Days #69 – 71: The final days of #30DaysTo30 involved a whole lot of thinking about what I want the next 30 years to look like. My excitement with the start of this new decade is overwhelming sometimes. I know that I’ve talked a lot about how much more confident and mature the last decade has made me, and I know that you’re probably tired of listening to me talk about how incredible my first 30 years were. But there is something about this new decade that makes me feel really good about life. For some reason, I feel that things are just getting started and I finally have way more reasons to enjoy life and give more to the world. As one of my favourite poets, Renato Russo, says “when Saturn returned, I decided to live.” So here are the next 30 big things that I’ll be focusing on in the next 30 years:

# 1 Write a book

I know that everybody is writing a book these days, however, considering that in the past semester I wrote over 30,000 words just in research, I think I can come up with something interesting and sellable in the next three decades. If I come up with an interesting subject and keep the 250 word per day writing pace, I will probably have written 15 books before I turn 60. However, since the goal is to write a book, I think I have enough time to work on it!

Do you have a suggestion for an interesting topic? 

#2 Teach 

One great thing  about grad school is that you get to interact with great professors and learn more about your own teaching style. Thanks to my amazing supervisor Laurie Petrou, I had the opportunity to lecture to two different groups this year and I loved it! After 30 years of insane admiration for pop culture and technology, I know that I have lots to teach and learn from someone who is planning on starting a career in communications.

#3 Mentor

It goes without saying, but I love assisting my colleagues, friends and younger professionals in reaching their goals. Mentoring will be definitely continue to be a part of my professional and personal life in the coming years. It will also be my way to give back to the community after being mentored by so many inspiring Canadians in the past five years.

#4 Give back to my community

I don’t know how or when, but I want to help Toronto grow and become a better place to live at some point. Thoughts?

# 5 Live in Paris

Since Mr. Ames and I watched Midnight in Paris, we’ve been talking about how much we’d like to live in the city of lights. We have 30 years to figure that out, but it’s going to happen at some point!

#6 Climb Mt. Everest

(I mean, get to the base camp with Mr. Ames)

Yes, that’s a big surprise even for me, but Mr. Ames told me that he really wants to trek to the base camp of Mt. Everest someday. Since he moved all the way from Vancouver to Toronto to support me, I’ll be there with him in return!

#7 Visit the Amazon

I can’t go to Mt. Everest and miss out on my home country’s most important treasure. One day, it will happen!

#8 Volunteer Abroad

Build something to help someone who will make something big in the future without expecting any return on my investment. That in itself is already a big goal!

#9 Travel across Canada

Another family ambition: Rent a car, load it up with some clothes and the dog and drive across Canada without an arrival date, stopping at every single little town that looks interesting and taking all the pictures that we need!

#10 Learn to sail

I’ve never been in a sail boat. I have no idea of how to tie a knot…

#11 Sail around the world

After completion of #10!

#12 Speak about my ideas and experience

I will be speaking more about my research, ideas and experience in the coming decades. Netculture, Primetime in Ottawa and PodCamp Toronto were just the beginning of this journey.

#13 Enjoy cooking

Self-explanatory…

#14 Learn to cook

It’s a shame! I’m a 30-year-old woman who hates cooking and could burn water if left unattended. I hope I am able to deal with that issue in the coming decades, but I don’t have a lot of hope that it will actually work out for me!

#15 Be Healthy

I’ve spend the last 30 years fuelling my body with sugar and carbs, in addition to living a fairly sedentary lifestyle. Since I don’t want to die young nor develop cancer, the plan for the next 30 years is to work out and live a healthy life.

#16 Be patient

and keep a healthy pace while achieving my goals…

#18 Spend more time with family and friends

Now that we live far away from most of our family and friends, it needs to be a priority in our lives. It’s doable and rewarding though…

#19 Travel to Africa

#20 Live in Asia 

Japan and China are the top choices, but I’d be open to live in other countries though. I am mostly looking to learn more from a culture that is completely different from what I know.

