Transcultural Devon: Interview with Hector

Hi Hector! I'm Emma and

I'm a Modern languages student

at the University of Exeter.

Firstly,
thank you so much for coming today

and for taking part in this interview

for Transcultural Devon.

I'm very interested
to hear about your experiences

and your life,

and...

I hope you enjoy this opportunity!

And...

if it is okay,
I am going to ask you a few questions

about your experience of moving here,

to the UK.

So,

I am going to ask questions in three parts

firstly, your motivation for migration,

your hopes and realities,

your identity, and finally your advice.

Okay, please could you introduce yourself

and tell me a little about yourself?

Okay, very well,

I'm Hector,

and...

I've been here in England
for six and a half years already

[I came with
my ex-partner and her daughter]

and...

the truth being,
we wanted a change from Spain

because the employment situation

isn't too good at the moment,

and we also decided to make a change

so the daughter could learn English here,

in an English school.

Yes.

[Originally we were moving for one year]

but in the end,

I mean look,
I have been here for six years already,

so what was meant to be for a short period

in the end was for a lot longer.

Okay, thank you

and...

could you tell me a little about your job

here in England?

Is it the same as in Spain or different?

Well, I am a vet and...

in Spain I worked with small animals.

I worked in a type of
animal protection, with dogs and cats

and I found the first job that I had

before...I arrived here.

I had an interview,

and I started as soon as I was in England.

[It was a little different
because I was working...]

in the area of animal health, in abattoirs

completing post-mortem inspections,

I had this job for two years

[and after this I then changed jobs]

and started to do TB testing on the farms

in Devon and Cornwall,

Yes.

[and a year and a half ago,]

I changed jobs again, and started working

for the Ministry, for the Government.

Okay!

[But I will always be a vet!]

Okay, thank you, and

why did you decide to move here, to Devon?

And to England?

Well, to be honest we didn't know exactly

where we were going to go

but I had a friend who was working

in the first company that I worked for.

He told me that
they needed more people, and more vets

so I sent my CV and had an interview
[Yes.]

and in the end

we decided to accept the offer

that was for here in England but,

we didn't know where exactly it would be

so, they gave me a position that was here

close to Exeter,

and we started to look for schools

and colleges around the area

and we saw that Exeter suited us the best,

and therefore we decided to come here.

I see,

and now do you live in Exeter city centre?

Yes, I live in Exeter, close to Polsloe

very close to the centre,
about 20 minutes away.

[Okay]

When I first moved here,

I lived in Leeds for a few weeks

then I lived in Hertfordshire for a week,

Yes.

[but since then, just in Exeter.]

And do you like living in Exeter?

I do like Exeter, but...

I miss the Spanish weather a little

because I am from the south of Spain

so I miss the sun a lot.

Yes.

[Other than my family and friends]

but above all,
what I miss the most is the weather.

The winters here aren't necessarily cold

[but...]

it is always raining

and the truth is,
I need the sun, a lot of it!

[laughter] Yes!

[so it is what I miss the most!]

Okay, so you mentioned the weather,

but what was the hardest thing

to leave behind in Spain?

Well apart from the weather,

my group of friends and family

because my family,
are all in the south of Spain,

other than my sister, she is in Italy.

Okay

[But also making a complete change,]

and having to form new friendships here,

but in the end this is

something that happens naturally.

It's something that, well..

with living in a new place
and simply being in a new city

in the end,
you are going to meet new people,

a new group of friends,

you are going to do group activities

like playing football,

allowing you to meet a lot of people.

But,
what I found most difficult at the start

was the complete change,

leaving behind my friends and family,

and just starting a new life,
[Yes.]

in a new culture, a new house,

new customs,

you have a lot to do,

like bills, housing, schools,

the language, and all that. Well...

it's like...

a purpose,
but it is also something that

you work towards, you know?

It's like...

a reason,
for moving from one place to another

it's like a goal.

Yes.

I can imagine it is very difficult.

And, when you moved to Devon,

was it the first time
you had been to the UK?

Well, I'd been here before

but... only visiting.

I have been to Scotland,

visiting some friends,

I have also been to Bristol

Yes.

[but only for a holiday,]

for a few weeks, or couple of days.

Okay, and you mentioned that...

you miss your group of friends in Spain

therefore, is there a Spanish community

here in Devon?

Is there a big community or not really?

Here, well definitely in Exeter,

I believe there are loads of Spaniards,

for example,
we have created a WhatsApp groupchat

so we can play football

and I think there are about 50 or 60

not only Spaniards,
but lots of different nationalities

[80% are Spanish people]

but there is a lot of people,

English, Italian, South American

from Paraguay, Peru, Chile.

But there is...

I believe, many Spaniards living here

in Exeter and in Devon.

