This morning I walked into a company work floor and asked if anyone had seen my student as I was meant to meet him there. This particular company I work at often and I have security to their work areas so I am a regular fixture.<div class="pull-right">https://i.imgur.com/bWkhCWG.jpg</div>

**<h3>Let them eat cake</h3>**

The cleaner, a woman I always say hi to, over heard me ask for my student and checked the name, "Mark? Mark Edelson? (name changed). I saw him at his desk earlier but I think he just stepped out to go meet you."

I noticed there was a cake that people were taking slices from and she offered me some, which I politely declined as it was 9 am. I would have eaten it if I was at home. I walked away just as my student came around the corner and we went into a meeting room for our session.

I asked what the cake was for and he said the cleaner brought it in because she had just become a Finnish citizen. I asked about her background and he said her country of origin. I said, no, her working background. He had no idea. This is common here.

The reason I asked is that the way she speaks and the way she works has never struck me as that of an uneducated person. If anything, she comes across as someone who has been quite highly educated and takes her work seriously. But, when there is some foreigner doing a cleaning job, none seem to know their formal training. The general assumption is: uneducated.

**<h3>A better life</h3>**

I can't speak for all but as an exercise, I ran through a scenario why this is not likely to be the case at least under normal conditions as she is not a refugee. Refugees are more randomized due to the situation they are coming from. We also discussed where this may lead.

In generalized terms, those that are able to move from their home country to one that is more stable are the more skilled, adventurous or educated as they are the ones willing and capable to get organised enough to get out of where they don't want to be.

These people are willing to move into unknown territory with very little certainty of what they will find once there and still back themselves to be in a better situation than where they are coming from. This is generalized remember.

Where does this lead? Well, often they enter into an environment that diminishes there talents as they have close to zero network and may not speak the language at all. Plus, they are culturally different which puts them at a disadvantage in many ways with hiring opportunities. So, many end up in the jobs that the locals do not want to do such as emptying bins.

This may not be a great job in any country, but when the relative conditions of an entire country is compared, cleaning in one country can offer a better quality of life than being a professional in another. Which means those that have the possibility to provide for themselves and their families a safer or more opportunity rich environment, they would be crazy not to take it.

**<h3>Rock bottom to a glass ceiling</h3>**

However, once in a country, they start to conform to the culture and they are not idiots. They understand that there is more to life than emptying bins and aspire to extend but, there is a glass ceiling for many foreigners for a number of reasons that you can maybe guess at.

But, this ceiling is much higher or nonexistent for their children who are born into the country and grow up local. So, they struggle through a cleaning job that may be well below their capabilities in order for their children to have a higher chance of prosperity in the future.<div class="pull-right">https://i.imgur.com/oG9WHBe.jpg</div>

Their children grow up as locals with intelligent but low paid parents who are able to help them and push them academically. They watch the struggle of their parents and are more likely to want more than a cleaning job, so are more motivated to push themselves.

This means they are likely quite intelligent, academically motivated and have the experience and perspectives of both a local and a foreigner. Plus, they are likely to speak at least two languages fluently. What do you rate their chances of success in a home that their parents came to with no network and a cleaning job?

**<h3>What did your parents do?</h3>**

To illustrate this, I will use an example of a friend of mine from high school in Australia. An Indian guy who's parents owned a little corner store in a side street just out of the city. As you can imagine, it wasn't a huge earner but paid their bills and kept them going. My friend is now a lawyer, has his own firm and about 25 lawyers working for him. 

If parents think they are comfortable and have a good life, they are likely to want similar for their children and provide them a comfortable life. If the parents are struggling but intelligent immigrants, they want more for their children but can't offer them comfort. All they can offer is the support to do better.

Plus, like my friend, the parents in order to extend their opportunities are more likely to start their own businesses. This is because they will not be provided career paths in the same way as locals and they recognize this. Running a business, a store or restaurant type thing is very difficult and requires hard work and long hours. 

The children grow up at the premises and are helping as soon as they are able. The lessons and work ethic this demonstrates is incredible and when children see how hard their parents work to provide for them, they want to do better again to help out.

**<h3>Closing gaps</h3>**

The life of a foreigner in any country is rarely easy, I know, I am one. I am one of the people that was fortunate enough to not do a cleaning job but was required to start my own business to bring my earnings up to average. The difference is, for me to get my earning capacity to average, I cannot work average hours, I must do more and take care of all aspects of the business for myself.

This is part of the reason I work so hard to try and get Steemit off the ground for myself as I am always in a kind of limbo. If for example, I lose some work because of organizational changes, the impact upon me is immediate and direct. It is an overnight recession that can very quickly become a depression. 

I do not want this kind of constant struggle for my wife and daughter but, here we are, at least for the time being. The work I put in now however is to buy space for my daughter to have access to opportunities in her future. As much as possible, she will be part of my work and be included in decision making as I struggle or succeed.

My business is centered on two core rules I demand from myself: Integrity of delivery and value for my client. This means I do all I can to deliver all I can to every client even if it is not expected of me and even if it does not gain anything directly.

Of course, I can't speak for all foreigners as there is a massive range of possibilities, attitudes and backgrounds, just like any population of people. I just found it interesting that this woman has worked with them for almost a decade and the people I asked today only knew the country she has came from and that she brought in cake for them.

Perhaps though, it will be her child that saves their life in surgery or the scientist who makes a breakthrough that helps their children. Never underestimate the power of a struggle down a hard path, nor the children who witness it.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]

https://i.imgur.com/pAcUAzX.png