#21 Knit a sweater

It’s sounds silly after listing 20 grand things up to now, however, I’ve never dedicated myself to a kniting project that would take more than 10 hours to complete. A sweater is a big challenge and will become a major milestone if I ever finish one!

#22 Travel with my mom

Mama Heringer often comes to Canada to visit, but we never had time to go on a mother-daughter trip. I definitely want to take her somewhere in the next few years…

#23 Learn to code

I mean really coding, not the simple HTML language that I know and often use to fix things. I mean coding, coding!

#24 Speak French again

It’s lost in my brain somewhere… I just need to reconnect the neurons!

#25 Keep blogging, tweeting, being social

I know I’ll never be one of those grannys that have no idea of what social media means. I am sure I’ll be one of those old ladies who hacks their grandchildren’s social media accounts to check if they’re bullying anyone, being bullied or behaving like little brats online.

#26 Know more about wine and cheeses

Mr. Ames needs a break from ordering my wine and figuring out what I like. A culinary trip throughout France is definitely the best way to learn more about my own taste!

#27 Run a marathon

Since Mr. Ames has been calling me cougar in training, I think that I should start training for a marathon and learn to enjoy running.

#28 Learn to swim

I am not the only immigrant that will drown if the ocean takes over the world’s major cities, but I want to learn to swim and will do it in the coming decades.

#29 Be happy

… always!

#30 Start something big!

I know that life will surprise me in the coming years, so I am leaving this one open for the next really big thing that will happen before I turn 60!

Day #10:  It may change in the coming decades, but my favourite memory from these almost 30 years of life is of a victory that was just mine. I was only fifteen and going through a lot with adolescence, sleeping long hours and all the drama involved with growing up. Writing has always been a big part of my life and as far as I can remember, I’ve always been writing some sort of poem or book. However, it was only after I came back from Europe that I really got into writing poetry and trying to translate into words what was happening in my head. It was actually Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People painting that inspired the whole thing.

It was 1997 and a women called Freedom who lead the French people into a new era really inspired me. Delacroix’s best known painting motivated me to write a poem on my way back home, which later I submitted to my high school’s poetry festival and anxiously waited to interpret it on stage. It was the first time that I was embodying something that I’ve written and I couldn’t be more excited. The poem got lost in time and, since I am living in Canada now, I have no idea of what words I used to talk about La Liberté. I remember the feeling of being on a stage defending my ideas. That day, when I had the spotlight on me for the first time, influenced most of my decisions later on.

My poem didn’t win that night, but I did take a trophy home and my parents took me out for dinner to celebrate. After that I started drama classes, wrote a collective play that was on at Planetário da Gávea for three months and followed my dream of making a living out of a passion. It all started with me staring at freedom and promising that I would be free from that day on…

Day #9: My status as an ex-pat has become a big part of who I am. Even though living in Canada is a recent decision made only five years ago, being in a foreign country really changed the way that I see the world and how my friends and family impact my life. One thing that every immigrant underestimates is the role of the people that they know when they leave their home countries behind. I thought I had decided to not return to Brazil for a number of reasons. They were all reasonable and, at the time, the pros were more valuable than the cons. They still are. However, what we don’t know is that when we leave, we give up a number of small privileges that often make our lives easier. By moving away from friends and family, we give up our safety net.

Most of us have never thought about what having a safety net really means, but we all figure that out during our first days in a new country. I went through a lot of “figuring out” in the last five years, however the most important thing that I learned was that my success is the consequence of my local friends’ support, and that I’d be lost if they weren’t around to pick me up when I fall. Five years was enough time to test empirically the impact that bad company can have on my life. In Brazil, they have a popular expression that says Tell me about the company you keep and I’ll tell you who you really are. Once again, popular folklore hit the nail on the head!

