Good Spanish wine, food and long nights on the terrace spent with friends are things Felix Ruiz, a research associate at the department of Veterinary Pathobiology, said he misses the most about his home.

 Ruiz and his wife Carmen moved to Champaign from Madrid, Spain, three years ago. Like most international students and professors, Ruiz said he notices cultural differences in everything.   

"(Back home) people socialize all the time. They don't need a reason to get together," said Ruiz, who was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Ruiz, who was exposed to Spanish and Latin American culture most of his life, said he experienced culture shock when he first arrived in the United States.  

"Everything seemed so big — cars, food, buildings," he said laughing.

But when Ruiz began volunteering two years ago at El Informador, the first Spanish newspaper in Champaign-Urbana, his version of the American dream acquired some Spanish flavor.    

"I guess (the newspaper) was one of the excuses for the Latino community to get together," said Ruiz, who does not have any formal training in journalism.

El Informador is a collaborative effort of 25 graduate students and community members to provide news and information about services available to the immigrant population.

Today, Ruiz, a chief editor of El Informador, said he helps make culture shock for Latino immigrants less traumatic.

International students at the University are much more in contact with information than immigrants who come to the United States and don't speak any English at all, Ruiz said.

According to Guadalupe Abreu, a member of the Latino Advisory Board in Champaign, the Latino population is growing rapidly and its needs have become more visible, representing challenges for the local infrastructure, which is not fully adjusted to the influx of the Latino immigrants.

Paula Leon, the director of El Informador and the outreach counselor for Rape Crisis Services, said El Informador mostly depends on the Spanish speaking graduate students who cannot commit to the newspaper full time.   

"Ruiz is very involved and committed," Leon said. "He does a very good job motivating the volunteers. He is extremely reliable."

Eva Trockel, one of the coordinators who joined El Informador several months ago, said she enjoys working with Ruiz. Trockel is in charge of distribution and said El Informador is sometimes the only source of information for its readers. She said she receives a lot of positive feedback about the newspaper.

Because the resources of the newspaper are limited and the staff does not have an office, Ruiz and other coordinators work from home, making sure that the final version of the newspaper is flawless.

"There are lots of problems in the Latino community, and it's easy to see only the negative side," Ruiz said. "But we try to be objective and present all sides of a story."   

Whenever Ruiz has free time, he spends it with his friends eating out or going to the theater—just like back at home.