I have been trying to get a job in the States over the last year. I have been successfully rejected from first class institutions such as the Smithsonian, where they claimed the job was only for US citizens (or "USERS" as I call them... you) when the original job posting never mentioned such a requirement. Are there grounds for discrimination? Perhaps you know, I am a poor third world citizen, latino, sudaca, who happens to look like a gringo. But who cares anyway I got the beloved rejection letter for my private collection. I already have around 20. Someday I will have them framed and displayed in my studio in the same fashion of an M.D.

During the last few days I have begun exchanging emails with a prestigious art school in Washington D.C. Their offer, which has not been made yet, is in the mid 40's. After contacting a few friends who happen to know about salaries and teaching combined, I found out that I wouldn't be able to make ends meet because of tax withholding, which is about an unbelievable 35%!! As a result my thoughts have been evolving around what a career really is. Graphic Design salaries in Ecuador range from 150 to 800 dollars per month [less taxes.] That is, so you know, under the line of poverty according to the United Nations. Here you'll encounter many college graduated [doctors, engineers, lawyers] driving cabs and cleaning houses. The third most populated Ecuadorian city is New York, probably followed nowadays by Barcelona in Spain. People are seriously fleeing this country and I feel I want to join them.