Lee's Blog

Lee's Resident Test

We must continually recognize the positive contributions of immigrants, but in order to successfully pass comprehensive reform we need to do as much as possible to create solutions that address realistic concerns from the welcoming community while providing more transparent and effective education to newcomers about what is expected of them.  We need to think outside the box and implement new ideas to supplement the same old ideas that make sense but have failed on their own in the past and continue to fail to address one of the root challenges - cultural misunderstanding.  We are unfortunately not going to get anywhere with successful reform this year or anytime in the future until we address this major challenge.

Successful reform needs to include a practical test that immigrants must pass in order to become residents in the U.S. – for their benefit and for the benefit of society.  Newcomers must be taught and understand critical laws, values, and systems that are different than what they are accustomed to.  The citizenship test focuses on U.S. history and government, which is important, but we need a step prior to that to ensure that people have learned practical information that impacts our safety, economy, health care, education system and human relations.  Like most U.S. born citizens, I’d prefer that immigrants study about when they should go or not go to the emergency room and how to recycle rather than when our Constitution was written or how many stripes are on the flag. 

   We can learn from some other countries that address legal and cultural issues in their citizenship exams.  For example, Canada includes language about protecting the environment, equality, ways to participate in the community, and eliminating discrimination and injustice.  Australia includes values such as equality, compassion, peacefulness and respect.  France includes questions regarding the definition of rape.  Germany includes questions about gender equality.

An English speaking requirement (which is being proposed in most reform talk so far) will not be realistic to implement given the tremendous resources it would require and the time it would take some people to learn the language with barriers such as learning disabilities and child care.  

The resident test on the other hand will be very brief and transparent – everyone will know exactly what they have to learn and what will be asked.  Many immigrants will not make the effort to learn this critical information nor will they even understand how important this knowledge is (to no fault of their own) unless it is mandatory and realistic for them to learn.  They will have a reasonable amount of knowledge to absorb, and this is the kind of essential information that sticks with people forever and has immediate impacts on society.   The resident test will need to be translated into many languages, and it could easily be administered orally to people who are illiterate.  Questions are open-ended to ensure that people aren’t simply guessing the correct answers. And the study guide with all of the answers is already there for people to easily access this information. 

Instances of domestic violence, sexual harassment, child abuse, alcoholism, and unnecessary hospital visits within the immigrant community will not be eradicated, but they will diminish the more people are forced demonstrate their comprehension of U.S. laws, values and systems. Statistically immigrants do not commit more crime than the native-born citizens, but there are perpetrators within any group and those numbers can always be reduced with appropriate education.  Plus, many native-born citizens (including me) think standards should be higher for immigrants given the tremendous demand to live here.

This is not the solution but it is one of a few realistic ones that need to happen if we make the immigration system work better.  If we administered this test to all of the undocumented people in our country right now, very few would be able to answer a majority of these questions.  If we made it mandatory for them to answer these questions in order to receive resident status, they would quickly learn the answers and they would know those answers forever.

Here are some possible questions that could appear on the Resident Test:

1. What are 3 reasons you would call 911?  When should you not call 911?
2. What are 3 reasons you would visit the emergency room? 
3. How many smoke detectors should you have in your home?
4. What are 3 ways you can save energy at home?
5. What is domestic violence? Is it only possible to occur between married couples?
6. What is sexual harassment and where can it take place?
7. What are common penalties for drinking and driving?  How many people are killed every year in the U.S. from drinking and driving? 
8. What is child abuse?   
9. What is an example of child neglect?
10. What is a typical normal body temperature?
11. How can HIV/AIDS be spread?
12. What information is often found in a housing lease?
13. What date are taxes due every year?
14. What is a “dependent” on your tax form?
15. How do people establish good credit?
16. When walking or riding a bike you should always stay on which side of the path unless you are passing someone? 
17. How much is a typical tip when going out to eat at a restaurant?
18. What are consequences of throwing trash on the ground?
19. What do people recycle in the U.S. and why do we recycle?    
20. What are three things you can do (or not do) to be a good neighbor? 
21. What are some benefits of volunteering in your community?
22. What is considered to be alcoholism in the U.S.? What is Alcoholics Anonymous?
23. What are some rights you have as someone living in the U.S.?
24. Approximately how many calories should the average person consume in a day?
25. At a minimum, how many times a week and for how long should people exercise?
26. If a man has non-consensual sex with his wife is it considered rape?
27. Who is eligible to receive social security benefits?
28. When is an employee eligible for overtime pay?
29. What should a person do if they get pulled over by a law enforcement officer while driving?
30. What are 3 forms of birth control used in the U.S.?
31. How does sugar consumption impact your dental health? 

