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In this episode, I’m speaking with Selene Ricart, who moved from Argentina to Canada five years ago.
There’s this unspoken rule about being the good and perfect immigrant. Don’t say too much. Stay in your box. Be grateful. And if you ever step out of line, if you ever start speaking up about stuff you think could be better, someone will curtly remind you to go back and fix your country.
And sadly, it happens to immigrant women more often than not. It happened to Selene on LinkedIn.
But after five years in Canada, here’s Selene’s biggest lesson: belonging does take time, but you can’t wait until you belong to use your voice to advocate for good. And I agree. Your voice matters. And if you’re going to make Canada your home, you need to shape what that home becomes.
There’s this quote Selene loves that captures this sentiment beautifully: first understanding, then adjustment. As immigrants, we’ve already done the first part.
We’ve listened. We’ve observed. We’ve learned how things work here. We’re more empathetic, more adaptable, because we’ve had to be. Now comes the adjustment part. And that requires you speak up and offer perspectives that come from a place of understanding.
That’s the advantage you have as someone who’s lived in multiple cultures.
Selene and I also chat about:
Language as identity
Why she always makes pasta from scratch
Words as emotion, not just communication
How immigrating forces us to start thinking of things we took for granted, and more
Dozie’s Notes
A few things that stuck with me as I listened through this week’s conversation:
Language is identity. It’s easy to assume your mother tongue is just words. Until you start feeling it slip away as you become fluent in English. And then, you understand, rather painfully, that it’s how you’ve built your identity for the last 20, 30, 50 years.
Humans are unrepeatable models. And that’s why heritage and legacy matter. Because that’s how we try to hold onto the unrepeatable parts of the people who came before us.
Your native language shapes how you think in your second language. In Spanish, you need way more words to say something. Even in translations, the French version is five paragraphs while the English is two. For Selene, it meant that her paragraphs were really long and detailed. The first language you learn literally rewires your brain syntax.
Official Links
✅ Connect with Selene Ricart on LinkedIn
One Ask
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