Bienvenido a Miami

Bienvenido a Miami
The last week or so has been very busy and very interesting for me. When reflecting on it, I am happy to say I have been very productive with blo stuff and my other work items.

I also noticed something cool that I did not before. When going for my weekly blo out (shh!) I heard the phrase 'Miami is the closest thing to America, the rest of the country is the United States.' 

What does that even mean for me, this young Canadian who has never lived outside Toronto, save for a 6-month stint in London, England? I can argue London is like Canada, but with accents and euro-flair. Ok not really, but... 

We Canadians, atleast my generation, have been brought up with, or taught in school, the notion of Canada being a 'mosaic' and the US being a 'melting pot.' This is how we differentiated ourselves from Americans, and to be honest we have said this with a little arrogance (c'mon fellow Canucks, you know it). We have always been told that the mosaic is better. Incase you are not a Canadian and have no idea what I am talking about, let me explain. [Sidenote: thanks to Blog stats, I know my blog has tons of readers all over the world and I wanted to send some love to the international viewers out there who coyly follow me privately]. 

This is how I learned the definitions: 

Mosaic - living as part of the community but embracing your individuality first, ie your culture is your identity first and then you are Canadian. We tend to have more tolerance for individuality in the sense that our laws and society should try and be as inclusive as possible so everyone is happy. 

Melting Pot: Everyone is American first and individuals second. You should conform to the American society because that is where you now live, and this is your Nationality. Don't like it? Leave. 

So why is a mosaic better? We can point to examples of small town America where the eastern European family might feel out of place because they cannot do things exactly the way they did at home, but at the same time what's wrong with that? The 11-year old sitting next to me on the plane (as I write this) is from California and Washington, yet he now lives in Quintana Roo, Mexico and is a home-schooled white kid who doesn't speak Spanish. How does he feel? He loves it and says everyone tries to learn English from him (among other American things they want to learn about). He is also a part-time magician, fyi.

Before moving to Miami, only having stayed with friends or in tourist-friendly places, a lot of people made comments referring to Miami as little Havana or how I better be able to conform because people here are different and less tolerant. In actuality, this perception is all wrong. Miami is extremely diverse in cultures and nationalities, even if it is a little bubble within America. 

Consider my past week: 

- dinner with fellow blogger Andee who moved here a month ago from Orange County with her hubby who is Cayman/Trinidadian originally from Toronto. Check out why I love Andee: http://andeelayne.blogspot.com/
- drinks with Iranian Yasmin who moved here from Oklahoma.

 - dinner at The W's Chinese resto Mr. Chow, with friends from Colombia, Ecuador & Brazil. 

- Dinner at my Chinese-Jamaican family's house with a side of Colombian sis-in-law. 

- Bachelorette weekend with 10 girls from NYC (too many characters/backgrounds here to list).

 - Tarot card night with Indian, Persian, and Puerto Rican flavours. Incase you are wondering, my reading was eerily accurate regarding past and present scenarios, and the colour of my aura is royal blue :) 

Ok so these last few things that happened this week are very 'Miami' but hey, that's what I'm here for right? 

- Miami Magazine Fourth Anniversary party @ Fontainbleu Hotel. 

- Lunch @ Nikki Beach with Columbian Diana who moved here from NYC, who btw, just learned the word 'peep-toe' from me(!) 

- first spin class at LA Fitness in Brickell after a 6 month hiatus....yes it kicked my ass...

This is as diverse as it gets. I personally feel that in Canada, or specifically in Toronto, we tend to hang out with others who share a similar background. Even with a diverse group of friends attained from school or work, we don't generally mix groups together. And realistically, most of my time is spent with the friends most like me. Nothing wrong with identifying with your community, just saying. 

Going back to that tidbit I overheard, consider what that person meant, regarding the difference between North & South America, and the United States of America. I feel that what I learned in grade school, which was sheltered by arrogance was actually ignorance in disguise. What we don't know may not hurt us, but assumptions may still hinder us. 

On that note, time to don my cowgirl hat and prepare for touch down in Austin, Texas! Now that I have written this, I will not likely run into a single 'typical' cowboy, ha! 

These boots were made for blo-in... 

Xo 

Fatima