Wouldn't our society be better off if all immigrants and everyone living in our country could answer these questions with confidence?  I'm going to do whatever I can to make it happen because it's a tangible, realistic-to-implement, important step, and I really want to see immigration reform pass this year.  The same old solutions aren't going to get us anywhere. 

Immigrant guide is done

After working on it on and off for the last 15 months it's finally done.  The title we agreed on is What Every Immigrant Needs to Know - Practical information for living and succeeding in the United States.  I now have 10,000 copies of it in our office, my car, and my garage.  My goal is to sell 500,000 this year.   Ambitious but doable.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out - the cover is colorful and catchy and the rest is simple and easy to read.  It has a ton of information, 170 topics, condensed into 48 pages.  I haven't been this excited about anything since we first started Intercambio.  The potential for this guide to be utilized heavily throughout the country is real, and I feel like whether I reach that potential depends on the marketing efforts.  I have no doubt the product is needed, affordable and high quality. 

Today we mailed about 150 samples to places like Mexican Consulates, Police Depts, Housing Depts, Refugee resettlement Agencies, Unions, ESL programs, Health Depts, Libraries, and more.  We've researched about 10 different cities throughout the country so far, but I want to do much more. 

I'm also excited about a conversation I had with someone from Ashoka last week about potentially becoming a fellow with them.   Ashoka is an amazing nonprofit that works with social entrepreneurs throughout the world. It has been my dream for the last few years to somehow be a part of that inspiring network of people who are creating new ideas that result in lasting change.  It's a longshot that they'll accept me, but it's still exciting.  They seemed intererested in my broader vision for the immigrant guide, which is to modify it for different countries in order to build cultural understanding on a global level.  Most of the gloabl cultural conflicts stem from people simply not knowing where the other side is coming from and not being aware of cultural differences, and this guide makes those differences transparent and real in a respectful way.  We'll just wait and see what happens with that. 

Lots of other exciting stuff to write but it'll have to wait.  It's 12:30 and my eyes are starting to close.  Buenos nachos.   

Intercambio in Belgium

That's right.  Intercambio is sort of international now.  A few months ago a group of 20 Belgians who work with immigrants visited us at our office and we discussed the work of Intercambio.  A few of them were inspired enough by what we do to replicate the way we coordinate our one-on-one classes there in Antwerp.  I shared some materials with them not thinking they'd actually follow through, but I just received an email a few days ago saying that it's now up and running!

That was just the start to a great weekend.  For the last two weeks I've had about 25 people in the Saturday dance aerobics class and the vibe keeps getting better and better. Ayad, a friend form Iraq, said that the dance class is the most effective form of immigrant intergation he's experienced here, where he doesn't think about his race or ethincity and he's just having fun with a super diverse group.  That really made me happy. 

I got invited by the YWCA and Boulder Chamber to participate in the Boulder version of Dancing with the Stars, where I'd be matched up with a pro dancer and choreogrpaher for 6 weeks or so.  I'm super excited but not sure I can do it because the date is right around La Fiesta.  I hope it works out. 

Today I played indoor soccer and hung out with a bunch of our old and current students there.  Before that I helped my friend make a music mix for her elementary school dance troup.  Before that I made Arepas (like Colombian tortillas) with a couple of Colombian friends following a mean round of frisbee golf and a little jacuzzi time.  This morning had breakfast with Rossana and Steve.  Rossana does very interesting cross-cultural work throughout the world and she is the one who developed many of the social interaction sections of the immigrant guide. 

