Hey there!!!
I had one of the most beautiful days in quite a while, and it ended with a marvelous screening of Joe Wright's version of "Anna Karenina" with a Q&A session with amazing Keira Knightley. I am thrilled with the movie. I really, really, really LOVED it.
These are the perks you get living in such an exciting city like New York. I mean, of course I miss home, after all I grew up in one of the most peaceful and beautiful cities of all Mexico, and Mexico is a culture that one always likes carrying around no matter where you are. Luckily for me, I do have a lot of Mexican friends in the city participating in my daily life, so we get to keep our culture alive as much as we can.
The food is one of the things I miss the most from my country. Although NY has many interesting Mexican food places that aren't so bad, there is nothing like a home cooked mole, tinga or chilorio. Than God my friends are such good cooks and pamper us with dinner parties, "taquizas" and lots of "antojitos" that remind us why we love our culture. We actually get together to celebrate our "Grito de Independencia", watch our soccer team play and have Mexican parties with mariachi music and "zapateado" dancing (Not kidding!!!)
Language is something I do not get to miss that much. EVERYONE IN NY SPEAKS SPANISH hahaha!!! So I speak it every single day with friends, at stores, restaurants and making conversation on the subway.
I mislike when people ask what's it like American versus Latino culture and which I like best; or what aspects of both cultures I embrace and which I reject...
I don't think I've been 100% Mexican all my life. I mean, yes, I am so proud of being Mexican and I partake pretty much all of my traditions, from praying to the Guadalupana (although I've never taken the pilgrimage to the Basilica on my knees and will never do it) to eating Rosca de Reyes every Three King's Day, but my generation grew up in a world so close to the USA that I actually learned to speak English when I was very young, and thanks to my social position and blessings in life I was able to travel a lot. The first time I visited Disney World I was only 4 years old, and I spent my Junior High School year as an exchange student in Memphis, TN; so American culture was always around. I grew up with American television, American music and American junk food since chains like Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Dairy Queen, Subway and Dunkin' Donuts made it to my city over the years, as I grew up. It became pretty normal dining on tacos from La Parrilla on Fridays and chilling on Domino's Pizza on Saturday while watching Hallmark movies on cable. Hybrid!!!
However, living in the USA has proven to be quite different than living in Mexico. Apart from the obvious aspects like the size of the buildings, the subway and the immensity of the urban life itself, one of the best aspects NY has is the mixture of cultures and the different people you get to meet. Since I moved here, I can proudly say that I have at least one friend from each different continent in the world, and that is simply PRICELESS.
If I have to embrace one thing of American culture over Mexican culture would be probably the sense of comfort and the life quality one gets here in general. Transportation, organization, professionalism are perks I've gained while living and working in an American environment.
Other thing would definitely be the openness and freedom you breathe when it comes to sexual orientation. Not gonna fall hard on my own people, but I grew up within a society very conservative that, although nowadays seems to be more open minded, still struggles with machismo and prejudices. Ok, I can't say I live a very gay life myself, since I am not really into Gay Pride, gay clubs, gay friends and gay things, but it is nice knowing that I don't have to lock myself up in a closet and that, when the time comes, I will be able to walk around holding hands with my boyfriend and it will not matter.
In NYC I was even able to find a Catholic church that has a LGBT group that hangs out very often. You will never see such thing back home!!! --- And yes, of course I've joined them. It is a beautiful circle of people that share the same beliefs, morals and faith as me.
Technology, as I mentioned on previous posts, has helped a lot to keep me connected to my people, my family, my roots, through Skype, news, Latino channels on TV, smartphones and social networks. I think it is beautiful watching my wall on facebook and seeing a mixture of English and Spanish in so many different posts. It's like having a soup of Here&There, a very nutritious soup that keeps me healthy, since I need to feed myself with a little bit of Here and a little bit of There.
In NYC I was even able to find a Catholic church that has a LGBT group that hangs out very often. You will never see such thing back home!!! --- And yes, of course I've joined them. It is a beautiful circle of people that share the same beliefs, morals and faith as me.
Technology, as I mentioned on previous posts, has helped a lot to keep me connected to my people, my family, my roots, through Skype, news, Latino channels on TV, smartphones and social networks. I think it is beautiful watching my wall on facebook and seeing a mixture of English and Spanish in so many different posts. It's like having a soup of Here&There, a very nutritious soup that keeps me healthy, since I need to feed myself with a little bit of Here and a little bit of There.
I am part of both worlds now and at the end of the day they match just fine. They are part of WHO I AM: A Mexican living in the USA. Just add guacamole to your wrap. It will taste DIVINE!!!
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