“We believe we can do anything, so we go out and do it” was Diego’s answer. He had just been asked what shocked him the most about American culture or society. We were sitting in what used to be his families dining room that has now been turned into a half office half lounge type area. I sat at the computer desk with my laptop and notebook that I was haphazardly jotting down short phrases in to help me remember things to go back and look at. To be honest, I really didn’t write much down; I was too focused on the interview that had turned into a full-blown conversation. Diego was sitting in one of two black leather chairs that had a glass end table between them. The chairs and table were set up in the same way you would imagine they would be on a daytime talk show. I actually had thought he had set them up that way on purpose, but he did not. The smell of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches was still in the air from the meal he had made for me. It was fairly quiet in the room with the exception of when his two young children would come in to get his ruling on the drawing contest they were conducting. The only lulls in conversation would be when he would have to respond to an issue on his work phone that required his immediate response.
I ask Diego the question. As he sits there leaned back with his arms behind his head, he answers, “the most impressive thing, and probably anyone will tell you this, is the American spirit.” I can remember almost a state of confusion setting in; a mental “do WHAT?!?” rang throughout my head. This answer completely shocked me. I was gearing up for things you normally hear people say that are from faraway places. Things like food portion size, or obesity, and how wasteful Americans are, not the limitless opportunities we are offered and take for granted every day.
“In a lot of countries, people are afraid to have that kind of audacity to say that I can do whatever I want” he continued. He raises up just long enough to point me out as an example. He points out that I am just now going back to school as a 31-year-old. He then points out that in other countries, this option isn’t available and more likely than not, my path of life would already be set in stone almost. I sit there, still getting over the shock from his answer as he continues on. Diego and I are currently the only ones in the room at this point. He kids can be heard singing and talking in the playroom down the hall, but I was so focused on our conversation I didn’t hear them until I reviewed the audio recording.
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During my interview with Diego, he mentioned violence and danger as being one of the reasons his family left Colombia so naturally, I had to find information on it. Nina Evanson wrote an “interactive article” as I call it called “Colombian Culture.” The article has multiple tabs to be clicked on that will open up sections devoted to different aspects of life in Colombia. One section of the article is devoted to Colombian violence. She states, “Civilians are often caught up in competition over territory and face the choice of having to support/join one of the armed groups for protection and survival or flee for their safety in urban slums where they encounter massive unemployment, further crime and poverty” (Evanson). Given this choice, it’s easy to see why they left.
Cynthia A. Watson also discussed Colombian violence in her article called, “Civil-military relations in Colombia: A workable relationship or a case for fundamental reform?” “Colombian Culture” seems to be just a brief overview of the violence in Colombian whereas “Civil-military relations in Colombia: A workable relationship or a case for fundamental reform?” is an in-depth look into the history of the violence as well as what is the main cause of it today. I feel like Evanson has a more optimistic tone regarding the violence than Watson does. Evanson ends the section on violence by saying, “Current agreements and negotiations suggest further improvement to relations between different groups. It appears that some groups have deescalated and reportedly demobilized.” Watson disagrees entirely by saying, without reconstituting its civil society, “little hope remains that the middle class... will stay.” Watson takes it a step further by referring to Colombia as “a memory.” It’s very interesting to see such different perspectives. It’s almost as if the authors were given the same recipe for a story, but were told to make it their own, and went in complete opposite directions. One reason for such different outlooks could be the difference in time during which the articles were written. Watson’s was written in 2000, and Evanson wrote her’s in 2018. More research into what has occurred in Colombia regarding the violence between 2000 and 2018 would be required to make that determination. Among other things the articles do agree upon is that only time will tell what future holds for Colombia. Does Evanson’s prediction come true, so that Colombia finds peace and provides a safe place for Diego’s father to retire to one day? Or does it remain in constant turmoil and resemble a war-zone only to exist in history and memories?
Diego went on to say that things have improved recently in Colombia. Most of the cartels have moved north towards Mexico and everything is beginning to calm down with the government. He plans to move and live there with his family for a year within the next five years. Diego said his father plans to work for another couple of years and then plans to retire and move back to Columbia as well. His father has a retirement fund saved up, his house is paid for, and he already has a 10-acre farm paid for back in Colombia. He says his dad worked so hard so that once he retires, he can go and spend the rest of his days living like a King with all of his family back home.
I wanted to know all about Diego’s journey to American citizenship. Diego said it is a long, expensive process. He also said there is a lot of stagnancy as well. It took his family 15-20 years to gain their citizenship. He said some of that was self-inflicted because most immigrants are ignorant of the process which has resulted in the development of myths regarding the process. David Bier echoes this fact of stagnancy in his article titled, “Why the Legal Immigration System Is Broken: A Short List of Problems.” He states, “siblings and adult children of U.S. citizens from Mexico and the Philippines who are receiving their green cards right now waited two decades. Those who are applying for their green cards now will die before they reach the front of the line because so many applicants have piled up in the backlog since 1998. Immigrant workers from India have had decade-long waits, but those applying right now will wait more than a century” (Bier). Its no mystery why there is such a problem with illegal immigration. If someone is going to die before they even get to the front of the line, why wouldn’t they take their chances at coming here illegally?
