The thing on my head

Warning: this post most likely will have more than one spelling and grammar mistake The last 3 years living in the US has brought many challenges and changes to my life (or are life?). I lived for around 25 years with bad spelling without care. Family members, classmates, coworkers, and acquaintances did make fun of me from time to time, and the middle school spelling contests are still part of my nightmares. However, my bad spelling never stooped my academic and professional achievements nor affected my daily life, until 2009. I moved to the USA in 2009, before that I never felt the need to tell every single person that my spelling was poor even though my spoken English is pretty good. I didn't have to tell anyone that I am dyslexic, in fact, some of my friends maybe don't even know that or that growing up I spent almost two afternoons per week on therapy for my dyslectic dysgraphia.   When I was a kid in therapy I used to play many, many memory games. The therapis

Biblioteca España— Medellín Hace algunos días un cliente del banco donde trabajo me pregunto de donde era mi acento. Este cliente, varón de por lo menosunos 55 años, pelón y de anteojos, siendo muy jovial y en un castellano fluido obviamente no ha sido el único (o el ultimo) que he encontrado curiosos por mi acento y han hecho esa pregunta. Pero si fue él quien me motivo a escribir este Post. La curiosidad por mi acento melodioso y suave, característico de los colombianos, no es nada anormal y en general me ha traido cumplidos y oportunidades de hablar de mi tierra natal. Sin embargo no falta, como dicen, el pelo en la sopa y no son solo cumplidos los que me dan por mi acento, o preguntas curiosas sobre mi nacionalidad. Muchos, como este cliente en cuestión, sacan siempre a flote el pasado -y presente- del narcotráfico del país y, a manera de chiste, preguntan si tengo alguna "conexión", a lo que  yome hago la que no escucho y ellos, en lugar de leer la incomodidad en

   My phone rang several times before I finally found it at the bottom of my purse. “Where are you?” Santiago, my youngest brother, asked. “I’m at Esteban’s having dinner with friends, Why?.”  He calmly said “ Come home”, and without further explanation hung up the phone. It was odd to me that my brother was calling me on a Friday night inquiring about my location, but wasn’t odd enough to make me rush out of the door of my friend's house. My phone rang again “Are you on your way? Come home NOW and bring Esteban with you.”  It was then when I knew it. Something was going on, something was wrong. On December 22 nd , 2006 something was about to change in my family, and I had to be there with them.     My friend’s house is upon one of the many hills of Medellin. The drive from his house to my parent’s house usually takes 15 minutes without traffic. The road is wide and curved and offers great views of the valley that make up most of the city. I used to enjoy that drive, but tha

Since the arrival of the first European immigrants to North American, the country known today as The United States of America started to be built on immigrant blood. From mass immigration through Ellis Island, New York, in the early 1900s to crossing the border walking the deserts of Texas or Arizona today, the idea of America as the land of freedom, where the sky is the limit, has attracted and continues attracting immigrants around the globe. For many years, to control the unstoppable immigration; which has apparently transformed into a problem, thought the years' different immigration policies and strategies have been used being Secure Communities being one of the most recent. Although Secure Communities has effectively deported dangerous criminals, the program should not be enforced nationwide as a federal law because it breaks apart American families while reducing the cooperation between illegal immigrant communities and local police. After the attacks on September

In 2005 I was hired as a Team Marketing Developer intern for British American Tobacco Colombia. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this company, BAT is the tobacco company of Lucky Strike and Kool, among other brands. For me, as a recent Marketing and Advertising graduate, it was a lifetime opportunity. Finally, after many jobs on restaurants and sales, I had an open door to a multinational corporation that invests millions of pesos (well dollars really) in marketing and advertising worldwide. My job was "simple": I and two others interns (Andres and Mauricio) will be in charge of expanding the product placement and brand visibility, while helping sales rep to increase sales, in specific city areas. The job was lost in PR and cross-sales with bars and restaurant owners. In other words something like "If you buy our products from our sales rep, that new cooler you need it will be on us (with our brand everywhere, though), you win, we win, everyone wins!".

When I was 14 years old I was ready to start to work. According to Colombian law, I was not allowed to work without my parents' permission. My dad was against that idea, so I have to wait while feeling jealous of my brother Agustin, who is just 2 years older than me, was working at my dad's uncle's electric store during the holidays, making money. As soon I turned 18 I started the job search. After sending a couple of resumes with the blank spaces where my experience should go, I got finally hired at a restaurant. I was a thrill, the time to making my own money and grow independent have finally come! The restaurant, "La Parrilla de Martin", was an Argentinean style steak house just a couple of blocks away from my house and on the same bus route from my college. I set out my schedule: I will work 3 lunches and 2 nights, for a total of 5 shifts a week. 5 shifts a week and the full-time school didn't sound that hard for the 18-year-old me, but in reality, i

It has been a long time since the last time I posted, too long maybe. Write something during December and January was always in my To DO list, but, without realizing it, it moved to the bottom of the list, and finally, I didn't write anything saying "goodbye to 2011" or "hello 2012." Here I'm no back again with this nonsense writing. Promising myself that this year I will write more and will be more proactive about my artistic escapes ( drawing, writing, painting, acting...). Here I'm making a public statement about how this year I will do whatever it takes to reconnect with my muse, which I feel I've lost and miss SO much, because, thanks to her, I feel talented, different and alive. To do so, I came out with this brilliant idea: I have decided that the best way to write is writing, even if now more than before I will write about nothing! (like I'm doing it right now) Dear reader: if in the past you have felt that this blog make