The good news is that in five years, I’ve really perfected my friend radar and have become better at welcoming the right people into my life. Maturing also taught me to be more flexible with the size of my safety net and expand it beyond geographic barriers and countries. I still have a couple of great friends in Vancouver, Rio and London who are an integral part of my life in Toronto, people who know me enough to kick my butt when necessary. If I was able to give only one piece of advice to my younger self, I’d probably tell her to surround herself with people who push her buttons and acknowledge her creativity. People who are dreamers and want more out of their lives, who are critical and love a good discussion. My safety net is about pushing me beyond my limits and hopefully positively impacting the life of the people who support me along the way.

“Do you want to hear a story that my father used to tell me when I was little?,” asked Anne after she had me convinced that I was in fact a Rooster, not a Dog in the Chinese horoscope. “Of course,” I said. “Do you know why the Rooster crows every morning?,” she inquired. My blank stare said it all and the story went more or less like this:

“The Rooster used to have beautiful horns and receive complements from all the other animals for its beauty. One night, the Dragon noticed how beautiful the Rooster’s horns were and had the Rooster convinced that he would still be a handsome Rooster even without the horns. The Dragon really wanted to wear the Rooster’s horns for a party and since the Dragon was a good friend, the Rooster decided to lend his horns to the Dragon for one night. 

However, when the time to return the horns arrived, the Dragon realized that he was very fond of his new horns and refused to give them back. The Rooster caught up with the Dragon and demanded his horns back, but the Dragon just shook his head and flew away as fast as he could.

So, now, every morning, the Rooster wakes up early to yell ‘Give my horns back,’ in hopes that the Dragon will listen and return them.”

Through telling me a simple story, my friend Anne not only had me immersed in her culture, but created curiosity and a memory filled with meaning regarding my own identity as an honorary Rooster. As Dr. Pamela Rutledge says, powerful stories provide triggers for our memories, emotions, and experience and, in doing so, envelope us. It doesn’t matter if your story will be played throughout different platforms if you don’t have an interesting story to tell. Folklore and tales are powerful because they stimulate memories and emotions that are known to all of us. No matter if you’re a Rooster or Dragon, you’ll probably sympathize with the Rooster after reading how he lost his horns.

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Do you know what your Chinese sign is? Have an interesting tale to share?

Read More:

All The World Is A Story

Be lucky: Millions of Chinese around the world welcome in the traditionally prosperous Year Of The Dragon

As a content producer, I would need to be able to prove that the content that I publish here does not infringe any copyright laws. Even though the bills are being proposed in the USA, if my website is somehow identified as a threat to another registered IP the content would be immediately blocked and I would be responsible for proving authorship of my posts and pictures. For most bloggers and Internet users, an international law suit would require time and money that most of us don’t have to spare. SOPA and PIPA are not just a threat to our capacity to interact with each other and share ideas, but also a potential barrier to the maintenance of our cultural identity. From the transmedia storytelling point of view, both bills would also stop us from creating trends, fan sites and memes based on mainstream media IPs. Would you like to live in a world like that?

If you’re unsure about how SOPA and PIPA would affect your user experience, Professor Clark Sirky’s TED will probably help you understand the scope of both bills.

Read More:

Results of the Blackout and looking ahead

In Fight Over Piracy Bills, New Economy Rises Against Old

Our first winter in Toronto has been fairly atypical. Until now, we saw some snow sticking to the ground for two or three days after Christmas and that was it! My 600 fill parka has been more for fashion than for survival. However, on this Friday the 13th, it seems that winter came to stay here in Canada’s biggest city.