Yesterday I presented at a volunteer training in Longmont and consulted with a woman in Littleton who is also planning to use part of the Intercambio model with an organization there called the Littleton Immigrant Integration Initiative, which is also exciting.  Rachel, our new Academic Coordinator and I hung out at Reyes' house for a little after that and his super cute son who speaks awesome Spanglish.  Then I hooked up with Brett/Benito to check out some cool designs he drafted for the next round of Intercambio shirts.  Hung out for a bit with Shawn, who has been sick for the last couple weeks after eating a sketchy chicharron in Rancho Grande Mexico.  He's getting better now though.  His business Laci is doing well and I'm really proud of all the great stuff he's creating and learning.  After that Maria, Rachel and I went techno dancing, which was funny, and then for happy hour sushi, which I've been craving for weeks. 

I'm excited for MLK day tomorrow and to go ice skating again with the Intercambio crew on Friday :) 

Still partying

Happy 2009 everyone!  Despite some scary times ahead I'm excited for this next year.  We rang in the new year with a great party at our house and some dancing until 4am.  It was nice to spend new years with a bunch of good people who were all having a good time.  Had some more parties today, including a brunch at Linda Smith's house.  She is an ex-volunteer who started up a cool nonprofit, Reading Village, working with literacy in Guatemala.  I hope to make it down there to volunteer with them sometime this year. 

Photos of new years and the baptism party.

It was also nice to randomly run into other Intercambio volunteers and ex-vols at the party.  I also got to talk to some folks who've done work in the Amazon with indigenous people.  We talked about the difference between European and U.S. global philanthropy, and how European support tends to be longer term general support while U.S. international funding tends to be more short-term project based.  We discussed the logistic difficulty of communicating with people because of lack of technology down there.  Peter who works at Global Greengrants told a funny story of how we was a godfather for a family in Peru, and the family got internet and email.  He sent them various emails and they never responded.  Years later he reunited with them in person and said that he sent them emails but he assumed that they never received them.  No, the mother said, they received the emails but they didn't have Peter's email address to respond to. 

I met an Iranian Jew there, a really nice guy with interesting perspectives.  I chatted with Alice Swett, a cool woman who referred Rachel, our awesome new Academic Coordinator, to Intercambio.  She works with a program, YOAB, to get youth involved in philanthropy and leadership. 

A few hours after that party I went to a Mexican Baptism party where I was the only white person of about 300 folks.  The actual Baptism took place yesterday, and the party is a regular party, with a live band and dancing.  An abundance of kids were running around like crazy, some nearly getting stepped on near the dance floor.  It's a little chaotic but cool for them to be free, running around playing with other kids, many who are family members.  I saw a few of the kids who come to the office with their parents for the dance class and who were in the Boulder Magazine picture with me.  Most of the guys have sombreros, fancy belts, and cool boots.  I saw a bunch of people I know and was excited to see, and most of them are somehow related too.   The dancing is funny, everyone has their own style and there's lots of movement around the dance floor, and people bump into each other like pinballs.  And after each song there is silence - no applause.  I'm always almost the only one applauding for a song just out of habit, but just as I start to clap my hands together I realize.  I didn't dance much because I didn't really know who it'd be okay to dance with.  Pretty much every woman over the age of 18 was with their husband, and I don't want to give husbands the impression that I'm trying to steal their wives, which I'm absolutely not.  Usually at parties like that there are women who ask me to dance, but not tonight.  It was still fun and I love watching and listening to the music, although I think I'm deaf in my right ear temporarily because it's so loud.  Ivan, my friend who invited me, said that the parties in his hometown are just like ther are here, only they're bigger there and they dance outside on the dirt and kick up dust.  It's a privilege to be able to experience events like that here. 

On Friday I hung out with some of the CU students who helped start SWAP, which is like Intercambio on campus linking workers with CU students teaching English.  Claudia just got back from Chiapas, Mexico and was telling all about the Zapatista movement there.  Sierra is home for a break before going back to Costa Rica, where she's using Intercambio's books to teach some English classes on the side. 

Finally, I'm happy with the support Intercambio received at the end of the year.  We received some new foundation grants and new individual donors, which makes up for the Foundations and individuals who are decreasing or eliminating their gifts because of the market. 

2009 is going to be another interesting, exciting year.               

