American Culture Through Films

Posted: May 24, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: American Culture, Immigrant experiences, Opinion | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

by Maya, ESU ARNIC member and a new immigrant in NYC

 

I love watching movies. This is one of my favorite hobbies. So, when I was told that the Andrew Romay New Immigrant Center (ARNIC) at the English-Speaking Union (ESU) has started a program of discussion and screening of the best American films every Friday, I immediately decided to join this workshop. The films are usually presented by the ESU’s English in Action volunteer tutors.

The first film that we watched was called To Kill a Mockingbird. By that time I have already read the book. However, I could not understand the meaning of the title yet. When we finished watching the film in ESU, we had a discussion, and one of the questions appeared to be about the meaning of the title. The film was presented to us by Athena Foroglou. She guided us through the movie introducing the background of the story and explaining the values of the American society in the 1930s, the period of time when the story unfolded. She helped me to get the answer to my question about the title.

Then we watched 12 Angry Men, Erin Brockovich, Dances With Wolves and All the President’s Men.

For 12 Angry Men we had as a presenter, Barbara Goldberg, who herself has been called to be a juror three times already. It was very interesting to listen to her story about her experience as a juror and to compare it with what we had just seen in the movie, which was made in 1957.

I watched Erin Brockovich before, and I found the movie boring at that time. This time, thanks to Nancy Lewis, who presented to us that movie, I had changed my opinion completely, and thoroughly enjoyed the movie and its themes of women, activism, humanity and persistence.

Before setting to watch All the President’s Men I did not need much of the excursion into the field of journalism and its methods of doing things, as I was a journalist by myself, and I could understand perfectly well the atmosphere in the offices of The Washington Post. However, the supporting material that we received before the screening helped me to comprehend more fully the influence of the Watergate scandal, which was the topic of the movie, on the American society.

This kind of supporting materials is an additional benefit that I get every week from the film workshop, as these materials help us to learn more about the background information and historic facts that surround the stories that we watch. In addition, these handout materials contain key vocabulary that is used in movies that we watch.

Therefore, I look forward to watching more of the best American films at ARNIC at the ESU every Friday and learning more about American culture, values and challenges through discussions with native English speakers and through reading additional materials that ARNIC prepares for us.

Please join us for this program! See the next films’ announcements here: http://www.facebook.com/ESU.ARNIC

Nutrition and Food Portions

Posted: May 20, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Food, Healthcare, Immigrant experiences, Opinion | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

By Dr. Ufuale Christine Afola Amey                                                                      

American supermarkets’ food can look very different and strange for many newcomers in New York City.  What is good to eat? How much food to buy? What kind of food can I use for my cooking? Well, by now you may know that sugar, sugary drinks, salty snacks and processed packaged food are bad for you. If you are still figuring out the healthy diet for yourself, then there is a great resource for you.

On February 14, 2013 at the Andrew Romay New Immigrant Center, Ms. Nedra Jones, a trainer of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension, nicely led us through the different paths of getting a good health that we hardly saw the two hours go by. Through her questions and answers we learnt about the quality and quantity of foods we need daily to be healthy. We need foods to live but we must also care about what we put in our plates all the time, because a very high rate of mortality is linked to sugar, salt and fat overconsumption. Most of cardio-vascular diseases find their root in a high accumulation of these 3 nutritional elements. As there are different ways to get these elements and to better guide people in their choice, foods are divided into 5 groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy.

We daily need all the 5 groups for our well being so it’s very important to know about what goes into each group. For instance, when we daily eat only oranges, strawberries, cantaloupe and drink mixed fruits juice, we definitely eat all subgroups of fruits but maybe overtake our portion of food without using the other groups. The amount of fruits each person needs, depends on his/her age, sex, level of activities, and according to Nedra, in general, the daily need is 2 cups. As an illustration, she showed us the types of cups and glasses that are recommended.

Vegetables are really varied so we should be careful when often taking only lettuce, broccoli or spinach because besides this dark green vegetables group, we also need beans and peas group (black beans, lentils, soy beans…), starchy vegetables group (corn, potatoes, green bananas), red orange vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes…) and other vegetables (onions, green beans,  avocado). All the vegetables may be taken raw, cooked, fresh, frozen dried, cut-up or mashed. The daily need of this group is 2.5 cups but may change from one person to another.

