“I try to imitate Dutch people. So I saw that they use the bicycle as a means of transport, so we bought a bicycle,” says Gaby from El Salvador. She came to Rotterdam with her family four years ago. Before that, the family lived in Panama for five years. In both cases, it was because of her husband’s work. In Panama, the family was given a choice between Germany and Rotterdam. “We preferred Rotterdam because the city is more multicultural and English is spoken more here. Therefore, we thought it would be easier for us to integrate here.
In preparation for their moving, they read a lot on the internet and saw many videos about the city. ‘So we knew what to expect.’ The first impression in Rotterdam was freedom. “We moved in the corona period. When I came here, I was in shock, but positive. In Panama we were not allowed anything and had to wear face masks but here everyone was free. Everyone just went to school.”
Different traditions
She was also surprised by the diversity of people in the city. “That is the opposite in El Salvador. At school I only saw some German children. Here, people really come from everywhere. “I really like that because you learn different kinds of people and cultures, different kinds of food. For example, we have Turkish friends and we invited them over Easter. There we discovered, for example, that we Catholics have very different traditions. We showed them what our traditions are and they really wanted to learn.”
Imitating Dutch people and kind neighbours
Yet Gaby and her family did not find it difficult to find her home in Rotterdam. “We just looked at what Dutch people do here and imitated that. For instance, we saw that most people use bicycles as transport, so we also bought a bicycle. That’s how we became part of the city. If you don’t do that, you keep living separately. We were also lucky to have nice neighbours. They welcomed us very much, for instance, around Christmas they asked if we wanted to try oliebollen (doughnuts) at the stall outside their door. And they asked if we wanted to go to the theatre with them. That’s how they made us feel like we belonged to the community.” The family not only went to the theatre and the oliebollen stall, but explored the whole city. “There is a lot happening here, you can go to museums, to festivals…”
Traditions from home
She feels so much at home here that she has little need for things from her homeland. Although she still tries to pass on culture and food to the children. “El Salvador is known for a kind of tortilla with cheese. I made that for the children so they feel at home. And in the first year, we went to the embassy to learn about independence. The kids learned about our food there, the traditions, but that’s it.”
Although the plan at first was to stay here temporarily, the family now wants to continue living in Rotterdam. “Sure a lot of people complain about the weather, but I think you learn to live with that.” The children are the biggest reason they want to stay. “So they get a better education here and a better life. And here they can go to the park and to school by themselves because it is safe here. In El Salvador, you have to live in a bubble because it is an unsafe country.”