People that, for one reason or another,

have also decided to make a change

from Spain to here.

And I believe always, well almost always

the main reason why people move here

is for work.
[Yes.]

The situation is really bad in Spain

they don't give you much help

or...

many economic benefits

or opportunities like they have here.

Therefore,
many people decide to make a change

after many years of trying to find

a job relating to their degree

but not every
degree gives the same opportunities.

So they decide
to have a fresh start elsewhere

and the main place people go to

for the language,
and the proximity to Spain

is here, to England.

Yes, that's true.

And... what...

would you say helped you to adapt

to a new society in England?

Is there something in particular?

Well, at the start,

the family I had helped me a lot

my ex-partner, and her daughter.

Yes.

[They helped to motivate me.]

We had to adapt,
and just get to know the area really,

because none of us knew the language,

So, being together,

I believe helped us a lot

and in the end,
we were meeting people quite quickly

so we found a good group of people.

I think that above all, when you

go somewhere that isn't your country

the most important thing is,

to find a group of people
that you can identify with

and you feel comfortable with.

Yes.

[If you are with people]

it doesn't matter if you are in England,

in the US, Ireland, or wherever.

It could be one
of the worst places in the world to live

but if you find people,

to relate to, to share experiences with,

to have a few beers with, to do sport with

it's fundamental.

If you don't find
people you feel comfortable with

I think it is very difficult to endure.

At least for me,
due to the person I am, I-

am an extrovert
who likes to meet people

if I don't find people in a new place,

I don't think I would
stick it out more than a few months.

So for me, the most important thing

is the people you are going to meet.

Yes, I agree. And...

would you say that you experienced

culture shock, when you arrived in the UK?

Because the culture is quite different?

Yes, I noticed it quite a bit because...

the way of life is quite different.

I suppose it's influenced by the weather,

but over in Spain,
we are used to doing everything outside

always in the street, always outside.

But here it's more difficult.

There is more of a pub culture here,

people do socialise as well,
but for me the culture is quite different.

It's not that...

it's a huge difference

that perhaps it would be

if you went to Asia,
as the culture is so different,

[Yes.]

because we are still Europeans.

But... every country
I believe has a different culture,

different habits,

and at the start it was a little shocking

but little by little,
you adapt to where you are living.

Although you will keep your traditions,

for example
I keep some of my Spanish habits.

But in the end, you are going to adapt

and mark your country as here.

Yes, and...

is there something that
surprised you about living in the UK?

or the British public?

Well...

I suppose at the start when I arrived

there were more things that surprised me.

Now, after a lot of time
I believe I have accepted everything

there is nothing that...

well,
I always compare things from here to Spain

to see if we do things similarly

or we do things differently,

but, I don't see it as surprises.

I can notice the differences,

but it isn't
something that really shocked me

like it would in another place.

Okay, and...

what have you found the most challenging,

and the easiest about living here?

Well...

for me, what I find most hard

like I mentioned earlier, is the weather

the rain,

and not being able to enjoy the sun

or the beach as much as I would like.

At the beginning,
I also found the language hard

especially, I remember when I spoke

on the telephone,

I understood almost nothing when I had to

sort out the electricity bill,

or the water bill, or rent.

I found it so hard to understand
people talking on the telephone

Yes.

[And now,
well I got used to it because...]

part of my work is to stay in contact

with farmers on the phone,

I have to call them,
and have to approve moves, or licences.

[So I have to spend a lot of
time talking to them on the phone]

so in the end,
you start to understand more and more.

But at the start,
I found it really difficult.

Yes, you talk about speaking on the phone,

and as we have already spoken in English,

I know that your English is now fantastic,

[laughter]

so how did you learn it?

And how much did you know before moving?

Well...

actually, I studied it in highschool

in Spain, for two or three years

but, it's English that you learn in...

well at least,
talking in relation to my country, Spain,

the English that you learn,

for me is very basic.

You learn vocabulary, grammar

you learn verbs, a lot of things

but I believe,
until you move to the country

in which the language is spoken,

[you won't learn the language]

because you can know a lot of vocabulary

but when you are in a conversation

with an English person
[Yes.]

at the start this happened to me,

you don't realise
how little English you actually know.

Because you can
come here having studied something

but until you are in a conversation with

someone here, from England

Yes.

[you don't really realise how low]

in my case anyway,

the level of language that you have is.

Therefore until you
move to a country that speaks it,

you won't fully know or understand it.

Yes, I experienced the same

when I was in Spain, it's very difficult.

And do you believe this level of English

helped you to assimilate into the UK?

Having learn't English? Yes.

Yes.

[For me it has been fundamental,]

knowing how to defend myself completely

in almost all situations.

I believe that if you don't
stand up for yourself in the language

well clearly you can
survive with no problems

I know a lot of people...
well I mean I don't speak it very well

but there are
people that speak it better, or worse

[Yes.]

and they are still here.