Grains foods are a good source of fiber for our tissues and for a better digestion, but we need to balance this group. Any food made from wheat, rice, oat or another cereal is a grain product. If we are often able to alternate products made of Whole grains (brown rice, oat, wheat flour) with those of Refined grains (white rice, white flour, white bread) our nutrition will be more various, rich and more beneficial for our health. Even though the recommended daily intake of grains depends on sex, age and daily personal activities, the general amount should not exceed 3 ounces a day.

For instance, if we do not eat meat or poultry, we can take peas, eggs, sea foods, nuts or nut seeds to balance our need of proteins. The most important thing we should do is to get the amount we need every day. If the daily intake is 5.5 cups, it’s good to know that a single thigh of chicken or one egg gives us already 1 cup of this group.

Those of us who like milk or food stuffs made out of milk should consider themselves dairy-lovers. To balance the dairy group, we should try to add cheese, yogurt, milk dessert or soy milk sometime. One glass of milk represents 1 cup and we should know that the recommended daily intake of dairy products is 3 cups.

We need five groups of foods every day, but before we eat, we should think about what we put in our plate. According to Nedra, to avoid junk foods in our refrigerator, we should never do food shopping when we are hungry.  As new immigrants in New York, far from our country food habits, we should try as much as possible to know more and better about nutrition and foods portions in order to balance our foods for a better and healthier life. The next classes of Nedra Jones in the Center will be available from March 2013. We were invited to get more information on nutrition and portion sizes at www.choosemyplate.gov

 

 

                                                                                                            

Healthcare and Healthcare Insurance Basics

Posted: May 17, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Healthcare | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

Healthcare system is very complex in the United States. Even people who live here all their lives sometimes have trouble navigating it. In order to understand how healthcare and healthcare insurance work, you need to know some basics.

First of all, there are inpatient and outpatient healthcare services. Inpatient care is provided in hospitals, mental health institutions and nursing homes. Usually for inpatient care you have to stay in these institutions at least overnight and up to several weeks.

You do not have to stay overnight for outpatient care. Usually, individual doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals all provide inpatient care.

Hospitals, the main providers of healthcare, can be public (run by federal, state or local government) or private (nonprofit and for-profit). Veterans’ hospitals are usually run by the federal government, psychiatric institutions – by state governments, and public hospitals – by city government (e.g. in New York City: Bellevue Hospital Center, Coney Island Hospital, Harlem Hospital Center, Elmhurst Hospital Center and some other). Other hospitals are either religious nonprofit institutions (e.g. New York-Presbyterian Health Care System hospitals), non-religious nonprofit hospitals (e.g. Montefiore Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Lenox Hill Hospital and many others) or for-profit hospitals and clinics (there are no for-profit hospitals in New York).

Outpatient care is mostly provided by private doctors that provide primary care (e.g. family doctors or primary physicians) or specialized care (e.g. neurologists, eye doctors and cardiologists). Doctors either work alone or in small groups.

Health Insurance

In order to receive good and consistent care a person needs a health insurance policy.

The insurance company usually charges a monthly fee, called the premium. When you receive health care services, the insurance company will pay your doctor, clinic or hospital on your behalf. However, you still are required to pay for some of the cost. The deductible is a fixed-dollar annual amount of health care costs that you must pay entirely out of pocket. For example, if the deductible on your insurance is $500, the first $500 in medical costs each year is paid by you. “…..Costs beyond $500, the insurance company may pay completely or require a copayment or coinsurance. A co-payment (or “co-pay”) is a fixed-dollar amount that you must pay for certain services. For example, the policy might say that the beneficiary pays $15 out of pocket for each primary care visit and $25 for each specialist visit, while the insurance company pays the rest of the bill. Coinsurance is similar to co-payment, but it’s a percentage of the bill rather than a fixed amount. For example, the beneficiary might pay 20% of the cost of a primary care visit and 25% of the cost of a specialist visit, and the insurance company pays the rest” (quoted from Moore, Nathan; Askin, Elisabeth (2012-06-01). The Health Care Handbook).

Most people in the United States get their health insurance from their employers as part of the work benefits package. Usually, workers pay part of the health insurance premium to employer, and employer adds the rest of the premium and pays all to the insurance company. How much each health insurance plan or policy cost depends on the type of the health insurance company. Because healthcare services are very expensive, health insurance plans tries to keep the expenses low by trying to manage your care by setting up various rules on how you can use healthcare services.