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| A sample visa commonly referred to as a "Green Card." |
We have all heard about the citizenship test, so I had to ask about it. He said they give you a list of 150 questions that you have to memorize the answers to. I asked him what the questions were like and how useful the content they covered was. His answer was, he would never forget who his representative is. It’s a lot of civic information as well as American history. He said any American could pass.
As Diego sat in his leather chair, wearing a black t-shirt with gold cursive spelling out” Transit” on it, we discussed his adjustment to American culture. The kids can still be heard laughing and cutting up down the hall as all children do. This time a third character enters the re-purposed dining room. This character has no interest in the interview at all. She only has one thing on her mind. A series of rough, fast paced scratches behind the ears was all she required. Luna sticks her white and brindle head in Diego’s lap to get her scratches. She then jumps up onto Diego, licks him right in the mouth in mid-sentence, then runs off towards the living room disappearing out of view.
“To be one hundred percent honest, I don’t think, as a foreigner, you ever truly adjust. You can try to assimilate. There’s a lot of stuff that never really transitions.” This was the prelude to the answer to how long it took him to adjust. He shares a story about how it took him one year to learn English. He remembers being in ESOL classes but still not really knowing what was going on at school due to the language barrier. Luckily, they were living in New York so there were a lot of Spanish speaking students. His mood changes to a little bit more somber when he remembers getting so frustrated because he was not excelling in school the first couple of years like he did back in Colombia.
He sits up slightly to readjust his position, throws his leg over his other knee, and begins talking about some of the other social adjustments he has had to make. His mood perks back up now that he is talking about happier times. He talks about in junior high, his friends asking if he wanted to go eat at common restaurants and he had no idea what they were talking about. He then makes a joke about trivia. He says, “if we go play trivia and its after 93, I will rock it. But if it’s before Little Mermaid, I don’t know what happened.” My laughter echoes throughout the house as he continues on with another example.
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| Diego likes to be self-sufficient and tries to avoid hiring someone to do a job if possible. |
“I don’t know, what are some of those old school TV shows everybody used to watch?” I mentioned I Dream of Genie. Before I can say the name completely, he says, “never seen it.” I can understand that particular show slightly so I ask about one that everyone should know; the classic Andy Griffith. He says his friends used to make fun of him because he did not know who Andy Griffith was. Astonished, I said, “what?!?” “Yeah, he runs around with one bullet. Why the hell would you run around with only one bullet in your gun? It doesn’t make sense” was his reply. This cemented the fact that he indeed had never seen the show because it was Barney, not Andy, that only had one bullet in his pocket, not even in his gun. He then asks the name of “the black dude” that has “the junkyard.” Even I know he is talking about Fred Sanford and that show was way before my time.
This is another one of those shocking scenes for me. How could someone not know who these characters are? I go on to ask him about a few other shows. He also offers a few more classics he has not seen. The only one he mentioned he had seen “bits and pieces” of is the Claymation version of Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer. He defends himself by mentioning he knows all of the Back to The Future movies though. We both laugh some more.
He then mentions that there was even more adjustment when he moved down here. He said he never knew white people are dominant in the United States until he moved here. He said in New York it was so diverse but down here you have “three types of people; black, white, and everybody else.” He ends this scene on a comedic note by saying “I didn’t know racism existed in the U.S. until I got to Georgia. “Everybody in New York hates everybody equally.” I bust out laughing.
One thing not covered in the interview is Diego’s sense of adventure. This is something I have experienced firsthand. Camping and fishing are two of his favorite hobbies. When I say camping, I mean like no bathroom, no electricity, fish or hunt for food, real deal, living off the land camping. Every August he goes to Florida for a week and camps out in the middle of nowhere. It was a tradition he started years ago with his best friend from college. They would go out, try to find an island to kayak out to and just live. Just them and nature. Tragically, his friend lost a battle with cancer several years ago. Diego still goes on this trip when his friend’s birthday comes every August as a way to honor his best friend. We both enjoy going down to South Georgia to hunting camp. Its almost like a mental reset being down there. The nearest “civilization” is a truck stop about 15 minutes from camp. Other than that, it’s just miles upon miles of tree farms owned by the lumber companies. Even if we don’t see a single animal, the momentary escape from the stress and monotony of everyday life is tremendous. Its almost like a challenge for him. He likes to stack the odds against himself and make it work. There’s been times where we would go fishing and not even take any bait. We would dig up worms and then catch fish. If the fish were too small, we would cut them up into pieces and use those pieces to catch bigger fish. Diego thrives in situations like that, and its easy to see why. The feeling of independence and being able fend for yourself is one of purest and most satisfying sensations you can experience. |
| Dinner can't get any fresher than catching and cooking yourself |
WORKS CITED
