Prinzapolka: Chronicles of An Immigrant

In this episode, I talk about what it has been like to have lost my grandmother to COVID-19 while being away from home. 

Emi left her home country, Ecuador, 4 years ago. With her parents living in Spain for the last two years, she hasn't been to Ecuador in a while, nor seen her extended family. For someone like Emi, who has an incredible tight bond with her family, being away from home is probably the hardest challenge she has faced. In this episode, we speak with Emi about the different ways in which homesickness hits people that have left their countries. 

Jimy left his country, Venezuela, 13 years ago. He first moved to Colombia, then Ecuador, and is now residing in Canada, where he has become a permanent resident. As many may know, Venezuela has suffered one of the worst humanitarian crises and political conflicts in the 21th century. In this episode, I discuss with Jimy what it's like to see your country falling into pieces from afar, and carrying that weight with you everywhere you go.

Valeria and Monica moved to Canada two years ago. Ever since they got here, they started working really hard to make the best out of their stay. This, in turn, exposed them to multiple experiences. Good experiences, and not so good experiences that challenged them in ways they did not expect. Valeria and Monica Boquin,  20 years old, Honduras.

As Franklin embarked on his journey to start his post-secondary education in Prague, his expectations were torn to pieces by the novel coronavirus. What started as a longed, inconceivable dream, turned into an intense nightmare. Franklin Garcia, 19 years old, Nicaragua.

Ep. 0 is a brief overview of what you can expect from Prinzapolka. I've been very fortunate to have been exposed from a very young age to an international context. My decision to leave my country back in 2016, allowed me to continue immersing myself in that multicultural landscape, by introducing me to people from all around the world (literally). Now, after 4 years of living abroad, I have many untold stories, both good and bad, that have turned me into a more well-rounded, strong, and independent individual. But, I no longer want those stories to remain untold. Not my stories, nor the stories of so many individuals that have left their countries, either by choice or by force, simply looking for a better life. They were met with immense challenges, only to respond with the greatest demonstration of resilience and determination. These are their stories. Listen attentively, because they have a lot to tell you. 

Living outside of your country gives room to many experiences, both good experiences and bad experiences. This poem was inspired on the latter, and the rejection many immigrants experience in their daily lives. We'll hear it in the news, we'll see it in social media, and we'll live through it in our day to day. There are people that think we shouldn't be here. There are people constantly reminding us that we don't belong here and telling us to "go back to where we came from". Yet, against all odds, we keep on hustling and powering through all of this. Hopefully, one day, we won't have to worry about this. Hopefully, one day, we'll be seen and treated as equals.