However,
knowing the language where you are

is fundamental,
because you need it in your daily life.

So you need to learn it in some form,

whether it be a high or basic level

but you need
to know how to stand up for yourself

in any situation
or for anything you might need.

You need to practice the language for
all the challenges you may come across.

Yes, very true,

and have you ever felt 'out of place'

or different as an immigrant and

have you experienced any discrimination?

No. No I haven't.

Well...

I have never experienced discrimination,

perhaps maybe one time,

but I'm not sure if I consider it.

In parties there have been a few comments

telling me to speak in their language

or something like that,

but they are very specific cases.

The truth is that I haven't felt

a very racist feeling here, in England.

You can see it happening, in other places

but it's not something that is mentioned

as something that happens here very often.

Okay

[It can happen,
it happens in Spain, Italy and elsewhere]

this discriminatory sentiment can occur,

but it's not
a norm that I have noticed here.

Okay, that's good.

And do you think that Brexit will affect

your life here a lot?

Well...being honest

I don't know how Brexit will affect it

I think due to the job I have,

it won't affect me currently,

but, I believe the people that decide to,

in the future, in a few months,

perhaps move to England to work,

I believe it's going to be more difficult.

It is going to be more complicated
when it comes to starting a new job here

but...

as I arrived here more than six years ago

and I have already got a settled status,

I don't think
Brexit will affect me too much

when it comes to my world of work.

Okay, that is good. And...

[I hope!]

Yes! [laughter]

[and...]

Do you think in general
the UK is a welcoming place?

Yes, yes. Um yes...

I think that...

I speak on my behalf,

and the behalf of
a lot of people who come from abroad,

the UK has given me
the facilities to get involved here,

and to set myself up here,

which,
I didn't think I would get at the start.

But the truth is I don't
have any complaints regarding this.

Because since the very first moment

I have always had opportunities, and if

something didn't work out,
I was able to find something else and

you always have a chance to do something

or you can...

progress in your career.

The truth is that...

you are given all the help to move here.

Okay, and in terms of

the current situation with the pandemic

how have you found
the lockdown period in the UK?

and have you spoken with family,
in Spain and compared the two situations?

The truth is that for me,

it has been quite a hard year

due to the fact that I'm here

with restrictions on returning
to your home, or to your country

honestly, it's tiring.

And... in terms of my job for example

I'm now working from home 80% of the time,

which is also very tiring

because I like to go out, to visits,

to farms,

but right now I can't.
[Yes.]

[Therefore for me it has been a hard year]

in terms of the pandemic

but I think that's just in general

because the whole world has been affected.

I don't think that anyone
is comfortable with the situation.

So it's something that,
well it's a pain in the neck

that we have to try to improve in some way

and we hope
that maybe with the vaccination

it could be a way out, or a solution.

I think that here in England
the rate of vaccination is quite high

they are doing it a lot quicker

in comparison
with other European countries

[we can only hope that,]

the situation improves.

And the situation in Spain...

I think that,
at the beginning of the pandemic

I think the lockdown
here was much more relaxed

because, since the beginning,

you were allowed to go outside
on the street for an hour to do exercise

however when I spoke with people in Spain

they had a hard lockdown because

they couldn't leave to do anything

only to go food shopping.

The streets were empty,

it was something completely different.

It wasn't like here,
you saw people walking in the street

but in Spain,
you weren't even allowed to walk.

However now, for us here,

since November or December I think

everything has been closed:
the restaurants, the bars, the gyms.

However in Spain, for some time now,

before Christmas, you could go out.

You could go out in the street,

grab something to drink in the bars,

I think there is a curfew
they are open between 6pm and 8pm

but I think now,

they have a lockdown,
but not as serious as ours.

Yes, yes it's true, it's been a hard year

it's been a hard year for everyone.

Yes, and... as time has passed,

how would you
compare your experience of migration

with what you had hoped it to be?

In what sense?

For example,
what did you think before coming here?

And is it the
same as what you hoped it to be?

I..., well when I came here

my idea was to stay for only one year,

Yes.

[so in the end,]

due to life's circumstances

you're getting another job,

you're making new friends,

in the end you are living your life

[and...]

at the beginning,
I was only staying for a year

but in the end, well I decided to stay

I don't know for how long but...

I also want to return to where i'm from.

Okay

[But, you never know,]

you never know
if you are going to be here for one year,

six months, five years, ten years

you never know.

Okay, and now a little about your identity

do you think
you are a very different person

when you are in Spain?

Um, I don't think...

I think not, I believe

I'm the same here, there, wherever

you are the same person,
you don't change your way of being

when you are in a different country.

Yes.