I am not going to say that winter is my favourite season, but after 5 years living in Canada, it has become part of my lifestyle. It’s super cold and I am not going to refuse a round-trip to Mexico if you decide to sponsor my winter escape. However, it doesn’t feel right to start the year without some cold, snow and scarves

The BlogTO published some vintage pictures of snow storms in Toronto today. It’s interesting how snow always brings some quiet time and silence to our lives, it almost feels like the time has slowed down a bit to be re-born again in the spring…

You say I have an accent, but I don’t hear it. As far as I can tell, the English words that reverberate in my head are perfectly understandable and my pronunciation is spotless. I know that I mumble a word here and there, and sometimes replace common words for more elaborate ones that I can pronounce a little easier. However, if I can understand a variety of accents in Canada, dude, you should be able to understand mine. But, I don’t know how, sometimes you don’t, so I decided to write you three quick tips to help you communicate with me:

To start, my first language is Brazilian Portuguese. Unlike English, my mother tongue has pretty much only one way to enunciate vowels and weird structures such as ção and há. It’s like French, you learn the sounds, you know how to say any word. You won’t necessarily know what you’re saying, but at least you can say it! English, on the other hand, doesn’t make any sense. For example, you can participate in a contest, but you contest your grade. The potato is “load-ed” with good stuff, but it was baked, not “bake-ed.” I am progressively mastering these diferences, but please don’t make a weird face when I don’t stress the syllables the way you expect. If you live in Toronto, I kinda expect you to have a trained ear…

Secondly, I am not deaf. In all fairness, this is not an English-speaker thing. My Mom also insists on yelling at Mr. Ames in Portuguese thinking that it will help him understand what she is saying. However, if you are having a normal conversation with me and you suddenly raise your voice, chances are that you’re going to scare the hell out of me! I have never been in a situation that I had to literally run away from a conversation, but after five years in Canada, I am starting to think that this day will arrive soon. The problem here is not that I don’t understand you, YOU are the one who is having a hard time understanding what I am saying! Just take a deep breath and try again. I’ll do my best to use new words to help you understand what I am saying.

Finally, there is no problem in asking me to repeat what I just said or spell out the word that you can’t understand. I am a smart girl and would feel respected if you just asked for clarification. Because, you know, if you keep talking I will know that you didn’t understand a word of what I just said and are trying to be polite by carrying on with the conversation. Remember when I said that I hate to be patronized? Yeah… that’s exactly how I will feel about you.

Seriously, this can work! I have been here for five years and so far I’ve been successful in making myself understood while working in the communications industry. I sometimes have a hard time understanding you too, but I always try to give you a fighting chance. I know that there are days that I am tired or have been speaking Portuguese before I met with you and my accent is super thick. I will give you that! Give me a minute or two, it will get better…

Disclaimer: This blog post is not meant to attack anyone that I know. It’s just a collection of funny situations that I hope will make you laugh and inspire your future interactions in English.

If you want to expand on the multicultural discussion, you should check out the Coop Culture website.

(Clique aqui para ler em português)

When we she is around, we fight all the time. When it’s time to say goodbye, we look at each other and just cry. The dynamics between a mother and a daughter can be very weird sometimes. My relationship with my mother is one of the most interesting that I’ve heard of. We love each other so much, but we criticize each other way too much. The person who made me who I am did it the toughest way. I was an A student my whole life, the best in whatever I decided to do, and that’s all from her.

So, every time that she comes to visit or I go to Brazil, we always experience happy reunions, challenging stays and emotional goodbyes. It seems that we fight to pretend that we don’t love each other as much as we do…

Safe travels, Mom!

(Maria Rita sings “Encontros e Despedidas,” my oficial ex-pat soundtrack)

Quando ela está por aqui, a gente briga o tempo inteiro. Quando a gente se despede, olhamos uma para a outra e começamos a chorar. Os rituais de mães e filhas podem ser estranhos. O meu relacionamento com a minha mãe, no entanto, é um dos mais interessantes que eu já ouvi falar. É fato que nós nos amamos, mas a gente se critica demais. A pessoa mais importante, que me mais influenciou a minha formação, me criou com grandes expectativas. Sempre fui a melhor em tudo que fiz, e ainda faço tudo do melhor jeito para ela.

