My experience in Europe - by Ara Noguera
I arrived in Italy in May, 2015. I had recently got married and we were ready for an adventure. We come from Mexico. Our life there was comfortable. We both have university degrees. I have a BA in Foreign Trade, and my husband is a Mechanical Engineer. We had jobs, a small house, and the rest of our family all living in the same city. We had, in some sense, no need to leave our city, but we did.
My husband had been offered a job at the Port in Trieste. My husband had some knowledge of Italian, but I did not. He helped me a lot getting around while also encouraging me to learn. Sadly the job he was offered in Trieste was not what was promised. Since we have always tried to learn, adapt and respect the laws, my husband wanted to stay at the job at least for six months. In the mean time I move to Abano Terme, Padua.
We had friends there who kindly offered me a place to stay. My time in Abano Terme was not easy, but I am so thankful for the people who gave us help and advice. I believe the most important was Centro Aiuto alla Vita, a non-profit organization focused on helping pregnant woman.
They were my main support for many months. I first came to their offices foradvice on my residence documents and how to get medical attention while I was pregnant with myfirst child. Eventhough I didn’t speak the language yet, they were very kind speaking slowly for meand teaching me some useful phrases. Later, because of the job insecurity my husband faced, Imoved into one of their apartments. I stayded there until my daughter was born and was 6 monthsold.
In that time, my daughter and I were very much taken care of, not only our basic needs like food,diapers, a place to stay, but also company, spiritual and psicological counseling. The women whovolunteer there are truly invested in the well being of the women they help. They are kind, generous,respectful and encouraging. One of the main things I remember is that my stay at their apartmentswas only a stepping stone to something better.
When my husband found a job, we moved to an apartment in Dolo, Venice. Everything was new, and we had no aquaintances nearby. We knew that in order to insert ourselves in the society, we had to make an effort. I feel it was specially hard for me, because being a stay at home mom, I had to lookfor ways to stay motivated, establish new relationships, learn the language and the culture. I had the fortune of having the support of kind neighbors. They helped us get groceries, take care of my kids, gave me advice when I asked, taught me Italian recipes, and helped me learn the language. Iemphasize the learning of the language because it is essential to be able to get to know people, learnabout the culture and be able to find our place in the society.
Now a days our lives are easier: my husband has a good job where he gets to grow professionally,and my two kids have started school. As for me, I help teenagers with tutoring and preparing forexams both in English and Spanish, I am involved in school activities and volunteer in the different events organized in the community.
