| Mari was born in New York, and she graduated high school over there. She lived with her parents and her little brother in a pretty big apartment on the 14th floor of a huge building in the city. She was 16 years old when her father decided to come to Florida for vacations, and they ended up staying here to live. Here is her opinion about some things that she found different when she came here. "The Weather is hotter here, also I came in July, so it was the beginning of the summer�. She said that they had a lot of commercial places near their building; anyone could go walking to the supermarket to buy food, or to the drug store, etc. There isn�t an area for houses or for residential or commercial buildings, everything is mixed. She also said that she thinks there are more things to do in New York than in Florida...she means amusement, restaurants, and parks. She says that since everything is near, the children and teenagers have more opportunities to enjoy the amusement places, because they can go on foot or on bike. She says that she was shocked when she came here, because everything was far, and there weren�t too many places to have fun. About the accent, she says that the native people of New York have a heavy accent, and it�s very easy to notice it if you speak fluent English. She says that New York isn�t any more dangerous than Florida...�you are safe in both places...of course that there are some areas that are dangerous, like in Florida, but it�s just as safe in both places�. Mari says that the public transportation is very common in New York....the taxis and the buses. She said that some people don�t have a car, they only depend on public transportation. Because of that, there is a lot of noise on the streets.....that�s another thing that she noticed when she came here: that everything was quiet. She also said, that here the traffic is terrible, because there is a lot of cars, and she says that over there, the traffic lights are coordinated, and when one of them is green, all of them are green too, so that�s a thing that helps the traffic. Another thing that helps the traffic -she says- is that as here the distances are far, each member of a family has to have a car, so there are more cars on the streets. And over there, as the distances are closer, the families have one or two cars per family, or maybe none at all, because they can use the public transportation; that reduces the traffic. She also says that people over there drive so fast, but very well, so the cars� insurance is cheaper than here. She thinks that here, in Florida, it�s more expensive because that reason. Mari and her family felt very bad on their first Thanksgiving and Christmas, because they weren�t with the rest of their family. She told me that she has a really big family, because her parents have a lot of brothers and sisters. She says that she left many friends in New York, and she would have never moved if she would had been older. She loves the life over there, and she hopes to come back to live, some day. � I prefer the life in New York�. By Daniela Patruno. |
| MARI'S INTERVIEW |
| WEATHER |
| PLACES |
| ACCENT |
| SAFETY |
| TRANSPORTATION |
| HOLIDAYS |
| THE CONCLUSION |
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Janet is Mari�s assistant, she already has two weeks working at �Talk�, and she is very pleased. She is from Puerto Rico, and she came here two years ago with her two daughters, one of them is 18 years old, and the other one is 14 years old . Both are studying at high school. She says that she sold everything in Puerto Rico, and they came only with three bags and a television. When they arrived, she rented an apartment in Sunrise, and they began to furnish it little by little, with her mother�s help, who moved here recently. Here is her opinion about some topics: She thinks that the weather here is, more or less, the same that in Puerto Rico. Another thing is the traffic; she told me that in her country there was traffic at 8:30 am and at 5:00 pm, like here. She also says that in general, almost nothing surprised her here, because she was used to the country; she had come several times because her brother in law lives here. Things that she found different: One of the things that she found different when she came here was the safety, she says that it�s better here than in Puerto Rico. The second thing, was the population; in her country there is a lot of people in a little city. Here, there is a lot of people, but everything is bigger...the streets, the houses, the cars, etc. And the last thing that she found different were the schools. She says that in Puerto Rico, her daughters where in a private school, because the public schools are very bad. Here, they are in a public school, and she thinks that it�s excellent. The first reason because she moved was the security, the second one is the safe and good schools that I already mentioned above. The third one is the opportunities for her daughters; she says that here there are more opportunities for her daughters, since recreation until education and job. And the last reason was to practice the language. She told me a very interesting thing: that in Puerto Rico as much the Spanish as the English, are the official languages of the Nation, so they learn English at school. Nevertheless, she says that is very different to come here and to talk with u.s. people....�for the children it�s easier, and they already talk very fluid, but for me it have been more difficult, although I already can communicate with everybody here�. She says that their economic status is better here, because in Puerto Rico everything is more expensive ...the cars, the houses, etc. She thinks that here there are more payments� opportunities, and is easier to obtain some things. After her two daughters will graduate high school, she would like to move to Melbourne, which is about 2 hours of Orlando. Janet is very nice, you can ask her more questions about Melbourne, or about her daughters. If you don�t know her, she is blond, she has short hair and she has glasses. By Daniela Patruno. |
| JANNETTE'S INTERVIEW |
| Things that she found the same |
| Things that she found different |
| Reasons because she moved |
| The language |
| The status |
| Her future plans |