Reflecting on 2008

I'm grateful to have completed another great year of life.  Lots of good stuff happened in Lee's world 2008. Obviously there were challenges and sadness too, but those were outweighed by the good this year.  Most important is that I feel really good about the relationships I have with friends and family right now.  I feel like I'm working to become more understanding, friendly and honest every day and it's working.  I've learned a lot about being a better person and about how I most enjoy life and fulfill my personal mission of inspiring human elevation. 

The new friends I connected with this year are amazing, as are the old ones I continue to connect with.  I'm really frickin lucky to surround myself with the people in my life.  Some great friends moved on and some others moved in.  And the family is good and positive.  Yeah, that includes you mom :)

I achieved some dreams of completing my first publication that will evolve and play some important role in increasing global peace (170 Essentials to Know as an Immigrant in the United States), and I became a multicultural dance aerobics teacher and am spreading fun, physical fitness and damn good music.  It was even a great year with soccer, our team advancing and no major injuries for me.  My body is more flexible and can now touch my toes without bending my knees for the first time.  I continue riding and getting joy from my cruiser bike almost daily.  Today I rode along the creek which is super beautiful with the ice and snow lining the sides of the flowing water.  Being able to stop along the creek a couple days a week to watch and listen to the water is a great privilege.

I had another amazing trip to Peru in June, one of my better trips ever with the wonderful combination of translating between doctors to bridge gaps of crucial medical knowledge, hanging out with the kids at La Canoa, and partying at night.  And Mexico was awesome too, and I was able to absorb a bunch of culture, fun and grease in 5 days. 

Intercambio keeps thriving, and we managed to continue growing and improving during a time of much internal transition and an economic collapse.  2009 will be challenging, but only because we have huge goals for continuing to strengthen locally while spreading the model and mission nationally.  We just have to work a little harder and smarter.  And Vinny and I finished our video with the help of People Productions.  The fiesta and fiesta dance were as fun as ever, we had lots of other sweet Intercambio events including the rec center events, volunteer appreciation, Halloween, the potluck dance party, the tax workshop in Longmont that turned into a cumbia concert, and many others.   

Even politics turned out good at the end of the year.  We have an intelligent, reasonable, and cool President who has an incredibly hard job now but is a great guy to get it done.  The economic situation is going downhill, but I already wrote about that a few weeks ago. 

I could go on, but in general I'm happy to wrap up what was another great year of life.  Thank you to all who are a part of my life.  Once you're a part of someone's life you're a part of it forever. Now I'm ready to party on Wednesday :) 

Thanksgiving conversations

If you want to read about my recent thoughts on immigration, election and the economy, check out the previous entry.  This one is more about my time home, which I haven't had time to process in writing yet.

I had a blast at home in MD during Thanksgiving.  I got to spend good time with family and lots of friends.  Our family gave thanks that we get along for the most part, which I'm realizing is a true blessing as I get older and see how more and more people are messed up because of dysfunctional families.  I owe a lot of my happiness to my family for being supportive and cool with me.  Grandma ain't doin so hot, but she was happy to be with us and didn't say anything crazy or ask my mom again if she was pregnant.  I'm not sure it's Alzheimers, it's like she's in a half-asleep reality, talking to us while she's dreaming or thinking about something else.  Everyone else was good though. 

3 nights at home I hung out with friends.  2 of those nights we spent time in a TV-less room at my house, and one night at a friend's apartment with the TV on.  Absence of TV made a big difference in the level of communication we engaged in.  At my house we had super intense conversations about how if you've ever been put under for surgery you don't remember anything, and how death might be kind of like that (yes I am sober while writing this and yes I think about death quite a bit.  I don't fear death but I am fascinated and very curious, but not curious enough to try to speed up the life process).  We talked about different types of conversation.  For instance, there's small talk, talk with probing questions, joking around talk, recapping things that have already happened talk, talk where one person is sharing knowledge with the other, talk about future, etc.  Usually we just talk without thinking about what kind of talk we're talking.  Talkety talky talk.  Some words become funny if you say them a lot.  We talked about how humanity still needs work, but how we've come a long since days when torture was more common, and people did messed up stuff to other people a lot more than it's happening today.  I still find it weird that mistreating fellow humans is a strong instinct that remains within many people.  But again, it seems like we're on the right path in reversing those instincts.  That's the kind of stuff I love talking about. 