E toda vez que ela vem me visitar ou eu vou vê-la no Brasil, a gente sempre vive encontros felizes, estadas desafiantes e despedidas emocionadas. Parece até que a gente briga pra provar que não nos amamos tanto assim…

Boa viagem, Mãe!

(Maria Rita canta “Encontros e Despedidas, a trilha sonora da minha vida de expatriada)

Yes, I am working on my 3.0 version. This upgrade comes with different letters after my name and has its release scheduled for Fall 2012 As nice as it sounds, let me tell you, going back to school is very hard. Going from a professional to an academic mindset is no easy task. It felt like I was reinventing myself at the beginning, trying really hard to make sense of theories that I left behind at PUC-Rio’s pilotis. However, with time, thoughts and ideologies go back to where they were supposed to be. In fact, they were always there…

As you might know, this is not the first time back to university since I moved to Canada. I’ve always taken post secondary courses here and there. This time has been exceptionally exciting and rewarding though. A masters program is demanding, but it gives me the opportunity to develop research in what really interests me (new media, broadcasting television and audiences).

The only pitfall of this journey are my own expectations. I don’t remember myself as a big nerd, but apparently, I am. I get all worried about my grades and sometimes just forget to have fun. It’s a shame but it’s getting better! And luckily, when I am close to losing my cool, my wonderful classmates always come up with something that makes me laugh really hard. Apparently, the the last weeks of the Fall semester have been extremely inspiring to us. The latest is the #MPMemes!

 What about you? Are you back to school working on reinventing yourself? Are you enjoying the experience?

Leaving Vancouver was hard on all of us. We tried to do our best with meeting with our friends and explaining the reasons why we decided to move. Four months have passed since we arrived in Toronto and gradually things are starting to make sense to us. The TTC delays are now part of our daily routine, the sunny days definitely make us happier and we are constantly being offered new and exciting professional opportunities. Toronto is all that I expected to be (sometimes even better), but I do miss our friends, the Vancouver tech scene and the long walks on the sea wall.

Last year around this time, I was saying no to Toronto and giving Vancouver a second chance. I was tired of the lack of professional options in the city and the disgusting real estate prices. Our family and friends were all that kept us in the city for one more year. It’s undeniable that after living in a place for a while, you grow roots, you establish yourself and you create specials ties to that city. However, as much as I love Vancouver, with time, I started thinking that something was wrong and it had to change. Starting over is scary, any new Canadian can talk for hours about that, but I assure you that starting over twice is even scarier! Maybe the third time will be easier, who knows?

But, how’s life now?

Exciting! Our Toronto friends were incredible in welcoming us. My Masters program at Ryerson University is everything that I expected but better. Between all my three part time jobs, I am getting to try a little bit of everything and work on inspiring and challenging stuff. The program is intense, very intense, and deserves its own blog post. For now, all that I can say is that our new city is treating us very well and allowing us to start growing our new roots.

So, what do I expect form this new year?

It definitely feels that the sky is the limit. Since we are living in a big travel hub, I really want to take advantage of it and explore the world. Vancouver made me stronger and I will to use that to my advantage. This time I’m more open to challenges, new friends and cultural explorations. I also want to merge the energy of writing essays and papers into more blog posts here and on my professional blog. I have big plans for this ride. Stay tunned and enjoy the trip!

Here are some pictures of our first months as Torontonians. Enjoy!

Mr. Ames and I are trying keep our Flickr accounts updated. I am also on Instagr.am, if you’re looking for daily snapshot of my life.

“We are relocating.” Since I married Mr. Ames, this has been one of the most common sentences of my expat life. I blame him a little considering that he is the one responsible for me “relocating” to Canada. I say that I relocated here seeking social acceptance, since “falling madly in love for a Canadian man” isn’t the most professional way to introduce myself during a job interview.

