Living in Uruguay: Julie Alonso

Julie Alonso came from Cuba a year and a half ago and is happy in Uruguay, although she misses absolutely everything because she is very attached to her country, its people and its spaces. But she felt that she wanted to give her children a different future, with more freedom and possibilities, and that led her to emigrate. As she herself says: “I can go to a market and buy whatever I want” Today she is QA Tester at Infocorp and believe it or not: She doesn't like Milanese women! In the future, she would like to travel with her children and to get to know Russia, a country that dazzled her.

Tell me how and when you arrived in Uruguay?

About a year and a half ago, the opportunity came because my husband came first. We had a lot of friends in our field and they told us that there were good job opportunities. He came before and for me it was a challenge to stay alone in Cuba for eight months with our children who were 4 and 5 years old at the time.

Did you know anything about Uruguay before you arrived?

I tried to do research first, especially on the subject of work, and education. We really did it for our children because unfortunately in Cuba we have no possibilities to develop as we wanted and we want our children to grow up more broadly. I liked knowing that you can walk down the street calmly, because I was afraid it would be a violent country. But I really feel super comfortable, even though my children had a hard time adjusting, especially school. I now have difficulty because of the issue of COVID, since the big one is very allergic and asthmatic and I am worried that he may be infected.

And how did they adapt to the Uruguayan climate? We know that some Caribbean people feel very cold.

We love the climate in Uruguay, in fact, with my children I have to be behind them all day to keep them warm. But I love the cold.

How was the job search in Uruguay? How did you come to Infocorp?

When I arrived, I spent three months locating my children, and then I started looking for work. A friend from many years ago who studied together and are like family recommended me, and the truth is that everything happened very quickly. The process was great.

What does your job consist of?

I am QA Tester. What we do is deliver to the customer what he asks for, with the required quality. I'm kind of a filter and I really love my job.

Any anecdote you have about work?

One day I was trying something out at BISA (Banco de La Paz, Bolivia) and I accidentally touched “translate the page” and they were just in a delivery and the whole page broke, that was incredible, everyone came to see me, I was dying because I had just arrived. But it was a learning experience, I've never translated the page again, I know!

When you tell someone from Cuba about Uruguay, what do you highlight?

Normally what I always highlight is that they are not so affectionate here. Although everyone is very friendly, we Cubans are very attached and very affectionate and we always say hello a lot, for example, on February 14 I brought a cake to share with my friends because it was the day of love and friendship and I arrived congratulating everyone and it was like “and why are you congratulating me?” They are different cultures and we learn from that.

What would you recommend to any other foreigner thinking of coming to live in Uruguay?

They really asked me a lot. Something important is that you have to be there for the job search, which can be complicated, although in my case it wasn't. I have a lot of friends who haven't found work and they arrived at the same time as me. Obviously a lot depends on the preparation. Let them know that they are going to have to make a sacrifice, but you have to make up your mind, you have to have a goal.

And what do you miss most about Cuba?

Well, I miss everything about Cuba even though I really wanted to leave the country, because as much as we didn't live badly, I wanted something else. I wanted to go to a market, for example, and buy what I needed. There are people who told me “you'll see that you're going to miss it to the air”, and I said no, but I'm really living it. I miss my house, I miss my friends, I miss going down and talking to anyone because I took it with everyone, the one I sold at the grocery store, in other words, I miss everything. But I'm still happy with the decision. It's a matter of attitude and not letting go.

If you could choose to travel to the past or to the future where would you go and why?

Well, in the past I don't know... but in the future I want to go to the United States to see my family and if not in the United States to any country where we can meet. In Cuba I only have one aunt who is just doing the paperwork to get out there. My mother, brother and wife and two daughters are in the United States. Another of my dreams is to go to Russia with my children. I traveled there with my husband because it was one of the places you could go to from Cuba without a visa. I loved it, my eyes couldn't reach enough to see. When I went to Russia there was no snow, it was just summer, but it gripped us like a storm, I didn't wear anything in winter, first because I didn't have any, in Cuba it's not cold and second because they told us “now there's summer there, it's like here” and we arrived and it fell to hail. But nothing, we bought two or three things, and we loved it.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Yes. My personal goal during all this time was to grow professionally and intellectually and today I feel much more prepared. I learned a lot at Infocorp and most of all I love the union we have between all of us. In this time of quarantine, we have come together even more. I've spoken to a lot of people that I haven't even spoken to before. I also love bosses. Every day I learn something new. So, despite the distance, I don't regret taking the plunge.

Ping Pong with questions and answers

Q: A Uruguayan meal that you like or don't like

A: I don't like Milanese women. The ones I have tried and I feel that they lack salt and are very breaded

Q: A place in Uruguay that you like

D: Casa Pueblo

Q: An Uruguayan custom that you have adopted

A: Talk to the “ta”

Q: Some Uruguayan artist

A: Valeria Britos, I really like the song “Don't think so important”

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