If your employer does not provide a health insurance, or if you are unemployed, it becomes very difficult to buy your own health insurance. It’s just too expensive. There are over 30 million Americans who do not have any health insurance.

If your household income is really low (see a table of maximum incomes below), you can qualify for free or low-cost public insurance like Medicaid, Family Health Plus or Child Health Plus (sponsored by federal and local government together, paid for by general tax revenue). You also have  to be a legal permanent resident or a citizen to request a public healthcare insurance. To find if you are eligible, you can visit Medicaid offices at public hospitals (Bellevue, Coney Island or Elmhurst) or contact community providers Affinity Health Plans or Amerigroup.

More about various healthcare insurance options here and here.

Some answers about Medicaid below (from New York State Department of Health website):

How do I know if my income and resources qualify me for Medicaid?

The chart below shows how much income you can receive in a month and the amount of resources (if applicable) you can retain and still qualify for Medicaid. The income and resource (if applicable) levels depend on the number of your family members who live with you.

2013 Income & Resource Levels*

Medicaid Standard for Singles
People, Couples without
Children & Low Income
Families

Net Income for Families; and Individuals who
are Blind, Disabled or Age 65+

Resource Level
(Individuals who are Blind, Disabled or Age 65+ ONLY)

Annual

Monthly

Annual

Monthly
1 $8,994 $750 $9,600 $800 $14,400
2 $11,228 $936 $14,100 $1,175 $21,150
3 $13,360 $1,114 $16,215 $1,352 $24,323
4 $15,512 $1,293 $18,330 $1,528 $27,495
5 $17,737 $1,479 $20,445 $1,704 $30,668
6 $19,364 $1,614 $22,560 $1,880 $33,840
7 $21,078 $1,757 $24,675 $2,057 $37,013
8 $23,278 $1,940 $26,790 $2,233 $40,185
9 $24,538 $2,045 $28,905 $2,409 $43,358
10 $25,800 $2,150 $31,020 $2,585 $46,530
For each additional person, add: $1,262 $106 $2,115 $177 $3,173

*Effective January 1, 2013

For more details, use the ACCESS NY Public Health Insurance Eligibility Screening Tool to see which public health insurance programs you and your family may be eligible for.

Income and Resource Levels are subject to yearly adjustments.

You may also own a home, a car, and personal property and still be eligible. The income and resources (if applicable) of legally responsible relatives in the household will also be counted.

Can I be eligible for Medicaid even if I make more money than the chart shows?

Yes, some people can. Pregnant women, children, disabled persons, and others may be eligible for Medicaid if their income is above these levels and they have medical bills. Ask your Medicaid worker if you fit into one of these groups.

Click here for more information on the Medicaid Excess Income program.

Individuals who are certified blind, certified disabled, or age 65 or older who have more resources may also be eligible. Ask your Medicaid worker if this applies to you.

If an adult has too much income and/or resources and is not eligible for Medicaid, that person may be eligible for:

Advantages of Being Bilingual

Posted: May 14, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: General, Job Search, Opinion | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

by U. Christine Afola Amey, a new American by way of Togo

Do you agree with me that the ability to use two or more languages is a great privilege in this global economy? Employers prefer people fluent in other languages for their greater capacities. But, one of the best ways to value the benefits of being bilingual is when you travel, asides from the multiple extensive knowledge you can gain by being fluent in two languages. So for me, ultimately, the advantages of being bilingual far outweigh the disadvantages people sometimes might see.

In this globalized world, where the need to communicate more efficiently for greater benefits is so urgent, this ability constitutes a real privilege. Effectively, persons with more than one language have a better chance of being hired easily  than  monolingual people. They are more appreciated and rewarded better by their employers not only for their competencies in doing many different tasks in less time, but also for their ability to belong to two cultures. According to some cognitive studies (Collier, 1987) bilingual people are often greater communicators between their colleagues and greater agents of problem solving for many companies.

