Programme Erasmus + Europe on the move : Migration Biographies Essays-Biographies
René Silva ’ s Biography
My name is René Silva , I ’ m 36 and I come from Portugal . I am an emigrant for five years . I work as a Regional Revenue Manager in London .
Currently I ’ m married and I came here because at the time my girlfriend , that is a nurse , had no work in Portugal . So , England seemed to be a good place to improve our financial situation .
All I knew about England before coming there , was that the conditions for emigrants were great . I expected good working opportunities . In the beginning I had to face the language barrier but it was a question of time to overcome it . Living outside Portugal I mostly miss my family , friends and the Portuguese climate , though I have some good friends here .
Beyond some sporadically but not special comments like “ go back to your country ”, I ’ ve neither faced nor witnessed discrimination acts .
I do not celebrate my home country ’ s special days in England . England is too different from Portugal . London is a multicultural city , being different is not a fact for people to comment on . I like going to concerts , to sporting events , visiting museums , all kind of shows that London has to offer and which is more difficult to access in Portugal . I intend to return to Portugal but not until I achieve some financial conditions that currently are difficult to find there .
Pedro Guimarães ’ Biography
My name is Pedro Guimarães and I ’ m an Enterprise Sales Manager .
I am 32 years old and my home country is Portugal . Five years ago I decided to emigrate to the United Kingdom . It was the professional challenge that led me to take the step of emigrating , as I had a reasonable good job in Portugal at the time . My girlfriend was already working in London , so I decided myself for that city . Some months later I moved to another job in Manchester and it was then her turn to move there , too . Now we are living and working in Manchester .
Before emigrating I prepared myself to live in a foreign country . I knew almost everything I consider to be important about the host country : work , housing , food and transport . My expectations were very positive : I was enthusiastic about the professional challenge , and the experience of living abroad . I took with me the flag of Portugal and keep it always by me .
The beginning wasn ’ t always so easy : the adaptation to the native English and to the new group of friends were a kind of problem . To overcome that I watched films with English subtitles and practised the language whenever I could . Moving to another city ( Manchester ) also contributed to improve the language as well as the group of friends that I made , helped me a lot . Some of them are Portuguese and some are of other nations . I miss my family , of course and some of my Portuguese friends I left behind .
The Portuguese are more humble and sincere than the English . Considering the similarities between both of them , good mood and work efficiency come to my mind . As an emigrant I have never felt or experienced acts of racism or discrimination . I spend my free time , watching films at home , going for a walk with my girlfriend , going out with friends , going to the gym and having drum lessons and of course travelling .
My plans for the future ? To return to Portugal !
[ 59 ]