In front of the TV we talked about football and Wii (the real-life video game thing which I have mixed feelings about because it does cause people to exercise which is good, but there are other ways of doing real exercise). 

On a totally different note, a few hours ago I met with a group of CU students who are working on the SWAP program, which is Intercambio on campus at CU where CU students are teaching English to the immigrant workers.  It's a very cool program and they've set up 100 classes already.  I'm their adviser for a project they're working on to make that program sustainable on campus, and I love working with them.  They have great energy and a positive change-the-world attitude, which most people call naive but I call smart.  You gotta think big to achieve big, and I want to encourage them to think big.  It's working for me so far.  I also think about how my volunteer experiences at the Univ of Michigan at the prisons and mental health facility really shaped who I am today, and how this experience is maybe shaping them a little too.  I feel a duty to provide University students with life-changing opportunities like teaching and connecting with people from different cultures, because people created similar opportunities for me. 

I gotta get back to working on the immigrant guide now.  It's so close to being done and I'm getting more excited about the potential for it to be used by millions of people.  This excitement is alos adding a little pressure and stress, which I think is good sometimes.  Thanks for reading :) 

Scary times

A lot has happened in the last 2 months.  Politically, the economy tanked and we had a monumental presidential election.  The global reaction to the election of Obama has been extremely positive, and it was amazing to witness the election at my house with a bunch of Latino friends who recognize that they have something in common with Obama.  Other countries have increased their faith in our country, not just because a majority of people were able to look beyond Obama's skin color, but because he is intelligent and he realizes that we need to communicate with other world leaders if we want to improve foreign relations. I'm excited to travel outside the country and the for the first time in a while feel proud to be American.

So now Obama has a tough job.  I just read that in November over 500,000 jobs were lost.  In addition to reading about loss of jobs, I've talked to lots of people who are at companies that are laying off people.  Where are all these jobless folks going to work?  Are people going to downgrade from middle-class jobs to lower-class ones?  I don't think so, but what other options are out there?  Most companies that are going through layoffs aren't in a position to hire.  And it's not exactly an easy time to start up a new business, so we won't see a lot of new jobs popping up other than federal efforts to reconstruct our roads, schools and to make things more energy efficient.  That is one solution that will help, but it will still leave many people unemployed, needing to cut down their expenses, which trickles down to industries at every level.  So unfortunately I think the economy looks bleak.  I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see how it's going to start rebounding within the next 5 years or less.  I'm very curious to see what happens.

At Intercambio we just sent out our year-end appeal, which usually brings in a good chunk of our annual revenue from individuals.  This will be indicative of the impact on us.  Some nonprofits will thrive because they truly need it immediately, such as shelters and food banks.  But how will nonprofits that provide more sustainable, long-term services like Intercambio fare?  We've already had one major foundation freeze their funding for everyone (a $30K grant to us) and another small foundation cease their funding of us because of a shrinking portfolio.  However, some individuals are recognizing that now is the time to be as generous as possible. 

What will happen with immigration?  Now would be a great time to implement an amnesty and collect money from the millions of undocumented immigrants who would be more than happy to pay fines of a couple thousand dollars in order to receive documents.  That could provide tens of billions of dollars during a time of need.  Should that money go to bail out companies that pay their CEO's $40M a year?  That's a whole other question, and that kind of crap needs to change soon.  Our social security system might be hurt by an amnesty though because now many immigrants are paying into SS and never receiving a dime because they're working under a different name or #.  We'd have to actually pay them this money that they earned.  But more importantly it seems that the government just hasn't figured out the logistics for how an amnesty would actually work and set forth reasonable quotas for the future.  I hope Obama and McCain work together to make something happen soon, because this is one issue where McCain actually has good ideas.  Or at least he did a few years ago when the McCain-Kennedy bill was proposed. 

I'll keep doing my part and just wait and see what happens.   

A big week

This Friday is La Fiesta, and it's always an intense week where I freak out and think that it's not going to be as big as it could be and that I'm forgetting something critical.  I'm also just excited about it, especially for our performance :)

This is Vicky's last week at Intercambio after nearly 5 years and that is sad, although I try not to think about it.  Hiring is not my favorite thing in the world either, but I'm sure we'll get someone good.  I'm very happy with our staff right now. 

