I was very pleasantly surprised when I found many Spanish-speaking WASP-looking Americans while visiting Cancún. Even though Spanish in the United States is still a minority language, it seems that at least for some people outside of the original native speakers it has become important to learn it.
Before the Spanish-language skills of Americans used to be a joke amongst Mexicans, now I'm not so sure.
On my way to Mexico I read the year end issue of Newsweek, which was dedicated to the standing of the United States in the world. Finally it seems that some policymakers have realised that not even the only remaining global superpower can go it alone. Let's hope that the next President agrees.
I hadn't been in the United States for over 6 years, so I hadn't experienced the tightening of regulations since the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. I had heard certain horror stories (for example J. Karjalainen, Finland's Bob Dylan, had been detained without reason in Missouri) so I was certainly sceptic about going through there.
Even though I did have to travel for more than 24 hours, I faced no difficulties. The American Airlines staff on board and on the ground was generally very corteous (however, their fleet is really old) and the border and customs officers were very professional, so there was no problem at all. It takes much, much longer than transiting in Europe (that's how afraid they are) but it did go smoothly.
Following a story doing the rounds in Slashdot, I found this article that details the American propaganda machine in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wheareas I definitely understand the rationale for the Americans to give their version of events, it makes me rather uneasy that they do so posing as a neutral party, thereby undermining their own credibility.
If you're a brand, that's something you should never do as audiences hate discovering they are being cheated, even if your brand is called USA.
You EU citizens have no idea how easy you have it to move around.
I'm going to switch planes in the US on my way to Mexico for Christmas, so I had to renew my American visa. The amount of papers required is astonishing, as not only do you have to fill 3 different forms, but they also ask for bank statements, pay slips, letters from your workplace, a copy of your contract, and some other things. You also have to e.g. detail what do you do at work, who is in your family and list the countries you have visited in the last ten years with the years when you have been there.
I ended up with a file that measured a couple of centimetres, which could almost mean that now Uncle Sam knows more about me than my wife and my mother, and it truly shows how afraid they are of illegal immigrants and terrorists. Went to the interview and a few days later received my visa, so all's well that ends well. I understand that being Mexican in their view increases the chances of me overstaying my welcome, but I really have no intention nor motive for doing so. Frankly, the least I go there, the better, which is a pity as I would like to visit New York and Boston again, for example. Comparing this with the UK IRIS scheme, which took me ten minutes to get enrolled in the last time I was in London, shows the difference between tough talk accompanied with cumbersome procedures and an implementation of border control that combines security with business friendliness.
This whole ordeal made me wonder (again) about this whole Finnish citizenship story, since Finns don't need a visa for short trips to the United States. Called the guys at ulkomaalaisvirasto since according to their new web questionnaire I would fulfill the requirements for citizenship, as I have lived here long enough (pretty much all of my adult life), speak Finnish fluently (still waiting for my diploma on that one), and have no criminal record. However, they told me that I can't get it since I have lived abroad in the past two years, meaning that if I hadn't gone to Belgium I could be a Finn. The law was changed this autumn, so I had no way of knowing, and there is another catch: all male Finnish citizens under 30 have to serve in the army. If I were 18 I wouldn't mind doing that, and furthermore if push came to shove I would probably volunteer anyway, but currently I'm at a stage of my life where putting everything (family, career, finances) on hold for six months to a year is not an option.
We'll see what happens, but it's definitely getting interesting.
Edit: And, oh boy, in March I have to renew my Finnish residence permit. Ugh….
Was reading the Groundswell blog and found a series of different online communities for all sorts of different purposes. One that definitely caught my eye was Design your portion of the border fence, where people are invited to submit designs for graffitti that would be placed on the American or Mexican sides of the barrier the U.S. government is building between the U.S. and Mexico.
Definitely a creative way to raise awareness of a current issue.
Have meant that my iPod has been doing the rounds with them. Both of them ("Echoes, silence, patience and grace" and "Si no" are very good and wholeheartedly recommended.
Bought at amazon.co.uk.
You may have read that previously I was not very convinced about Hugo Sánchez’s handling of the Mexican National Team. My suspicions were confirmed last Sunday when Mexico lost the final of the Gold Cup against the States (their second goal looks just like that Maxi Rodríguez goal from last summer). Since the Copa América was just around the corner, the panorama couldn’t be bleaker, since Mexico had to play against Brazil and 5 starters were out: 3 because of fatigue, 2 by injury.
You can imagine my surprise this morning when I read that Mexico beat Brazil 2-0, even though more than half of the team was composed of usually bench players. Nice performance. =D
The only sad thing to read is that some sectors of the press say that the performance was better since those who were more identified with the previous Mexico coach and bitter Hugo Sánchez enemy Ricardo Lavolpe were not included in the squad. I really hope that’s not the case.
Interesting article about how American class divisions are reflected in the usage patterns of Facebook and MySpace. I still found it very interesting, as it is true that the way we use our tools reflect our societies..
Some traditional media (here, here) have picked up the story, but I'd rather read the whole essay, as I don't like the spin they put to it.
Via Slashdot.
