Karen Silva.
January 7, 2013.
Period. 7

Cultural differences are the variations in the way of life, beliefs, traditions and laws between different countries, religions, societies and people. Many people see culture as an all encompassing overview of large groups of people. However, the word culture can be used to describe the way of life of much smaller groups.

My aunt Celia Ruiz, moved to Los Angeles California from D.F Mexico for many amounts of reasons. She first set foot in American grounds when she was 19 years old. She’s now 30 years old and lives an amazingly successful life in comparison to how she would have been living years back if her decision would have been absolutely different. It’s right to say that her “American” dream and indeed well deserved result of her hard work through out the years came true.

Celia moved to Los Angeles because she wanted to be more in life than a high school graduate with a part time job for the rest of her life. In Mexico, it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to become something else, something bigger. Money is a big issue when it comes to education there and in many other places in the world. In my mother’s side of the family they’re used to having the women educated to a certain point and are later expected to just settle down, get married, and have children. Therefore, my aunt decided to challenge and flip that way of life by showing her family that’s not all women can be about and useful for. Her point was proudly proven.

My aunt really wanted to make a difference and she decided to risk her life and hitch hike her way to the future she wanted because she didn’t have enough money to travel in plane or car and besides she didn’t know how to drive. She was lucky to have rides by really nice people and nothing bad occurred during her travel to Los Angeles. Celia then arrived here safely and had moved in with a friend of hers whom had moved to Los Angeles a year before her and stayed in an apartment which later they shared the rent and things went smoother for both of them.

She told me about many of her struggles adjusting to a completely new city and a new language. When she arrived she remembered feeling as if she were in some sort of museum by the way she dulled her eyes around trying to understand every word on posters, walls, stores, buildings, etc. She understand some because she took English classes through out her high school years but things weren’t as basic as they were in her teachers lessons or text books. Her first thought was how she’d be able to find a good enough job to begin her college courses in some community college and later build up to a state university, that was her goal. She later in time found 2 jobs in a jewelry department in long beach, she had to wake up extremely early in the morning to catch the metro. The other was in downtown in a restaurant washing dishes.

Even if she barely got any sleep, she managed to