The immigrant guide is almost done for real now, and I'm hoping to get it to the printer by next week.  We'll start sending out samples as soon as it's ready. 

Intercambio National Headquarters is becoming more of a reality despite fears I have because of the economy.  We have a few really nice pledges that almost get us to the point we need to be to break off.  If and when that happens I'll need to find ways to stay connected to the local community as well because I love this place and the people I know here. 

Excited for my family to come in town and to see their reaction (especially my mom) during the performance. 

I'm finally optimistic about the election and the way things are looking for Obama, but still really frickin nervous and I get nauseous when people joke around and say President Palin.  No way. 

Gotta go get ice cream for Vicky's going away party tomorrow. 

Dance Performance

Something gets me really excited about choreographing and performing our fiesta dance performance every year.  I feel lucky to have Shawn and a diverse group of amazing people willing to do anything and have a ton of fun in the process, and make over 1,300 people smile and laugh in the end. 

I wish everyone could experience it.  October 17th, don't miss it.                                 

Had a great Board meeting and BBQ last night with all our new staff and Pat, our new Board member.  I've said this before, but I feel so lucky to be leading an organization that draws such amazing people at every level.  Even everyone's spouses are super cool.  It looks like we'll be changing our name from Intercambio de Comunidades to Intercambio Boulder County, Intercambio Denver, and any other Intercambio followed by the region served. 

Now I have Luna, Vicky's dog, by my side.  Vicky will be picking her up in a bit.  I got Luna from her doggie camp and left her in the car for 5 minutes while I visited my buddies Omar and Edgar who were working at IHOP.  2 minutes later a guy asked me if that was my dog who jumped out the car window.  Yup. 

I'm excited that today I talked to someone willing to intern to help market the immigrant guide by beginning to fill in a spreadsheet of who to mail it to throughout the country (consulates, government offices, hospitals, major employers, schools, etc).  She'll hopefully start to identify where to send them, who to address, and who has the authority to eventually purchase them in large quantities if interested.  It's a ton of info to gather and organize.  

Buenos nachos,

What's going on

It's been a while and I need to do a little catching up and updating for friends and family to see but also for me to help digest life a little bit.  So what has been going on?  Presidential election has me hopeful but a little nervous. I'll never forget that "oh my gosh, this is impossible, how the hell?" feeling from the last two elections, and I don't want to experience that again.  Especially with a candidate that seems so sharp, open and grounded...and doing well fundraising which is important. 

Intercambio is great, and I'm happy with all the new people on board - new Program Coordinator Maria, temporary replacement for development Dawn, and a new part-time office manager Kathy to help me and allow me to focus on expansion and management issues.  Jenna, our development director, will have her baby soon and I'm really excited for her. 

The funding for replication is at a stand still for now following a disappointing rejection from the Knight Foundation, but we will get the support we need soon.  Two amazing ex-volunteers are starting needs assessments in Boise Idaho and Fort Collins, CO as possible replication sites, and Denver is going well despite challenges receiving funding. 
We had a great strategy session with the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, which is a wonderful

group of people with a mission that could really create some positive change.  Here's an article that was in the Boulder County Business Report about our expansion and partnership with EFCO. 

I'm finishing up the immigrant guide (170 essentials to know as an immigrant in the US) and waiting now for the Spanish translation to be complete.  I'm anxious to get out the first round and see what kind of feedback we get.  My vision is for this guide to be the "bible" for immigrants, and that it becomes recognized by governments as information that must be supported and spread.  I'd like to sell 2 million copies in the next 3 years and use the revenue to support Intercambio National.  Let me know if you're interested in seeing a draft or printed copy when they're done in a few weeks.  

Here's another article I was quoted in a few weeks ago, but see if you notice anything funny about the quote :)

 
Other stuff going on, weekly dance aerobics class Shawn and I are teaching is still incredibly fun and tiring.  Playing soccer again and loving it.  Summer has been full of fun events (welcome parties, runs in the rain, hikes, bodas, and bailes).  Still haven't found a house/condo to buy but am in no rush.  Next weekend I go home to MD and visit Grandma in PA. 
That's enough for now.  Life is intense as always, but I love it and the people in it.