Throughout the two years that we lived in the Okanagan, I felt that our boxes were never empty and suitcases were always ready to go somewhere else. Things were different in Vancouver though. For three years, we were able to settle and grow some roots, have friends who were always a block away from us and create a few Sunday morning traditions. So, why relocate again?

Honestly, because my life gets boring if I live forever in the same apartment, city or province. Yes, that’s my very honest answer! The rationale behind our relocation to Ontario involved my scholarship to the masters in media production program at Ryerson University and the opportunity to explore a bigger job market. I know, It seems more “put together’ if the move involves jobs and a one of a kind opportunity, doesn’t it?

My mom called me a Gipsy and, as a good honorary British Columbian, told me that she didn’t like Toronto even though she has never explored anything but the Pearson’s airport on her way to Vancouver. All our friends were very sad with our departure in an almost cruel way (we know they meant good). And we were scared, very scared! Afraid that we would hate the weather, worried that we would never find a good coffee shop in our neighbourhood, and trying to believe that everything would happen exactly as we planned.

Two months have passed since we set foot in Toronto. We did lose one box in the move and we miss our family and friends and the smell of the ocean. However, yesterday, Mr. Ames happily told me that he never had so much Summer in his life before and I’m going back to school with a great tan! We also welcomed some new amazing friends to our lives with new perceptions of the world, hobbies and ambitions.

After so many years living as an expat, I know that relocating has nothing to do with replacing. It’s all about exploring and re-adapting.

And you, are you ready to pack again?

Grande parte dos visitantes novos deste blog chega aqui procurando informações sobre o processo de imigração canadense. Embora este blog não seja sobre imigração, emails pedindo informações sobre o processo de imigração para Canadá chegam quase que diariamente ao meu inbox.

O texto abaixo estava engavetado desde julho de 2010 e para evitar que perguntas sobre o processo de imigração se percam no meu gmail, resolvi publicar a minha trajetória aqui para referência dos corajosos imigrantes.

O MadameHeringer.com continua sendo um espaço sobre cultura, comunicação e viagem. Existem inúmeros blogs sobre imigração em português, alguns deles listados no blogroll deste blog, que já fazem um trabalho sensacional. Perguntas serão apenas respondidas via comentários neste blog post.

Enjoy!

Em 2006, no auge da minha inquietude juvenil, eu decidi que precisava viajar e conhecer o mundo. Não sabia pra onde ia e nem por quanto tempo; mas estava certa de que precisava desbravar um país novo, de preferência bem longe do Brasil e com uma estada planejada de pelo menos seis meses. A maioria dos brasileiros que imigram para o Canadá desembarcam no Person’s com um plano detalhado, certos de que na corrida de táxi entre o aeroporto e a primeira casa temporária, existe um Service Canada aberto e um recruiter oferecendo emprego para quem chega. Bem, esta não é a história que eu tenho pra contar…

Eu cheguei ao Canadá com um plano que começou com desembarque previsto no John F. Kennedy airport, em Nova Iorque. Como eu sempre trabalhei em mídia, achava que pedir demissão do emprego brasileiro em televisão para um estágio em Nova Iorque fazia mais sentido para a minha carreira profissional. O plano estava indo muito bem até que eu decidi explorar outros países através das comunidades do orkut. Três meses antes de “fechar negócio” com uma agência de intercâmbio, eu acabei conhecendo brasileiros que viviam no Canadá completamente apaixonados pela cultura e pela qualidade de vida que encontraram aqui. Assim eu disse Good bye, “I *heart* NY” t-shirt…

Eu cheguei em Vancouver em outubro de 2006 com vistos de estudo e trabalho garantidos pelo pacote de intercâmbio que comprei no Brasil. Voltar a vida de estudante em tempo integral foi muito bom, especialmente depois de quatro anos intensos de faculdade e trabalho no Brasil. Quando a parte prática do programa chegou, eu estava mais que pronta e cheia de curiosidade para conhecer Kelowna, uma cidadezinha ao norte de British Columbia.

