I recently did an interview for the Cork Echo and another one for the Irish Times, this latter was very personal and emotional because I got to address my relationship with my dad, the decision I made because the quote “life’s too short” really hit me when I lost him and how I’ve been blending myself into Irish culture with the support of colleagues, friends and my dear ST.
The interview will be published late February and it’ll be part of the “New to the Parish” section and before I did the interview, I read a few stories from others that came to Ireland at some points of their lives. Some of them have been here quite long, others not so much, some came with great opportunities, for love, for studying, as refugees. We all have a story to tell and funny enough not long ago I followed a few people on Twitter who are Ecuadorians like me, trying to “make it” in other countries. In particular, there are three ladies that I am impressed by, one in Germany with her two girls and husband (all Ecuadorians), one in Canada who recently got her Canadian passport and has a Canadian partner and one in Spain who I think of as a Charlotte from SATC, hopeless romantic.
I’ve found things in common with them, well obviously the fact we’re all Ecuadorians in developed countries, but we are all women who face similar challenges and have had similar opportunities and when overcoming the challenges, I get to say that they are the small pleasures.
One of the biggest challenge of being Ecuadorian in a wintery country like Germany or Ireland is the lack of Ecuadorian food. First year in Ireland, no problem. Second year in Ireland, “hmm I wish I had plantains here”. Third year in Ireland, senddddd "pan de yuca", "morocho", throw me a "bolon"! Anything! And when you find them (like the time I found a plantain in Kenya and put mozzarella cheese on it), you must celebrate it! I did a little dance because of the small pleasure I was experiencing. I also sent a photo of it to my friends back in Ecuador. So friends, food is important and Irish don’t know how lucky they are because you can literally find an Irish pub anywhere in the world and when I travel and I do, I go there, order a Guinness and I (also) feel like home. <3
Another big challenge is finding friends. It’s very easy to make friends when you’re a teenager or even in your 20s, you all have the same interests and time but just like the twitter ladies I mentioned, I too struggle to make friends. I’m super social and easy to talk to in two, even three languages if I’ve had a couple of drinks! :D but that doesn’t mean I can make friends. People my age are all sorted or so they pretend, and I do pretend too but I also miss having a girls night out, talking to my friends about “that time we used to skip college lectures and would end up in another town singing karaoke”. However, I’ve found ways to make friends here and must give credit to Bumble BFF. Just BFF though. I deactivated the “dating mode” and I keep the BFF mode on, so I’ve met lovely girls with similar interests and stories here in Ireland, some are completely different too and I suppose that just like a dating app, sometimes it’s just a cup of coffee and there’s no second date. It’s happened. Nevertheless, I’ve also been lucky and have kept contact with three girls who I try to meet more regularly because it’s healthy! So, if you’re feeling socially anxious, go for that app! Just don’t give or ask for money like the tinder swindler haha, just enjoy this small pleasure of the new techie world offering these opportunities.
Last challenge I want to address is the toughest: Growing up and figuring yourself out. I came to Ireland as an adult, 30 years old and with some professional and life experience but it was only here that I felt complete. It didn’t have to do with a man (although having one in my life is wonderful) but it was more about the fact that I could accomplish living[1] in a different country and being able to speak English all day long! I love it and always been fascinated by other countries so when Ireland offered me the opportunity, I took it, but to be fair it is more of a trade deal. I give Ireland my knowledge, experience, kindness and professionalism and Ireland gives me a home. Easy peasy. Well, not really, I’m not going to deny that it’s hard sometimes like reading technical stuff in a different language, having to google acronyms to fully understand something, or putting subtitles on a tv show because I don’t understand the accent but it’s all worth it when I do or when an Irish person who just met me makes a joke and I laugh and then he says “you get the craic!”. It’s all worth it when I get invited to a uni lecture to share my experience and inspire others who are doing the same course I did. It’s all worth it when I run into someone in the street and they recognize me because I’ve been here for a while and we have acquaintances in common and it’s worth it not only the professional aspect but due to the same fact that I feel complete and accomplished, I now crave other things, more personal. It’s due to that that I also have further ambitions and looking back to see how far I’ve come and then having the opportunity to going forward, feels like a small pleasure.
[1] By living I mean having a job, a place to live, a bank account, paying taxes, understanding the humour or as in Ireland we would call it “to get the craic!”
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