Every day I wake up shower, get dressed and then spend quiet time mentally preparing for the day. I go over my goals and what I want in the future. Then I listen to music to put me in a great mood to face the day. This day was preparing myself for the challenge of finding a lot of people to talk to for work. I knew the challenge was people being gone at work while I'm looking for them during banker's hours and I knew that there was going to be a language barrier. I was only hoping to find a few where English was strong enough I could have a good interview. One thing I knew was that everyone on my list was part of the Hispanic community. There were a lot of first names that I'd never seen before.
The day was a huge success. Everyone I talked to was so welcoming and friendly. I'm used to people being very nervous to see me and at times very intimidated. Finding my card on your door can cause a level of anxiety. I found people calling me and willing to drop everything to meet with me. I found a woman who assisted in translation and ended up coming to several houses I was at. She apparently was unofficially considered the best English speaker within this community. The third time she showed up at a house I was at we laughed, she smiled sweetly and she said "We are tight community here."
I've experienced living in a foreign country for two years were I had to learn the language. My Spanish is not very good but I try. (I'm quite certain I am a butcherer of the language.) Through all these conversations I was having I was taken back to my time living overseas in Asia and learning Korean. I was able to relate and we shared stories about living and learning to exist in a foreign country. I was taken back to some of my own experiences and it was nice to relate. Many fond memories were coming back to me with out conversations.
The people I spoke with came from a communist country and the sensitive topic we were discussing was very new to most of them. The woman who did the translation for me said something that gave me an "Ah ha" moment. I love those moments. I know we all look through different lenses. It's impossible to completely see through someone else's lense but it's possible to breath, set your lense aside and catch a glimpse through someone else's. She explained when she first came to American she understood the language but when it came to this topic she could not grasp the concept. It was completely foreign to her and to everyone else who came from Cuba. Wow. It's not just the language that can be a barrier but the complete concept of the context of this subject. Wow. Total shift of thought was happening to me. I love these moments. I love to be challenged and I love to be presented with totally new perspectives.
At the end of the day after the formal interviews, we could continue to talk, laugh and tell stories and share experiences. The things I learned was how many of this community started to come for jobs during the 2007 economy crash. They came here to this community and found great schools, very low crime, friendly people and an opportunity to raise their family in a great place. One man explained about gangs where he was from initially in Miami and here there none and his son could enjoy his childhood. Another woman explained how the small companies here were like families and they all took care of each other. Another man showed me a picture of his 17 year old daughter back in Cuba and explained how he has been trying to get her to America for the last four years. How hard must that be to spend that much time separated from immediate family?
Oh so how does this Cuban Expresso come into play? I live on coffee. Mostly because of too many years of shift work. I start and end my day with coffee an drink it nearly all day. I love a good dark roast. My second to last stop for the day was the most enjoyable. Four people in the room two sisters and their husbands. Once formal interviews were over the topics of discussion turned towards family, what it was like to come here, the family still left behind. I also found out I have a twin in this town somewhere. Perhaps my goal on the next trip is to find him. LOL. I was offered my first cup ever of Cuban expresso. When I said I've never had it the two sisters got huge smiles and excitedly went into the kitchen to prepare it. One husband laughed and said I would be up all night. We sat there drinking expresso and sharing more stories. OMG!!! It was amazing. I'm not a coffee snob at all but I can enjoy a really good roast. I've NEVER had an expresso that was so INCREDIBLE. My day that I thought was going to be so challenging ended up being full of great connections, finding a vibrant amazing community that I didn't know existed and sharing in stories and experiences with some wonderful people.
