Adapting to Culture

Post 5

Venezuela Vs. Canada

        I have been living in Canada for almost 9 months. My experienced living in this country it is awesome, no so difficult to adapt me. Of course, that here is impossible find in a restaurant a natural juice, in the supermarket a sweet bread, a white salty cheese, a not sweet corn, aji, as well as a cold coconut where you drink the water and then you open it and eating them. Also, the spaghetti, rice, coffee, mango are so different. However, I could adapted to the different food. Here in Calgary, I enjoy the ribs and the chicken wing. Furthermore, I taste the pudding, turkey, hot-dogs, hamburger. 

        Before coming to Canada I said "I'am going to miss the free long weekends, that we have, to go to the beach or the mountain." I was wrong, here I have been more long weekends than in my country. despite this, I miss some biggest events, for example, Easter and Christmas, while both sides of New Year are celebrated with "gusto". Venezuela also has an Independence Day in July, while the fun "Feria de la Chinita" is a huge festival in Maracaibo and held all over Zulia state during mid-November, marking the arrival of the seasonal Christmas celebrations with the illumination of the avenue "Bella Vista.". In my country, people can beer in the street and put the music in the car too high, as well as we do not have to pay parking.

       In Calgary, we find many festival too. Like

Calgary International Blues Festival  (August long weekend)

Fiestaval Latino Festival (July 21–22)

Stampede July (July)

Turkish Festival (July)

Sun and Salsa Festival (July)

       This festival we can find in our country but we have some similar to the stampede. We call it toros coleados (rodeos with bulls).

       Another different between and big that I like from this country  is the security and transport. The style of life is wonderful. For example we use like transport more car than bus. We can wait more than 1 hour waiting the first car or the bus. Never know when these buses are going to pass. Here it totally different, we know at what time the bus is going to pass. Of course, there is one thing about I miss from the Venezuela buses. The music. Yes, the music that the bus driver put too loud, like if we were in a disco. Here, if we put only the cellphone the people start to look around who have that loud sound. Now, I person more relax than before and do not run like in my country do.

       Now, the first three months was very difficult to speak with people on the street. I could not understood at all what they was saying me. At this moment if I understand, I just ask again.  know that the people are going to repeat without any problem. So different to the people in other countries that hate repeat more that twice. Some times, I can not remember the word in Spanglish and I have to search in a dictionary the word in English or ask somebody the meaning. I think that happen to everyone who go to a country in which the first language is English.