In addition to the benefits an employer enjoys, a new set arises,  when you travel to a foreign country where your languages can be used. Personally, I experienced these opportunities many times living in New York now and before coming to New York. My best friends in New York are African and French people speaking French like I do. When I am homesick, I meet them for some conversation.  I also  feel very comfortable in New York when I meet Russian people with whom I can talk, because I am fluent in this language. I make a lot of friends among  these people and we exchange a lot of useful ideas. I always feel a peace of mind and learn more when I can understand what I am  reading in another  language. For this reason, I am really delighted to belong to a book club in this Center where I can share different ideas because I am on the way of becoming a good English speaker.

All these different gains explain people’s different efforts to encourage  their kids  to become fluent in another language. Unfortunately, not all of them reach their goals. In some cases, most children prefer the dominant language. English in the U.S., for example, to their first language. The less preferred becomes weaker or is spoken with some confusion and with  less knowledge of  the culture it represents. To avoid this, the second language should be given at the very early years of childhood – from one to three, then from three to seven up to 15 years- according to Klein, (1989).

To sum up, the opportunity of being fluent in more than one language presents great profits to everyone everywhere. The more languages you know, the more benefits you accrue for yourself and for society. So it is quite normal to notice, nowadays, the numerous efforts made by parents to provide their kids with  good basic elements of second language acquisition.

Halt the White Collar Crime

Posted: May 13, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: General, Opinion | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

by Ngagne Fall, a New American in New York (originally from Senegal, and via France)        

Whether from New York, London or Reykjavik the financial news is still dominated recently by top executives’ accounting scandals. Brought to light by the famous vibrancy of Enron at the end of 2000, top executive wrongdoing has, since that time, broadened out to the most famous business and financial centers of the world.  This willful misconduct could have been avoided beforehand by enhancing transparency in corporate accounting, ordering guiltless probity among executives, and forbidding any conflict of interest.

In people’s minds the financial world is too complicated, understandable only by specialists. This view is widely shared.  In such circumstances, it can be easy and attractive for executive boards of big corporations to veil their dishonest practices under technical jargon or digital code. These tricks must yield under pressure of real policies of transparency which allow people who are interested and authorities to receive information that reflects the factual economic and financial situation of a given corporation.

Besides, a background check on morality in business management of  candidates should precede any appointment.  By this mean, corporations can be protect from unethical behavior of a scheming manager.

Of all these ethical problems mentioned above, conflict of interest remain the most recurring despite a full array of  ethics rules or codes of conduct.  In order to ensure loyalty of top executives to their current companies rather than personal interest, it is necessary to adopt administrative penalties as well as pursue criminal prosecution.

In the aftermath of the damage of an economic crisis due mainly to the malfeasance of some top executives, the need for ethical reforms that could bridle the greedy is overwhelming.  Government or the political powers should immediately take the bull by the horns.

Internet in Our Life

Posted: May 10, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: General, Opinion | Tags: | Leave a comment

by Lesya, a new immigrant in NYC

The Internet is one of the biggest achievements of the last century. The predominance of computers and the Internet has changed our life immensely. A big part of real life has been co-opted by the World Wide Web, but does it have only positive aspects or maybe thought must be given as to how to use this discovery of the century? Along with the positive aspects, the Internet has a lot of potential negatives.

The Internet brings to our lives new wave of accessibility, speed, information sharing, social networking, skype, google etc., but it also brings such negative things as viruses and spam, hacker attacks and exposure to personal information.

For sure, Internet resources are very important for us. For example, now we have an easy way to find information, the ability to connect with people all over the world, and the ability to develop businesses. Moreover, Internet resources help us study; it provides a lot of learning programs and helps people with disabilities to get an education. But students sometimes abuse this capacity.

A new era of computers and the Internet requires a new understanding of human potential, perhaps a more an innovative human potential that includes top notch skills, higher levels of education, and new thinking.

Certainly, we all need to use the Internet, but how we use it depends upon each individual.

 

A Big City or a Suburb?

Posted: May 9, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: General, Housing, Immigrant experiences, Opinion | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

by Emel, a New York City resident (originally from Turkey)                                

What would be the greatest side of living in a crowded, noisy, air polluted city? Or vice versa, what would be the most enjoyable side of living in a suburb where there were no big movie theaters, interesting museums and art galleries, or huge shopping centers? Considering the two options according to two different states –being single or married with children– I would say my preference would change according to my marital status.

