E21 The Spanish Kid Who Showed Up With a Dictionary and Ended Up Staying Forever

Send us Fan Mail

Ruben Raposo left Madrid at 15 with a dictionary, a host family he'd never met, and a one-year plan. Thirty years later, he's still in Alabama, and he never saw it coming.

In this episode of From Where to Here, Ruben takes us inside what it actually felt like to land in the American South with barely enough English to order breakfast, get recruited onto a high school football team within his first two weeks, and slowly realize that the life he was building here wasn't temporary anymore. He talks about growing up in Madrid with a father who left the Catholic priesthood to marry his mother, a decision that required a letter of approval from Pope John Paul II, and how that story shaped everything about the way Ruben approaches risk, commitment, and starting over.

We get into the real Spain that most people never see: the housing crisis pricing out an entire generation, the oversaturation of university graduates who can't find work in their field, and why a brain drain is quietly hollowing out the country's future. We also talk about the Spanish food distribution business Ruben built from scratch, what Amazon did to it, and how he ended up in healthcare data analytics helping kidney disease patients get better treatment faster.

But the thread running through all of it is identity — what it means to feel Spanish in Alabama, to sound American in Madrid, and to spend thirty years living between two versions of yourself without ever fully choosing one.

If you've ever moved somewhere that changed you, studied a language that opened a door you didn't expect, or wondered what home even means after you've had more than one — this one is for you.

Follow Ruben on Instagram at @spanishfoodie and connect with him on LinkedIn. Subscribe to From Where to Here wherever you listen to your podcasts!

----------
🤝 EPISODE SPONSOR
Red Cat Coffee House
This episode is brought to you by Red Cat Coffee House and their Landmark Series Coffees. You can find the coffee blends online at https://theredcatcoffeehouse.com/shop/, at your Red Cat locations, or at your local Piggly Wiggly.

----------
📩 Let’s stay connected.
Join my email list list for thoughtful reflections, resources, and behind-the-scenes moments I only share there.

🎧 Subscribe & Follow
Follow From Where to Here on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen so you don’t miss a conversation.

📱 More language & culture, daily.
Find me on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @fromwheretoherepod

🤎 If this episode meant something to you…
Leave a review or share it with someone who’d love it too.