Brave People

I never thought that I would be able to die and be born in the same month. The person who arrives to Chicago five months ago is not alive anymore. However, her body remains the same. When I received the notice that I would be moving to Chicago, I did not know what to expect. The only thing that I was sure about was that nothing would be the same anymore. I was about to leave behind family, friends, and many other things that I was used to, to come to a new country with new faces and cultures. I divided in two pieces, one part of mi sad and missing my beloving already, but the other ready to face new challenges.

The best part of this change is that this new culture in the United States has a lot of things to offer. Including a higher standard of quality. Since I arrived, if I do something I really do something. By this, I mean that I have to take time to plan and make a work schedule and obtain the best results of everything. It doesn't matter if I spend days only planning. I remember the time when we spent a whole week planning how we are going to create a dashboard to present the final results to the board of directors, yes, just planning. Here in this new office in Chicago things are well done, not medium quality. I think this is due the respectful culture that exist in the United States, which is the second thing I like the most. I have noticed that the power of the word is important it doesn’t mean that back home in Mexico, everybody lies, but in Chicago is something that had impressed me because of the trust. It gave me the feeling that people are more mature regarding to things they have to do, and do not try to avoid their responsibilities, at least at workplace. As a result, these two things create have a healthy environment which I love.

On the other hand, it has been hard to adapt to socializing. I had the impression that in Chicago is more superficial, and that it takes years for other people to consider someone as a friend. Contrary to this, in my daily routine, my coworkers interact more and are always willing to help. However, in social aspects, they do not seem to care as much. It appears that my coworkers are always in a hurry to finish their work and go home to their private and secret social circles. For example s the case that nobody uses the dining area because everybody eats at their desk to avoid losing time chatting with others, or when they decide to use lunchtime to provide some training. This gives me the impression that everything that defines them is related to their work, how much they work, and how much they earn. I am not saying that these things are not important, but it was easy for me to assume that they are definitely prioritized over other simple things. As I have been asking, and analyzing the situation, I realized that it is because they care about their economic security.

 Another thing I can’t get used to is the layout and construction materials of the apartments and buildings. I am aware that Chicago is a big city with a lot of industries and corporations; however, this makes living space very demanding, so it is very common to live in an apartment. Having a patio is something that it is difficult to find in an apartment in the Loop. This is something that I really miss about Mexico, houses are bigger, food is less expensive, and the city is large enough to find anything I could need.

After these five months, becoming a new me hasn't been that bad. It is part of the challenge to improve myself and it is giving me the opportunity to grow based on experiences that I will be having in this new country. Surrounded by a mix of cultures, amazing buildings, and people, I have discovered that it's not that I can't be that person anymore. Although I am discovering parts of myself, I had no idea were inside of me, this new city and country are bringing them all out.