Mango Languages

Citizen U.S.A.

Happy Monday Everyone!

The past weekend, as I was flipping through the channels to find something to watch, I came across a really interesting documentary, Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip on HBO.

Emmy-winning filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi attends naturalization ceremonies across all 50 states and meets people from all over the world who have just become American citizens to learn why they chose America as their home. Her documentary includes interviews from newly naturalized citizens about where they came from and what they love about America. Pelosi’s Dutch-born husband’s swearing-in ceremony inspired the filmmaker to go on a nationwide road trip “to experience the moment new citizens take their oath, to find out why so many people are willing to renounce their birth country and swear allegiance to the United States of America.”

After watching the full documentary, I was moved. As a person whose family came to the United States to live the American dream, even I realize how easy it is to take things for granted.

When asked, “What do you like most about America?” the answers varied: freedom, security, clean water, respect, equality, education, being able to practice any religion, American food, customer service, and 911 were some of the answers.

It made me realize how diverse the United States really is, how many unique and incredible people we have here that have their own backgrounds, history, culture, and reasons why they came to this beautiful country. Most of the people in the documentary came to the U.S. with very little money, no knowledge of the English language, and full of hopes and dreams for their future. They came here for an opportunity to reach their full potential.

We should strive to learn as much as possible from people all over the world. In this amazing country, is nice to know that you don’t have to go far to experience diversity.

Click here to watch the documentary trailer.

What are your thoughts? Have you or someone you know immigrated to the United States? Why?

Celebrate Diversity Month

April marks the beginning of new experiences and new transitions, being the first full month of spring. April is also Celebrate Diversity Month. Diversity is understanding, appreciating, and ultimately managing difference and similarities at the same time. Its reach is all-inclusive and may represent categories such as class, race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, nationalities, political beliefs, and many other categories.

We, at Mango Languages, are fascinated and inspired by people’s diversity. Our company and products all came about from the interest in learning more and connecting people all over the world. Our staff is incredibly diverse, giving each of us an opportunity to learn someone new each day about different nationalities, religions, cultures, languages, etc. We take every opportunity we can to celebrate the eclectic bunch that we are, realizing that Mango Languages wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the different views and ideas from our diverse fans, staff, partners, and vendors.

We bring in ethnic foods for everyone to try, share international holiday and traditions with each other, and learn new words and phrases in different languages that inspire us to create language courses to share with the rest of you. To learn more about us and watch some fun videos, check our About Us page.

Everyone should take the time to learn, understand, and appreciate the amazing and diverse people that you are surrounded by every day. I came across a great site by Carole Copeland Thomas, the founder of Diversity Awareness Month, which is in October. She writes about the importance of diversity and the best ways to appreciate and learn about diversity. On her site she has 25 Ways to Promote Diversity, which I thought was a great list to use for your company or organization.

Here are a couple of ideas to promote diversity:

-Design a diversity calendar for your organization.

-Develop or enhance an intense diversity training program.

-Establish diversity days in your company’s cafeteria by serving different ethnic dishes.

-Give diverse books to your local school library.

-Read at least two or three newspapers each week to broaden your perspective.

We shouldn’t just celebrate diversity a couple months at a time, we should be appreciating the fascinating and unique people who make up this world every day of the year.

What does diversity mean to YOU? How are YOU going to promote diversity?

Celebrate Mother Languages

Today is International Mother Language Day. It is a celebration of all the things we at Mango Languages believe and are inspired by: the emphasis and acknowledgment of the value of language as a integral part of communication throughout humanity. International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It has been observed for over a decade to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, multilingualism, and to preserve and protect all languages spoken by all people.

Here at Mango Languages, we strive to do just that. Our passion for languages and cultures have allowed us to see the diverse world we live in as storybook full of history. The story can be told in many different ways and it is our responsibility to uncover as much as possible of it through the power of language. This in turn will force us to be more aware of the cultural diversity around us and allow us to take further steps to peace.

Embrace what makes our world such a beautiful place: the diverse people who live in it. We may all come from a different background, and may speak a different language, but we all have a story to tell. Let’s all listen and try to understand.

“Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage.” -United Nations

What is YOUR mother tongue?

Vacation? A Cruise of Diversity

I was lucky to take a fabulous vacation last week, a cruise to the Bahamas. I thought I was leaving behind all the international, culture and language learning world behind. Little did I know…I was going to be surprised.

One of the best things about this vacation was the diversity of the staff and the passengers. My waiter was from St. Vincent, our assistant waiter was from Mexico, and our stateroom attendant was from Jamaica. After asking around, I found that over 60 nationalities were represented in the staff of 750 people. That is amazing diversity! Ultimately, they live 6-8 months of the year together on a small floating city, and from what I hear, in general, get along wonderfully. It seems we can learn a lot from them. All different languages, cultures, and traditions combine to form a microcosm of the world! English was definitely the uniting language but you could hear all sorts of languages being spoken by the crew and the passengers. On a daily basis, I heard Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and many more. What a great place to practice my language skills. I used my Portuguese and Spanish on more than one occasion and even found myself seeking out those that I could chat with.

If you want to practice your language skills, meet really wonderful people, and see the world at the same time. I highly recommend a cruise.

Where have you gone to meet very diverse people?