Profissao Imigrante

Immigration is a process that affects our identity. When I’m a tourist abroad, I identify myself as Brazilian. In Brazil, I’m from Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre. But when I become a resident of another country, I realize that more often than I would like, my identity ends up […]

– “Mama, I don’t like wh………..” – “What? Speak loudly, my daughter, otherwise I won’t understand!” She, speaking even more quietly: “No one ever understands me!”. And sometimes we really don’t understand. Like when she speaks softly, looking down, with the hood of her jacket over her head as we […]

On a cold January morning here in Vermont, Michael and I took a short walk on the sidewalks wet with fresh snow to the building that houses the Burlington post office and courthouse. In the small entrance hall, there was a metal detector like those at an airport and a […]

In 2016, during the presidential elections here in the US, I really wished I had been able to vote. That was a defining election that had very significant consequences for the country. But… since people with a Green Card don’t vote, I limited myself to putting a sticker of my […]

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from the Canadian government. To my surprise, it was an invitation to take a cervical cancer screening test, also known as a Pap smear. What caught my attention was that Canada, like Brazil, has a public health system (something that does not […]

Five years ago, after a lifetime of living cramped in apartments, waking up to the sound of trucks, buses, and traffic, we moved into our dream home in rural Virginia (about two hours from Washington, DC). It was a beautiful house on a hill with an acre of garden and […]

My friends send me flowers from thousands of miles away, loving messages that often make me laugh, cards with pictures of their children. I always learn from them: one is an artist, capable of executing any project, in any medium, another is gifted with infinite pragmatism and an incomparable sense […]

There are many adjectives to describe the life and feelings of an immigrant, but today I will focus on one in particular: vulnerability. Moving to a new country is accompanied by fears, expectations, and anxieties. Regardless of the reason for changing address, there are feelings that are common to almost […]

While walking through my local library the other day with my kids, I came across a list of books about immigration. Vermont is a liberal state that welcomes immigrants with great grace and a good dose of affection, and this list includes books that have received honorary awards or the […]

My husband, the kids and I are moving to Las Vegas. We’re going to travel from Vermont to Las Vegas with all our bags packed. It’s really lazy, but that’s life. Vermont is located almost on the right-hand side of the United States and borders Canada, so you can imagine […]