AMERICA (Part II) there will be more parts, for sure (in English)

It is hard to talk about the american people using 'generalizations', since this a country founded by immigrants coming from everywhere in the world, with their own cultures, languages and phobias...

Nevertheless, America absorbs its immigrants and the same time adapts itself to the flows of immigration in a fascinating fashion. For example, with some minor exceptions, people are OK with the use of both English and Spanish to communicate in many Public Buildings (official documents). I would say that the economy is the main engine that drives that integration in the country. Never forget it, Money Talks and, at the end of the day, if it is needed to learn Spanish to do some business, so be it. A very practical way of life.

Now I derailed of what I want to talk about, the american way (highly contagious, by the way):

-OPTIMISM. Somebody was telling me the other day that in the USA nobody really wants to increase taxes on the wealthiest rents since everybody aspires and actually believe they have a chance to become millionaires in the future. Perhaps this is a bit exaggerated but the entrepreneurial attitude, and so optimistic, of this country is very obvious when one evaluates the number of start ups projects initiated every year. It seems that more than 90% of the start ups fail, but that is not an obstacle for the emerge of new entrepreneurs or for the ones who failed to try it again I have thought long and hard about this matter, with the envious perspective of a Spaniard who thinks that perhaps in our country we miss that pioneering spirit. The economical structures of USA and Spain are very different; here the labor market is very flexible (many part-time and short-term jobs, but the economy is so dynamic that soon you can find a new job), it is also easier to get access to investors who can make a bet on your project... all that is true, but, let's face it, in Spain if somebody with a recent college degree or an MBA plans to start her/his own business instead of working for a big company, we will find it very weird. Here that is not the case, and many Business Schools are actually promoting that business start up mentality (there also schools like this in Spain, but less....)



IMPATIENCE. The american people are impatient. I have become impatient too living in USA for almost 8 year. This is a feature that might seem trivial (is that the americans don't like to wait for too long at a restaurant?) well, no they don't like that but I think there are more depth than that and affects many areas of the american lifestyle. I will touch on this in the future but to illustrate a bit this idea I would like to share with you a clip of an interview to Louis CK (one of the most irreverent and politically incorrect american comedians)  when he talks about the technology in this century. Special attention to minute 1:25 and on, it is just genial!

Louie CK on Technology