Meu primeiro trabalho no Canadá foi como caixa de uma cafeteria no Big White Ski Resort. Foi uma experiência interessante, aprendi a falar inglês na marra e acabei conhecendo Mr. Ames. Entre o meu desembarque no YVR em outubro de 2006 e o meu casamento em fevereiro de 2007, eu tive muito pouco tempo para pensar no que eu realmente queria conseguir aqui ou até se queria ficar e construir uma família no Canadá. Ironicamente, o processo de imigração foi longo o suficiente para me dar todo o tempo que eu precisava para pensar nos meus próximos passos (e até na morte da bezerra!).

Como eu não conhecia ninguém no Canadá, social media (leia-se orkut) foi a solução mais viável que eu encontrei para me familiarizar com o processo de imigração. Na Brazil Canada, eu conheci o Otávio Gouveia e depois de muito email documentando a consultoria, resolvi contratá-lo para cuidar do meu processo de sponsorship. Toda a documentação provando o meu relacionamento, até então um longo casamento de menos de dez meses, seguiu para Ottawa no final de 2007 pesando quase três quilos.

Eu recebi a minha residência permanente em junho de 2008. Em uma semana encontrei o emprego na minha área em uma ONG. O mercado na época estava bem mais aquecido, e confesso que tive muita sorte em encontrar alguém que acreditasse em mim e me oferecesse uma oportunidade (Hey, mas não é de momentos assim que a vida é feita?).

Até agora não tenho do que reclamar. Sim, são inúmeras as dificuldades. Não, não é fácil, e sem humildade e persistência não se chega a lugar algum. Mas embora tudo tenha acontecido muito rápido nos últimos quatro anos, fico feliz por ter apostado na minha vontade de mudar e explorar o mundo. Conheci pessoas interessantes, expandi meus horizontes e passei a ver a vida por um prisma multi-cultural.

Imigrar é uma experiência interessante; pode ser um renascimento para alguns ou se transformar numa vida de lamento para outros. Depende muito on which path you choose. Eu ainda prefiro sempre apostar porque, como dizia Pablo Neruda, “o mundo é grande demais para nascer e morrer no mesmo lugar.”

(Sim, o casamento vai muito bem, obrigada. Marido canadense é o que há!)

Photo credit: Jeremy Lim

On April 5th, I had the opportunity to share my story as an immigrant and professional at #NETCulture: Stories of Culture and Diversity in Social Media. The turnout was incredible! Over 200 people showed up to discuss multiculturalism in the digital space and throughout Canada. Not only did I have the opportunity to share my story, but I also learned a lot about other cultures and how other newcomers have been sharing their journey in the social space. #Netculture has the potential to become a 2-day unconference, I have no doubt about it! Our audience held it together for two full hours. When the time for the Q&A arrived , ten minutes was not enough. It was a great experience for me. After a lot of hours planning and rehearsing, the presentation itself came out differently from the original plan below. Enjoy!

I first arrived in Vancouver in October 2006, but I consider February 25th, 2007 my second date of arrival in Canada. It was the day that my husband and I got married and we decided to start a life together here. With this decision, I had to reassess all my expectations. From international student to full time immigrant, my priorities also changed. To feel that I could stay in Canada, I felt that had to achieve three goals: to have a career, to feel that I was part of a community, and to feel that I actually had a future here.

Immigrant Services Society of BC, ISSofBC for short, was my first employer in Canada. I was the first employee of the Mentoring Connections program. For those of you who are not familiar with Mentoring Connections, the program is responsible for matching skilled immigrants with experienced Vancouver-based professionals in a career-focused mentorship.

I was as new to the city as the program’s clients, I had no professional network and I didn’t know where to start. At that time, social media seemed to me as the easiest way to reach out to the volunteers that I needed to attract to the program.

