I am Miguel Antonio Maal Beiner; I was born on January 10 of 1992 in Los Teques, Venezuela. I am the second of the three children of Maria Beiner and Michael Maal, both Venezuelans but with European backgrounds. I was raised in a middle class family where respect and responsibilities are important values. Although we are not too religious, I was raised under the parameters of the Roman Catholic religion so we used to go to church on important days as Christmas’ eve and in Holy week, and also follow the principles of the catholic church. I am a very responsible person. Family and friends are an important part of my life. I’ve always been following my dreams and trying to achieve my goals. I am the kind of person that works hard to get one he wants, following always the principles that my parents taught me. Since I was a child I have always been interested in sports, especially in baseball, which I have been playing since I was four, and that is one of the reasons that made me take the decision to come to study here at Northern State University. Playing baseball I’ve spent many of the best moments in my life. I’ve also learned a lot about it. Responsibility, constancy and effort are important virtues that I learned while playing, and that has helped me to be better in other aspects of life like School, in which I put a lot of attention because I consider that nowadays if you don’t study and prepare yourself for the future you will have less opportunities to be successful. There are a lot of people outside that, as well as you, want to get the best job and be as triumphant as you, so I am working hard to try to achieve my goals and be ready for the future.
Many people have influenced my life and personal development. My family and my friends have been a great influence; also my trainers and coaches have been a great example for me in sports. They have helped me to become the person that I am now.
Although my family has always been there trying to guide me in the best way they could so I will be successful in life, the person who has done the most to influence my personal development is my mom. She has been there to tell me, “Hey! This is not the way!” or to give me a hand when I felt that I was lost. My mom taught my brothers and me that if you want to reach your goals, you have to work hard. No matter the size of the obstacles that could be in your way, if you keep trying all the time, you are going to reach your goals. She is one of the best examples to confirm that this is true. When she was only 27 years old, married and with two children, she was in a car accident which, lamentably, killed her first husband and my big brother. This event was a big blow to my mom but she continued with her life, being strong and demonstrating to my brother that life was continuing, and they had to keep the way.
On the other hand are my dad and my baseball trainers, who have taught me that with discipline, respect, and being constant, you can be successful in sports and in your life. Without these things you are not going to be able to do anything. My dad always says to me that if you do not have discipline, you are not going to be a good athlete or a good businessman. Without both discipline and constancy, it is going to be really difficult to be successful in life.
School and Educational Goals
I got my high School degree at “La Colina High School” in Carrizal, Venezuela. I wasn’t sure if I was going to major in Business or Medicine. In my senior year I decided that I wanted to major in Business due to the fact that I could keep playing baseball. I always wanted to study abroad because I think it is a great experience and allows you to see the world in a different way, meet a new culture and also open your horizons and make you learn more about life. So I started to look for some universities in the US so I could keep playing baseball and get an education at the same time. After I studied one year of Economics at Central University of Venezuela I moved to Aberdeen, SD, to study International Business at Northern State University.
After I finish my Career and get my Bachelor degree I want to keep studying and get a Master degree. I see myself in the future working for a transnational company and being a successful entrepreneur.
Family
Mom’s side. Both of my grandparents are Venezuelans and although their grand grandparents came from Europe to Venezuela in the 10’s, specifically from Switzerland on my grandma’s side and from Germany on my Grandpa’s, they don’t conserve any of the traditions or customs of the cultures of their ancestors. Therefore they were raised under the Venezuelan culture, as well as my mom. I spend a lot of time with my grandparents. We usually meet on Sundays to enjoy a meal together and to talk about the family and everyday life. As well as my parents, they have had a big influence in me to become the person that I am now. They have been always there for me without matter the size of the problem that I have, and to teach me what they think is correct.
Besides my mom they have two other kids: Herman, who I don’t see too much because he lives away from my city, Carrizal, and Yolanda who, as well as my grandparents and parents, is my number one fan. They never lost one of my baseball games when I played in High School. Both of them have a University degree in Agronomy and civil engineering respectively. My mom, who is the older of her siblings, studied 4 years of Architecture at Central University of Venezuela. While she was studying she met Juan Francisco Cabrera, her first husband, with who she had two kids: Juan Francisco and Oscar; and who I said died in car accidents years later. Three years after that she met my dad, Michael Maal, with whom she got married too and had two kids, my sister Anastasia, who is year and a half younger than me, and I. Nowadays my mom is working in her small Carpenters company.
Dad’s side. My grandfather was born in Netherland and went to Curacao, an island in the Caribbean ocean, when he was a child, living there almost all his childhood until he moved to Venezuela. Unfortunately he died two months before I was born so I didn’t have the opportunity to know about him and his background. I just know a few things about him that my dad told me when I was a child. My grandmother was born in Venezuela and spent part of her childhood in Santiago, Chile, where her Father, originated from England, used to work. She still conserves some of the English customs like drink tea at evening every day.
My grandparents had together four kids, Marie, Eileen, Henry and Michael who is my father. He was born in Venezuela where he spent his childhood. After finishing High School he went to England and spent 3 years studying at Watford College where he got a degree in PR. Then he went back to Venezuela and got married with Doris Karam, his first wife and with whom he has one kid: Patricia, my older sister. After four years they divorced. Then, as I said, my dad met my mom and got married. They have two kids together: my little sister Anastasia and I.
Family traditions. As a family we are very close to each other. When you have any kind of problem the first thing that you do is go and talk with family. We try to be as close as we can. We meet every Sunday and have a meal together. As is tradition in the Venezuelan, we meet on Christmas’s eve and have a delicious dinner together eating some of the traditional plates in my country. We also get together on birthdays and special celebrations like the arrival of a new family member.
Culture
Venezuela's national population is very similar to that of most other South American countries, with a mixture of an initial indigenous population, a large Spanish influx, and a significant population of African ancestry. There have also been notable European and Latin American migrations in the last two centuries. Even with these different populations, however, Venezuela has one of the most stable national identities in the continent.
Food. In Venezuela we have three main meals: a large breakfast, a large dinner (around noontime), and dinner around 8 pm. When I just arrived to the US it was difficult to get use to eat dinner at 5 pm, how people do here, because then at 9 I am hungry again. Arepas, the most distinctive Venezuelan food, are thick disks made of precooked cornmeal, either fried or baked. We eat Arepas almost every day for breakfast in my house.
Body language between Venezuelans is also much more fluid and pervasive that the one between Americans. People stand very close to each other while talking and will gesticulate with their hands and bodies to make a point. It is also common for people to touch each other to even further emphasize what it is that they are saying. Friendly conversations can also appear to be arguments because of their loud nature. Meanwhile there is also lots of unique sign language. For example, pointing with one's finger is considered rude and vulgar; it is much more acceptable and widely understood if one just points with one's mouth. Another big different between Americans and people from South America is that when you say “hello” to somebody in Venezuela, you usually give him/her a kiss in the cheek as a symbol of friendship even if you aren’t close friends.
