First Generation Americans, Are We A Problem?
As more First Generation Americans move to Latin America searching for affordability, cultural belonging, and a better quality of life, many of us don’t realize that we may also be bringing the same American values and behaviors we claim to dislike.
More often than I’d like to see, there is a new socila media influencer sharing their new discoveries about their new and wonderful life in Latin America. A lot of it is concentrated on how much cheaper and affordable life can be in Latin America if you make your wages in United States Dollars or Euros. But doesn’t the ability to earn in a stronger currency and consume in a developing country’s economy create a structural power advantage? And don’t those power advantages reinforce colonial patterns?
On American Hustle Culture
Hustle culture mentality had me by the neck a few weeks ago. There weren’t enough hours in the day to get to everything I needed (wanted) to get done. This wasn’t the first time I felt this. Once I realized I was bugging I began thinking about how I got into this vicious cycle of feeling like it is never enough.
The steps towards hustle culture start early in the United States. A lot of Americans start off with an allowance at the age of 8 or 9. Kids use the money their parents give them for completing their chores to buy snacks after school or save it to buy something bigger at a later time. Programs like Bring Your Kid to Work Day and Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEP) are there to teach us the importance of making money at an early age.
I certainly learned a lot from this culture, however, after living in Colombia for so long, I see the contrast in lifestyle. The hustle is reserved for adults in Colombia. Jobs that are typically done by teenagers and young adults like supermarket cashier and retail are executed by grown adults. Family usually takes the economic responsibility for children and young adults with the hopes that they concentrate on their studies in order to secure better job employment opportunities. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way in Colombia.
Amigo, el ratón del queso
Medellín continues to make headlines. On March 27, 2026, the body of Erick Molina, an American Airlines flight attendant was found 100 kilometers south of Medellín. Erick had been a victim of a very popular drugging scam in Medellín: Scopolamine. It is a natural drug that is found in the Brugmansia plant family. The plant is most commonly known as floripondio, or more appropriately, borrachero. On occasion, doctors use it to treat motion sickness, but if ingested in large quantities, a person loses their ability to make decisions and can voluntarily give up their personal information. There have been countless news articles, documentaries, and interviews made about the dangers of this drug.
Danger is relative. Gun violence is something to be worried about in the United States; not so much in Colombia. Colombia has it’s own unique set of dangers that can affect you if you aren’t careful. Your best bet is not to look for sex and drugs. Locals would consider you are “giving papaya” and pursuing the quickest way down the Medellín crapshoot if you choose any of the later activites.
But “giving papaya” isn’t the only way to get yourself in trouble. Often times, people romanticize Latin American hospitality. People like to think that people are more hospitable, kind, and warm. While that might be true, it is a proven method local criminal organizations use to earn your trust and commit their crime. Please be cautions because amigo, el ratón del queso!
What Do New Yorkers Think is Normal That Other People Find Weird?
I always knew New York was different. I really never came to understand what that meant until I moved out of the city. The first time was in college. I went to a university in a rural town in Upstate New York with a population of about 12,000 people. The difference I noticed then was the diversity. In college, everything seemed so flat. Everyone was tuned into a frequency I couldn’t seem to pick up. The second time was in 2018 when I decided to move to Colombia. And now, when I return the differences are stark and some of them just straight up weird.
I wanted to see if I was the only one who thought so too so I asked Reddit. The answers didn’t disappoint!
4 Books That Changed How I See Identity
Reading has served two purposes in my life: reduce screentime and help me put my feelings in place. I’ve become a voyeur. It has helped me feel less alone.
I don’t think I’ve ever read as many books as I did when I moved to Colombia in 2018. I think I got close to 30. Life has since gotten in the way and 15 now is an achievement. Recently, I revisited my handwritten list of read books and four titles stood out. These books all dealt head on with themes of identity and have helped me express things I’ve always felt but never knew how.
Where The Past Begins by Amy Tan
We’ve taken the family stories we’ve heard as factual. We don’t even think to challenge them. Probably because we’ve grown used to our heros and villains. In her memoir, Amy Tan goes through seven bins of family memorabiliia challenging every idea and story she had about herself and her family. In most instances she reaffirmed what she’s always known but she learned that lies are often weaved into stories with many versions.
Mi País Inventado by Isabel Allende
The most publish Latin American author wrote her famous novel La casa de los espíritus based on the stories she heard from her grandfather. Her grandfather spoke about his big house on the corner so much, she thought she had lived in it and felt compelled to write about it.
Sometimes we inherit our memories. We own them and treat them like they are ours. But they aren’t. Its good to appropriate memories to help us understand where we come from but they can be tricky because they’ll have us believing something that doesn’t exsist.
