Monthly Archives: November 2021

Atlanta has a population of over 6 million people, making it the 9th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.  Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, which is the 8th most populous of the 50 states.  The city and surrounding area—known as the Atlanta metropolitan area—is also the commercial capital of the Southeast United States and has the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country.  The metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Lithonia, Decatur, Mableton, Conyers and others.  There are an estimated 12,500 Canadians living in Atlanta and the city is home to a social club (Atlanta Canadians) that occasionally hosts events for Canadians in the metro area.  Canada is a popular tourist destination for residents of Atlanta and Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has direct flights to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Canada is also a frequent destination for business travelers from Atlanta.  Canada is the top customer for Georgia companies, with $5.1 billion worth of exports each year and the state imports $4.3 billion worth of goods from Canada annually.   There are 274 Canadian-owned businesses employing nearly 35,000 workers in Georgia.

The city of Dallas and the surrounding metropolitan area is the most populous metropolis in the southern United States and fourth-most populous in the country.  The Dallas metropolitan area—known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, or DFW by local residents—has a population of 7.6 million people and includes the cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Irving, Garland, Richardson, Frisco, Mesquite, Denton, Grand Prairie, and McKinney.  The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, located in North Texas, is one of the fastest growing regions in the country thanks to its low cost of living, low taxes, abundance of resources, and ease of doing business.  Dallas has the second-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States and there is a long list of companies that have been relocating to the area from other parts of the country.  Dallas has a growing population of immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, including a small community of immigrants from The Gambia.  The city is home to the Gambian Texas Association, a nonprofit organization that hosts social events to help strengthen the Gambian community.  Dallas also has social groups for the Mandinka people, one of the major ethnic groups of Gambia.  The city of Saginaw (west of Dallas) is sister cities with Banjul (Gambia’s capital). 

Atlanta has a population of over 6 million people, making it the 9th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.  Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, which is the 8th most populous of the 50 states.  The city and surrounding area—known as the Atlanta metropolitan area—is also the commercial capital of the Southeast United States and has the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country.  The metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Lithonia, Decatur, Mableton, Conyers, and others.  Atlanta has become an extremely diverse and international city that includes a growing number of immigrants from Latin America.  There are over 600,000 Latino people living in the Atlanta metro area, however, only about 1,000 of these residents originally came from Bolivia.  Although Bolivia is one of the least visited countries in Latin America, it is perhaps one of the most interesting destinations in the region to explore.  Atlanta residents travel to Bolivia for a variety of reasons, including for tourism, volunteering, study abroad, and business.  Spanish is one of the official languages of Bolivia and there are plenty of schools in Atlanta offering beginner and advanced courses for adults.

UPDATED April 4, 2022

Denver, known as the “Mile High City” because of its elevation of 5,280 feet, is the capital of Colorado and is one of the fastest growing cities in America.  The Denver Metropolitan area is the 19th most populous metro area in the U.S. and has a population approaching three million people.  The metro area includes the towns of Arvada, Castle Rock, Centennial, Lakewood, Littleton, Thornton, Westminster, and Aurora.  The region’s growing and diverse economy—along with its proximity to Rocky Mountain ski resorts—make Denver an attractive destination for people seeking a more active and balanced lifestyle.  Denver has a diverse economy and strong foundation of large and mid-size companies, making the city an attractive job market for people in other parts of the country that may be considering a change of scenery.  In the past decade, as Denver’s healthcare, financial services, electronics, aerospace, and biotechnology sectors continue to expand, there has been an uptick in the number of Indian immigrants moving to the region to seize new job opportunities.  Denver is now home to several Indian cultural organizations, including the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Rockies where the local community can enjoy Indian celebrations such as Diwali.

San Francisco, known as the “City by the Bay”, is one of America’s most famous and beautiful cities.  Located in Northern California, San Francisco is just one of the many cities that together make up the San Francisco Bay Area, or Bay Area for short.  The 14-county combined statistical area (that comprises the Bay Area) has nearly 10 million people, making it the fifth-most populous region in the United States.  The Bay Area includes cities such as Oakland, Hayward, Berkeley, Vallejo, Concord, Pleasanton, Fremont, San Jose, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Sausalito, and San Rafael.  The economy of the Bay Area is one of the most vigorous and entrepreneurial on the planet.  Silicon Valley (in the southern part of the Bay Area) has attracted engineers from all over the world, including those from Brazil like computer scientist Hugo Barra and Instagram co-founder Michel Krieger.  There are dozens of successful Brazilian technology entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, and many of them first came to the Bay Area as students to attend UC Berkeley and Stanford University.  Stanford has close connections to Brazil through its Lemann Center, which provides training to Brazilian students and visiting scholars.  There are an estimated 40,000 Brazilians living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Los estudiantes internacionales, ejecutivos de negocios, y otros recién llegados al área metropolitana de Dallas-Fort Worth pueden aprovechar las oportunidades regionales para mejorar sus habilidades de inglés o prepararse para una educación en los EE. UU. inscribiéndose en uno de los muchos cursos y programas de idiomas de la región.

