), as well as finding groups that meet to discuss
about a certain hobby. There are ways to make new friends
and keep the language focused
Culturally, as well as infrastructurally, Seattle and the
US in general tend to have a good number of resources for
the visiting foreigner. American culture is pervasive enough
to give at least a basic feel for life in the country and
Americans generally feel open to the idea of foreigners
living and working with them.
While things could almost seem tame here, other parts of
the world can magnify or lessen the challenges of meeting
people. Take the experience of Jo„o Santos Lima, a
Brazilian who’s been living in Moscow, Russia, for over a
year. Working as a waiter at a restaurant, Lima is now
married to Julia, who is pregnant with their first child
“Living in the States, in my opinion, is not as
difficult as it is to live in Russia. We, in a way or
another, know how Americans live. It isn’t so traumatic.
The Russians aren’t so friendly. They don’t like
foreigners, no matter where you are from. That was a very
unpleasant experience,” Lima explained
He also said that even after all this time, he is still
trying to adapt. “I think everyone who isn’t a Russian
is in a constant adapting phase. As far as I can tell it
never stops.
Americans also find themselves out of the country. Kirk
Sellinger, a Seattle native, chose to move to Quito,
Ecuador. “I decided to move to Ecuador because I was
working in the Galapagos and other parts of Latin America a
lot. I figured it would be cheaper and the only real way to
learn some Spanish,” he explained.
Sellinger said that meeting people isn’t a hard thing
to do. “I think the Latin culture is just more open. I
particularly found people on the coast more open than in the
mountains. The people in the mountain cities and towns are
very open too; I just find the coastal folks even more open.
Most Ecuadorians feel the same way as well.”
One of his ways to meet people in that distant land was
to gather with other foreigners in the area. “I met a good
mix of foreigners from all over, and many Ecuadorians. That
was one of the best things: hanging with people from
everywhere,” he said.
Some advice for those who’ve been thinking about
leaving the country: being in a foreign country will never
feel like home. “Whenever you’re somewhere else, you’re
always a foreigner, no matter how well you speak the
language or how long you’ve been there. I will always find
it easier hanging out with my best friends because not only
do they speak English, but they also speak the same slang
that we created together growing up,” Sellinger concludes.
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