Stay True by Hua Hsu
We like to complain about how people are represented in media. Most of the time we’re caricaturized, white people included. But what happens when there is no representation at all? These are some of the things Hua talked about with his late friend, Ken who had tragically passed away in a car jacking.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
It so much more than a love story. This novel is about the intricacies of how race and class work in both the United States and the UK. It forces the reader to confront how identity, especially within the Black communities, belonging, and perception change across borders.
I Quit Drinking When I Moved to Medellín
Medellín has the reputation for being a big party city. And it is if you are on vacation or on a sabatical. I have been living in Medellín since 2018 and I have found that drinking culture is much more prevalent in the United States. Drinking culture in the US officially begins in college. It is everywhere.
I went to college in a town that had 13,000 people and more bars per square mile than any other city I had been to. Coming from New York City, it was quite the big culture shock. I had a really hard time assimilating. Most people around me had suburban or rural backgrounds. I eventually met my tribe, but it still wasn’t easy. There wasn’t much to do in this small town. Sorority and fraterinity parties were the standar weekend (and sometimes weekday) activity. At the time, alcohol helped me control my social anxiety and it made everything seem so fun! This is how my drinking habit began.
When I moved back to New York City I discovered how great the party scene was. I had a really great time and made plenty of memories with my friends. But drinking in New York City doesn’t just stay at the club or the bar, it spills over into the work culture. Team building usually happens over happy hour. You build your network at fancy corporate events that often offer three or four hours of open bar. And how can we forget those lavish and extensive client meals?
After living in Colombia for as long as I have, and after having the experience of working at three large Colombian corporations, I can say that alcohol is not as big as people like ot think it is.
6 Unspoken Rules NOT to Break in Medellín
Medellin is one of the most visited cities in Latin America today. Travelers come for the spring-like weather, the mountain views, and the energy of a city that has reinvented itself over the past few decades.
But like any city, Medellín has its own social codes. Here are some tips you should follow to avoid misunderstandings that can create awkward moments.
1. Don’t Call Medellín “Cheap”
Many visitors arrive in Colombia and are surprised by how affordable things feel compared to the United States or Europe.
But saying “Medellín is cheap” rarely comes across the way people intend.
First, announcing how inexpensive everything is can unintentionally reveal how far your money goes, which isn’t always wise when traveling. But more importantly, for locals this isn’t a vacation destination, its their real life.
To put things into perspective, Colombia’s legal minimum wage currently sits around 1,750,950 COP, plus a 250,000 COP transportation subsidy for workers who qualify. Depenidng on the exchange rate, that comes out to roughly $500 – $550 USD per month.
At the same time, a large share of Colombia’s workforce is informal and earns below the legal minimum wage. In cities like Bogotá or Medellín, many salaried jobs fall somewhere between two and two-and-half the minimum wage.
So if you find accommodations, food, and nightlife far below the prices you are used to, enjoy it. Just keep the commentary to yourself.
2. Don’t Get Too Informal Too Fast
Pasias (people from Medellín) are famously warm and friendly. But Medellín is still a fairly traditional and socially conservatiev city, and formality matters more than many visitors expect.
A good rule of thumb:
- Address older people as Señor or Señora
- Use usted instead of tú when meeting someone new
Overtime, relationship often become more relaxed. But starting with respect goes a long way.
Another thing to understand is that in Medellín, friendship and family are two different circles. Locals may welcome you warmly into their social lives, but family spaces tend to be more private and are earned graudally over time.
3. Don’t Skip the Greetings
In Medellín, interaction usually begins before the request.
Whether you’re entering a doctor’s office, walking into a shop, or passing someone in your building, there is typically a greeting first:
- Buenos días
- Buenas tardes
- ¿Cómo estás?
For visitors from more fast-paced cultures, this might feel like small talk. But here its a fomr of social acknowledgement.
The greeting establishes a conncetion before the transaction.
Ignoring that step can make interactions feel abrupt or even rude.
4. Don’t Treat Lunch Like a Quick Bite
In Colombia, lunch isn’t just another meal. It’s often the main event of of the day.
A traditional lunch usually follows a structure known as “sopa y seco.”
First comes the soup.
Then comes the seco. Typically rice, beans, a protein, plantain, and sometimes avocado.
In other words, a full meal.
Beacuase of this tradition, foods like burgers, pizza, and hot dogs are usually seen as lighter or more casual meals, often eaten in the evening rather than at midday.