Conocidos como ESL (inglés como segundo idioma, por sus siglas en inglés) o ESOL (inglés para hablantes de otros idiomas, por sus siglas en inglés), estos programas ayudan a los estudiantes y otras personas que no son hablantes nativos de inglés a adquirir o mejorar sus habilidades antes de comenzar la universidad o ingresar al lugar de trabajo en los Estados Unidos. Hay una amplia variedad de programas de ESL disponibles. Algunos son recordatorios para quienes aprendieron inglés en sus países de origen. Estas clases se enfocan en las variaciones americanas en pronunciación, vocabulario, modismos y verbalización. Otros proporcionan una introducción básica para principiantes que hablan poco o nada de inglés. Los cursos pueden preparar a los estudiantes académicos para aprobar el examen TOEFL (Prueba de Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, por sus siglas en inglés), que requieren muchas universidades de EE. UU. al admitir hablantes de inglés no nativos.

Charlotte, située en Caroline du Nord et considérée comme l’“entrée internationale vers le sud", est une ville métropolitaine qui offre une très belle qualité de vie. Les nouveaux venus dans cette sympathique ville qui ont besoin d’améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques en anglais ou de préparer leurs études aux États-Unis peuvent s’inscrire à l’un des nombreux programmes ESL (English as a Second Language) proposés.

Charlotte est non seulement la plus grande ville de Caroline du Nord, mais constitue également son centre culturel, économique et névralgique. Surnommé la “Queen City”, Charlotte représente une bonne base de départ pour explorer les montagnes et les plages environnantes, ainsi que les états voisins de la côte est. La ville abrite aussi certaines des plus grandes universités, telles que l’University of North Carolina. Ses attractions culturelles incluent le Charlotte Museum, le Mint Museum ainsi que d’autres institutions; mais aussi de nombreuses performances se tenant dans le Belk Theater; sans oublier les galeries et les boutiques du quartier artistique de North Davidson.

Houston, no Texas, a maior cidade da região Sul e a quarta maior dos Estados Unidos, é uma cidade metropolitana pujante com uma população internacional diversa. Recém-chegados à cidade talvez se interessem em se matricular em algum dos programas ESL (English as a Second Language, ou Inglês como Segunda Língua) da cidade para aperfeiçoarem suas habilidades na língua inglesa ou se prepararem para uma formação nos EUA.

Oficialmente apelidada de “Space City” por seu papel nos programas de exploração espacial da NASA, Houston também é conhecida como “Bayou City” por conta das 10 grandes hidrovias que fluem na área. Ficou famosa também como “The Big Heart” após acolher mais de 150 mil sobreviventes de Louisiana após o Furacão Katrina atingir o estado em 2005. Seus times esportivos profissionais geraram ainda mais dois apelidos: “Clutch City”, referenciando os ciclos de campeonatos dos Rockets da NBA e dos Astros da MLB, e “Crush City” pelo grande número de home runs rebatidos pelos Astros em 2015. Outros times profissionais incluem os Houston Texas da NFL; franquias de futebol Dynamo (masculino) e Dash (feminino); e o time de rugby Sabercats.

UPDATED April 4, 2022

The city of Dallas and the surrounding metropolitan area is the most populous metropolis in the southern United States and fourth-most populous in the country.  The Dallas metropolitan area—known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, or DFW by local residents—has a population of 7.6 million people and includes the cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Irving, Garland, Richardson, Frisco, Mesquite, Denton, Grand Prairie, and McKinney.  The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, located in North Texas, is one of the fastest growing regions in the country thanks to its low cost of living, low taxes, abundance of resources, and ease of doing business.  These characteristics are attractive to immigrants, especially those from India.  There are now over 125,000 Indian people (citizens of India and Indian Americans) living in the Dallas area and 450,000 in the state of Texas, making it the second-largest Indian population in the United States, after California.  Dallas has the second-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and has several excellent hospitals, making it an attractive city for Indian immigrants seeking job opportunities in the high-tech and medical fields.  The area is also home to over 100 Indian restaurants and each year hosts one of the largest Diwali celebrations in the country.

International students, business executives, and other foreign newcomers to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area can take advantage of regional opportunities to improve their English skills or prepare for a U.S. education by enrolling in one of the region’s many language courses and programs.

Known as ESL (English as a Second Language) or ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), these programs help students and others who are not native English speakers acquire or enhance their skills before they start college or enter the workplace in the United States. There are a wide variety of ESL programs available. Some are refreshers for those who learned English in their native countries. These classes focus on American variations in pronunciation, vocabulary, idioms, and verbalization. Others provide a basic introduction for beginners who speak little or no English. Courses may prepare academic students to pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam, which many U.S. colleges and university require when admitting non-native English speakers.