Since I am single, I can say that I can still stand for traffic jam, terrible noise, crowded sidewalks, or supermarkets’ long lines of a big city, because there are a lot of attractions in big cities, on the other hand. If you live in a big city and are a social person, it is impossible to be bored. You can easily find an activity which you could be interested in. The best part or the part which, in my opinion, allures people mostly is that the big cities can offer a person a very wide range of options with everything, from shopping to health or education services. If you do not like the menu in a restaurant, you have another choice just at the next door.

On the other hand, if I were married and had children I would prefer to live in a suburb. First of all, living in a quieter environment without less rush gives you a comfort on “time”, which would mean that you could have more time for everything, including your family and children. Living a quiet life without the stress that a big city can cause makes a person more relaxed whether he or she is an adult or a child. Additionally, living in a suburb would be healthier, especially for the children because the environment there is less dirty and more natural than the cities.

As a conclusion, as long as I live by myself I would prefer to live in a big city to use all the good opportunities that it can offer, by ignoring its hard and even sometimes harmful conditions. However, if I live as a family with the kids, I would prefer to live in a suburb for the health and peace of the family, especially of the children.

The Immigrant Experience

Posted: May 8, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: General, Immigrant experiences, Opinion | Tags: , | Leave a comment

by a new immigrant in New York, Maryna (originally from Ukraine)

Imagine this situation: You are in the middle of an intersection and a heavy truck runs a red light; at the hospital doctors assure you about your ability to walk after multiple treatments, various procedures, and endless physical therapy. The rehabilitation process sounds easy. First,  you couldn’t walk, then walk on crutches, then without, clumsily and unsteady. At last, one day, only a slight limp will be a sad reminder of the accident. How long does it take? Everything depends on your perseverance, willpower, belief in yourself, and, last but not least, your optimism and a positive attitude.

This is what happens to every immigrant: it doesn’t matter how respected and important you were in your home country, how many degrees you hold, how good your previous job was, how many friends you had, and how much you meant to your family. The truck didn’t stop, and now you must learn everything from scratch: How to speak, how to read, how to behave, how to find a job, and new friends. For anyone it could take forever. Partly, it is a matter of a person’s flexibility and adaptability.

It has been said that life is a sequence of white and black stripes, like a zebra. I prefer to be less judgmental and allow my life to be more colorful, like a rainbow. I found a lot of hidden treasures by travelling on my “crutches”. When people speak with each other, more than 80% of information is non-verbal. In the beginning I didn’t understand a lot of words, only the main idea. I became more aware of the tone, tempo, gestures, facial expressions, and body language of speakers. Time passed and my vocabulary improved, but now I still pick up a lot of hidden information behind the words.  This struggle with a language made me intuitive and observant. My listening skills improved; moreover, I started to hear different sounds which I couldn’t distinguish before. As all immigrants who have a challenging path, I was getting more patient, more tolerant of other people. I think many immigrants help others absolutely willingly and with enthusiasm because they have understanding and sympathy painfully gained by their own experience.

Immigrants appreciate new friends, or new job as they would have never been able if they hadn’t been immigrants. Furthermore, some insignificant things could make only an immigrant smile. I was happy to understand brief fragments of talk from strangers who were passing me on the street, especially when it happened the first time. It was not buzzing noise any more for me, there were Real words with Real meaning. It is like you were deaf for two years and one morning you woke up and could hear everything again.

After a couple of years you may experience a light bulb flash occasionally. You realize how naive you were, how many dogmas and strange rules you followed in the past. Your value system is changing dramatically because you have a different perspective. It is similar to having a filthy apartment full of dust and old trash, but only now you could make up your mind what really matters.

Without a doubt, having left their home land, immigrants tend to be more polite and educated, tolerant, and open-minded. They are interested in various cultures and attracted to the unknown. After a lot of disappointments and frustrations, with a strong “can-do” attitude, belief in themselves, and good work ethics, some of them are not only able to walk without crutches, but even dance.

Welcome!

Posted: May 8, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: General, Immigrant experiences | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Welcome to the New Immigrant in the City Blog!

Being a new immigrant in New York City is an exciting, but challenging journey. Starting a life from scratch in the Big City offers a chance for a new beginning.  We look forward to creating a blog that supports new immigrants through their first critical years here.  Together we will create a narrative of common experiences, share practical information and discuss issues we face every day.

If you are interested in submitting an entry or find an article of interest to new immigrants, please contact us at immigrants at esuus.org.