So if someone invites you to lunch in Medellín, don’t expect a quick bite. It’s usually mean to be something more substantial.
5. Don’t Confuse Warm Weather with Beach Culture
Medellín’s climate is famously described as “eternal spring.”
But warm weather doesn’t mean beach culture.
Even on casual days, locals tend to dress with intention. Style matters in Medellín. It is not something flashy but rather something put together.
You’ll rarely see locals walking around shirtless, in flip flops, or in a swimwear otuside pool areas.
Personal presentation is seen as a form of social respect. The way you dress signals how seriously you take youself and the space you are in.
6. Don’t Throw Trash on the Streets
Medellín has worked hard to transform itself over the past few decades.
Parks, public transit, sidewalks, and community spaces are all part of that transformation. Many locals take real pride in the city’s appearance.
Because of that, littering isn’t just seen as messy, it is often interpreted as disrespectful.
Treating public places with care is one of the easiest ways to show appreciation for the city.
Medellín is an incredibly welcoming city, and most visitors have a great experience here.
But understanding a few social norms can make your time in the city smoother and more respectful, both for you and for the people who call this place home.
If you follow these six guidelines, you’ll move through Medellín with much greater ease. Here are a few other tips you can follow!
What Marty Supreme Gets Right About First Generation Americans
Marty Supreme (2025) directed and co-written by Josh Safdie is a movie about the 1950s American dream. The movie is losely based on the life of Marty Reisman, a professional tennis player. Marty was also a child of Ashkanazi Jew immigrants that had settled in New York’s Lower East Side.
Marty is employed at his uncle’s shoe store where they also have big dreams for him — to become the shoe store manager. But Marty is above that. Marty is off to the table tennis big leagues. For most immigrant families, owning and running a business in the United States is the American Dream, but the defnition of the American dream shifts between generations often creating a lot of friction between parents and their children.
A big part of the plot revolves around Marty convincing his parents that he doesn’t want to be a shoe store manager. In this video I explore the dynamics that a lot of first generation Americans face just like Marty did.
The “Where Are You From?” Trap. Why NYC is so EXHAUSTING!
I often wonder if I will ever move back to New York City and then I remember the city’s identity dynamics. The answer is pretty simple!
New York City is very small in size. It measures 472.43 sq mi (1,223.59 km2). There are currently 8.5 million people living in the city. I truly believe there are people from every nation in the world living there. And while this is one of the charms of New York, the tribalism can become exhausting.
We all look for similarities in each other; it is our nature. The commonalities people look for in New York are, nationality, languge, food, and religion. Everything other essence of ourselves gets reduced to the pits of identity hierarchies. Of course, this is a survival mechanism. In a city where everyone is a minority, numbers matter.
In New York, this question has no interest in knowing where you were born. At least not initially. That is a follow up question if it wasn’t addressed in your carefully curated introduction speech. The question is designed for you to explain why you look the way you do.
In a city that divides itself by tribes, we have certain behavioral expectations from them, just like we do of brands and products. We are all competing to sell ourselves out to a status we all say we reject.
How Moving to Colombia Changed My Music Taste
I’ve been listening to a lot of 90s pop and R&B recently. It got me thinking of all the changes my listening habits have gone through.
I grew up with limited access to music. For the most part, I grew up listening to Top 40 radio. That meant Casey Kasem on Sundays, Z100, KTU, Power 105, and Hot 97. On TV I watched TRL on MTV, 106 & Park on BET, and The Box. My mom’s music was also part of my jukebox. She had a small collection of vinyls she would plan when we had people come over to visit.
I know we have a tendency to idealize the past. When it comes to music and the past, we usually talk about the ritual behind playing a record or buying music. Although it was the way we all consumed music in the past, it is a ritual that some poeple still able to conserve. There are however other rituals that we have lost forever.
When I was a kid, I remember calling the radio station to request a song. It was really a big waiting ritual. Dialing. waiting on hold, make the request, and then wait to hear your song played. There was an element of intention and presence required.
I don’t know if I necessarily miss those times. I don’t have the patience to call and wait around for a song to be played when I can easily just open up a streaming app and play it on demand. But I do remember those days with a lot of affection because I felt like I was actively participating in the success of the artist. Today, there is no real intention I am just chosing a playlist based on my mood and walk away.
After moving to Colombia, the way I listened to music changed even further. I found it difficult to listen to my old playlists in this new place I call home. I was looking for something to match the mood. I got curious about the independent local music scene and began curating a playlist. I delved in deeper to the sounds of the streets and that resulted in a much deeper relationship with salsa.
I discuss these transformations further in this YouTube video.
Happy watching!
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