[They only thing
you change perhaps is your habits]

based on where you are, but...

in terms of personality, I am the same

whether I am in England or in Spain

I behave the same with the people here,

people in Spain, my family, everyone.

Yes, that's great.

And how do you maintain
for example, your Spanish traditions?

while you are here in the UK?

Well, for example I love to cook

Okay

[I try to cook
lots of typical Spanish food]

because I like the food, and...

I could cook other cuisines, but...

I do try to cook typical dishes from here.

Yes.

I am from the south of Spain,
it's sunny, there are beaches

and here we are also in the south,
with beaches that are really beautiful

it just lacks the weather,

so here I try and do the same,

when spring and summer arrive

I tend to go on the weekend
to Cornwall and Devon, to the beaches

I try to do these things.

Okay, and what type of food

is typical for your region in Spain?

any examples?

Well...

in my region they make Spanish omelette,

gazpacho, salmorejo,

Yes.

there is guiso, which is like a stew

[Ah okay,]

there are loads of typical dishes.

Yes.

and, in a normal year,
how many times do you go to Spain?

Well in a normal year, I usually go for

two long holidays
which are Christmas and Easter

and possibly another two more times

perhaps a long weekend, or five days

for Easter for example,
or another time for four or five days

in total more or less four times a year.

Okay, and you have mentioned
your plans to move back to Spain

do you think you will continue living

in the UK, I don't know, for a few years?

Or potentially forever?

What do you think?

Well to be honest I don't know,

I don't think I will go back to Spain

any time soon,
let's say between now and a year

[but my intention is
to return if I find something]

if I find a stable job there,

I would go back to Spain.

After six or seven years,

I feel good here, but I don't feel

as if I want to live here forever.

I know if I had the opportunity,

I'd go back to Spain.

Okay... yes.

And now some of your advice,

what are some of the most important things

that people can do to improve the process

of moving to a new country, or community?

I believe that, mainly, have an open mind

open to everything that could happen

good things, bad things

and always keep it as open as possible,

because, when you
leave and change from a place that

is your comfort zone

to somewhere completely different,

a country where you don't know
the language, the people, the culture

you need to be open
to any experiences that might come up

whether good or bad.

Therefore,
you need to have a clear mind, a calm mind

and although,

at the start there are more bad things,

you have to
always have a positive mentality

[Yes.]

because it will change,
at the start, nothing is easy

it is not just handed to you.

So at the start, it could be,
that you find it more difficult

to get into a routine,
a job, a language, the people

[but in the end, I believe]

if you stay positive, with a clear mind

you will meet people,
you will get to know the place,

you are going to enjoy what your doing

and in the end you will feel comfortable.

Okay, yes. And would you like to

move to another country?

or just Spain and England?

Well, I lived in Italy for a year,

I did my Erasmus year there for 11 months

and, to be honest,

if I found something else

if I got a job opportunity,

I wouldn't say no to moving elsewhere

because I like to go to new places.
[Yes.]

So, it's not that
I just want to go back to Spain,

I want to go back
if perhaps there's another job opportunity

but if I'm given
an opportunity elsewhere in the world,

[and it is in line with the job I'm doing]

I don't mind moving to another country

to have another experience.

I don't know...
you only get one life

you have to make the most of everything

that comes your way.

Yes!

And, what advice
would you give to other Spaniards

specifically that are moving to the UK?

Do you have any advice?

The only thing I would say is
if you can move to the south of England

because I think Birmingham and Manchester
[laughter]

me no, but I do know
other people that prefer these places

but I need to be in the South, always.

Yes, with the beaches

[Yes.]

But what I would say to them is

to come with
a desire to learn, to meet people,

to experience the culture,

and that if you have the opportunity

or you have a job,

or you want to start a new life

don't be scared to do so, try it

and if it fails,
you always have time to go back

to your country,
to Spain, France, Italy, wherever.

So if they decide to change their life

or try a new opportunity here in England

do it,

Yes.

[it will most likely work out]

[but if not, it doesn't matter!]

It's simply another life experience

and if it is bad, it's not a failure

simply another experience,
you can return and then try again

it's not a problem.

Yes,
I think that is very important advice.

Okay,
and is there anything I haven't asked

that you would like to add?

No, well I don't know,

well like I said, for now I'm here, and..

I don't have any issues with where I am

and what I am doing right now

and, I don't close doors to anything.

In the end, you will keep going

and you will continue
leading your life by force of habit

so whatever is coming will come,

if I have to stay, I will stay,
if I have to leave, I will leave

I don't put limits on anything

I don't put expiry dates on anything

simply do, create, work,

for as long as you can.

Okay, well,

thank you very much
for participating in this Hector.

It was very interesting
and I hope you have enjoyed it!

I hope you continue...

[It has been a pleasure!]

enjoying living here in the UK.

I will stop the recording now.