ISSofBC was also reinventing itself when I first started with the agency. Mentoring Connections was the first program to develop a digital strategy during the re-branding period. As part of the Mentoring team, I had the opportunity to start a blog, expand the program’s reach on Linkedin and maintain a strong presence on Twitter. Mentoring Connections allowed me to polish my skills in the digital space and also gave to our clients and volunteers a platform to broadcast their experience with the program. At that point, I felt that I had built a strong online presence for my employer, but no one knew Veronica Heringer in the digital space.

Often people ask me if I had a plan. My answer is yes and no. At the beginning, after reading a bunch of articles about self-promotion through social media, my twitter feed looked very career-focused and professional.

But then, we had the Olympics and everything changed for me. I was completely absorbed by the party and started to weigh into the discussions giving my point of view. And because I am not from Canada, I often compared what was happening here to what I knew from Brazil.

It was during the Olympics that I also decided to write my blog primarily in English. My first blog post was published on February 12th, after walking around Downtown Vancouver. It was the first time that I’ve seen Canadians so excited about something in Vancouver. During the Olympics, I blogged, I filmed things that were happening around me, volunteered, and of course, tweeted about it.

But then, I had to start to manage my previous audience expectations. In an attempt to make everybody happy I wrote bilingual posts for a while. Today, I keep the section “Fridays in Portuguese” as a way to acknowledge the readers that come to my blog looking for content in Portuguese.

I started to look around to find a place where I could apply my skills and the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival seemed to be the best place for me to experiment. I worked for the festival in 2009 as a Media Relations coordinator and last year I assumed the coordination of the festival’s social media channels.

The 2010 VLAFF was the first social media campaign that I’ve led. By making the festival more sharable and accessible to the festival’s audience, we were able to more than double the number of Facebook fans without spending any money on advertising.

One simple initiative that we brought to the festival last year was the VLAFF red carpet, where we took pictures of our audience and made them available on Facebook and Flickr. Not only did we attract over 500 new fans to our page, but we were also able to reach out to our community, attracting the real fans, people who are interested in the festival even during the off-season.

So, if you are looking for a way to build your online presence. Here are my three takeaways:

Start with “something.” My starting point was Linkedin, then I moved to twitter, and then I started blogging in English. Just start!

Once you start interacting in the space, be there for us! Don’t start, forget about it and then say that you’re unable to establish connections online. Be yourself and be persistent! It will take time, but it will pay off!

It’s important to come to events like this one and talk with the people that you’ve met online. If I hadn’t gone to Northern Voice last year, I wouldn’t be here today. If I hadn’t made an effort to meet the people that I was a fan of online, I wouldn’t have landed my dream job at DDB Canada.

I know these steps sound simple, but that’s my way to establish a career, be part not only of the Latin American and Brazilian communities, but also the local digital scene. I not only feel that I have a future in my new country, but I am also excited about making it my new home.

Don’t you think it’s very ironic that when I finally get invited to give a presentation about social media this blog experiences the deadliest month ever?

I have been very excited about the #NetCulture events since I first learned about them earlier this month. Canada is a multicultural and diverse country, no doubt about that, but it’s very comfortable for all of us to stay within the limits of our own cultural silos. We know that we are all Canadians, but I feel that we haven’t discussed what being Canadian really means to each one of us. Most importantly, most of us haven’t taken the time to share what we’ve learned!

The #NetCulture team has pulled together an amazing event. From teaching the secrets of couch surfing to showcasing successful blogs and local authors, this event got it all. #NetCulture: Stories of Culture and Diversity in Social Media happens on Tuesday, April 5th at the Vancouver Public Library. It starts at 7pm and each speaker will have seven minutes to share their personal stories. Admission is free.

#NetCulture: Stories of Culture and Diversity in Social Media

Tuesday, April 5th,2011

Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch

Tickets available at http://netculture.eventbrite.com

After-Party RSVP http://netculture-afterparty.eventbrite.com/