By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
International workers with student visas serving in Galveston’s hospitality industry has grown to be a customary part of the summer tourism season. For many young people, it’s just a fun summer in an American beach town. For some, they are drawn into the American way of life and find themselves seeking out a way to return with hopes of gaining legal residency status.
Ina Rabacu, a young woman from Moldova, spent the summer of 2013 working at Galveston’s San Luis Hotel and Resort bussing tables. At the time she was a student at the Universitatea de Stat din Republica Moldova. Her major was in French and English.
After her first summer in Galveston, she was hooked on the American dream. “I wanted a certain lifestyle and I realized what I wanted would only be possible if I came to live in the United States,” said Rabacu.
She returned on another student visa in the summer of 2014 and again worked in food service.
After she graduated college, she began the lengthy process of applying for legal residency status. Rabacu continued her employment at the San Luis, working her way up from restaurant work to working in Human Recourses shortly before her legal residency status was granted.
Though she had learned English as a child and had studied English in college, she did find herself in some tricky situations due to her distinct accent; unfortunately, she had not been taught Texan in Moldova.
One of those tricky situations came when a little boy came into the restaurant with his family and said “howdy.”
“I said I am very good and how are you. The little boy started to laugh. I quickly learned what howdy means,” said Rabacu.
Rabacu speaks five languages: Moldavian, Russian, French, English, and Spanish. She picked up Spanish from her many coworkers at the resort. American music and media have helped her accent be less noticeable and she has grown in her understanding of American English, particularly Texas’ style of English.
During the peak of last year’s pandemic crisis, she was moved back to a position in the restaurant. This prompted her to begin job searching beyond resorts.
Rabacu landed a job with VACASA, a vacation rental management company. Her position requires her to use her years of English studies and her diplomacy in working as an owner relations manager. “I speak with the homeowners and I often have to talk with the neighbors of the vacation rentals,” explained Rabacu.
The American lifestyle isn’t all work and no play. Rabacu finds time to enjoy all that the area has to offer, such as day trips to local vegetable farms, picnics in the park and (of course) some nightlife socializing with friends which might include waking a friend up at the stroke of midnight to sing “Happy Birthday” with cake and champagne. She, too, has been woken up in the middle of her sleep to celebrate her birthday.
Her sunshine attitude and generous smile are traits that draw people to her. She is considered the life of the party whether it’s out socializing or when she’s training in kickboxing. One of her workout partners, Dave Baca, said “I am very glad she came to the United States, she is creative and works hard.”
Her Sensei, Steve Fuentes said, “She is a happy upbeat person. She always has a smile on her face, and it helps her get through her bad days.”
Although her life in Moldova was quiet, she misses it at times. “I grew up in the countryside. My family had land. My siblings and I worked in the vegetable garden and taking care of the chickens. After a day of work, our mother would take us to the village for ice cream,” said Rabacu.
Though she left her parents and her homeland, she does not regret coming to the United States and plans to stay here.
