Expat Interview #1: Matador Network’s Julie Schwietert Collazo

From February 2005 until December 2007, and in Mexico City from March 2007 until February 2009.

What made you choose to move there?

I moved to PR in the midst of a very bleak, very cold NYC winter that seemed would never end. I went to PR for work–I’d just quit my job as the assistant director of a social service agency and I had no back-up plan. Then, suddenly, a job as a tour director materialized. That job happened to be with a company from which I’d won a travel scholarship while I was in high school. And they happened to need a tour director to lead trips to Puerto Rico. Because I was fluent in Spanish, I was picked for the job.

In the midst of all this change, the rent on my NYC apartment doubled and I couldn’t afford it. My now-husband and I looked for another apartment, but nothing seemed to pan out. I was sitting in Plaza Colon in Old San Juan on the last night of my tour and looked up at a building that had a “For Rent” sign. I thought “It would be so incredible to live here, amidst all this warmth and color.” It was a Friday night at 7 PM and I totally doubted that the realtor would answer when I called. But he did. And then he invited me over to his house. When I should have been headed to the airport to fly back to NY, I was exploring a centuries old tunnel under the realtor’s house. The idea that all this history was beneath our feet… well, I was fascinated. He made the mistake of telling me that if I ever wanted to move there, that he’d help me find a place.

A couple weeks later, when our lease expired, I called him from the airport. “I hope you were serious about that offer because we’re on a plane and all we’ve got is one bag and our dog, and, well, we’re moving to Puerto Rico!” Within a month, we’d found and moved into an incredible three bedroom apartment in the heart of Old San Juan, in a building that had been inhabited by famous musicians over the years. Every day, we’d throw open the wooden shutters of our windows (no glass or screens!) and just celebrate the fact that it was sunny.

How did you make a living?

I continued to lead tours for part of the year and then I started working as a freelance writer and editor. I continue to do all three of these things… I totally believe in a diversified income stream.

Had you lived abroad in other countries before? Where? Was it easier or harder to feel at home?

I was surprised at how difficult it was for me to live in PR. I’d traveled extensively, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. I’d lived or spent considerable time in some places with limited resources. I was in a long-term relationship with a Cuban– I guess what I’m trying to say is that I thought I knew what I was getting into. I didn’t.

Puerto Rico’s particular history–the fact that it has never been an independent country, but always a territory of another country– has a profound psychological impact on the country and the identity and behavior of its people. I was both fascinated by this and utterly frustrated by it on a daily basis. I wanted to talk with people about it because I wanted to understand it better. I even enrolled in and completed coursework toward a PhD there because I was so interested in it. But no one really wanted to talk about this phenomenon. Once, I was almost literally chased out of class for bringing up the issue.

Also, I found it hard to live in Puerto Rico because I was accustomed to rich cultural diversity in NYC, and by that, I mean different kinds of people, activities, events, and resources. Whatever your interests are, you can have them satisfied in NYC. In Puerto Rico, though, the cultural/intellectual life is more limited. I was very frustrated by that, even though I worked hard to find a place there.

Finally, what I found perhaps most difficult about living in Puerto Rico was that none of my friends or family ever wanted to listen to me complain about my difficulty living there! They viewed Puerto Rico as a paradise, and believed I couldn’t possibly have a reason to complain if I lived on a tropical island. They imagined that the sun and the beach were enough to wash away any cares.

When paradise isn't enough. Image: Silversldr via flickr

Were you part of a close-knit expat community, or were you closer to locals?

I was much closer to locals, especially my immediate neighbors in my building, and remain friends. I never really tapped into an expat community as such, though I became good friends with an expat couple who owned a guest house business and who experienced many of the same frustrations as I did.

Did you think about your adopted country as home?

I loved my apartment in Puerto Rico, and I loved my friends, but I never really felt at home there. In contrast, I definitely felt at home in Mexico City, even more at home there than I do in NYC.

What were the greatest differences you noticed?

The weather, definitely. But also little daily quality of life issues. Among people who have a little bit of power or authority, there’s a profound sense of responsibility and obligation that leads to what I consider to be inane bureaucracy. Thus it takes enormous effort to resolve something as simple as overcharged water bills and the like. In fact, in the 2.5 years I lived there, that issue was never resolved.

I was completely fluent.

So the language difference didn’t really affect you?

I needed to learn some local slang, and hadn’t quite realized how much English has been incorporated into Puerto Rican Spanish. Also, my speech became much more informal, as PR doesn’t really use the “Ud” form very much.

Did you have a local partner? How does or doesn’t that help you integrate?

It’s funny- because my partner is Afro-Cuban, many people looked at him and assumed he was African American. When he would speak Spanish, there’d always be this double-take moment. In some ways, he found it more difficult to integrate than I did.

Would you consider taking out citizenship abroad?

This doesn’t apply to Puerto Rico, but the reason we moved to Mexico was to establish residency that would ultimately lead to citizenship. I very much wanted to become a citizen of Mexico. I wouldn’t lose my home country citizenship.

If you don’t have citizenship, what are your feelings on living in a country where you have no political voice?

Having a political voice is very important to me, but I’m not sure that voting is the only form of political voice. In Latin America, in particular, I think that participation in informal politics is actually far more influential. And that’s more important to me, ultimately.

Was there a moment when you suddenly realised the extent to which you had integrated? To which you hadn’t?

When I realized I was angry for some part of every day in Puerto Rico, I realized that I would never be able to integrate fully and that it was time for me to move.

What advice would you have for ‘newbie’ expats? What do you wish you had known before moving to your new home?