Rodrigo's Story

Rodrigo came to New York from Colombia in 1970, when he was twenty-four years old.

Now, he is working as manager of the cleaning department in the Open Society Institute (OSI).

His first job, however, was as dishwasher. Rodrigo came to the United States looking for a better life because in his country the economy was very bad.

In his  opinion, the advantages of living in New York are public services like transportation, education, health and better opportunities to learn English. The disadvantages, in Rodrigo's opinion, are that the cost of living is very expensive, especially the house rent- he has to work very hard here.

Rodrigo gets up at 5:30 A.M. and starts working at 7:00, but the schedule is flexible.

In his free time, he enjoys watching TV (sports) with his wife. They eat delicious meals cooked by his wife.

Rodrigo signed up for English classes at LaGuardia in 1973 and took a course for only three months. He came back this year (2014) because he wants to improve his English.

Rodrigo wants to speak fluent English and travel around the world. That's his dream.