Never in all my life have I ever worked with as many Spanish-speaking people as I do now.
I’m from a very small town where nearly everybody is white and English-speaking. But this summer, I was hired at a fresh produce warehouse in a different small town where I package food on a line with mostly Spanish-speaking people who are from the big cities.
A few can speak English, but just about as a fluently as I can speak Spanish. I can understand 25 percent of what they’re saying if they say it slowly and I can speak short sentences in response. My supervisor’s first language is Spanish, so she will sometimes turn to me and start speaking Spanish before she remembers that my first language is English. However, I can understand her if she gives me simple directions.
I am not by any means a pro at speaking Spanish, but I owe it to my high school Spanish teacher for giving me the tools I need to connect with the people at my job that seem to expect that I know absolutely no Spanish.
There is another woman on my line who can only speak English. She is older, in her late 50’s, and from another small town that lacks diversity. She often comments that she wishes the Spanish-speaking people would learn English if they were going to “work here." I'm not sure if she means here as in the warehouse or here as in America, but I can sense she is frustrated that there is such a gap in communication between her and the Spanish-speakers on our line.
Listening to the Spanish-speakers at my work, it’s hard to imagine being that other English-speaking lady who knows no Spanish at all, besides recognizing the few Spanish words that sound English. I can hear bits and pieces of what the Spanish-speakers are saying and understand them. To this lady, it’s a total mystery until they use gestures so she understands. I sometimes wonder why she can't take it upon herself to learn a bit of Spanish.
It's hard for me to put myself in her shoes because I was raised in an era where our country was, and still is, expanding. It is truly a mixing pot of all peoples. This is why my high school required at least one year of Spanish to graduate.
It wasn’t until I was hired for this job that I truly realized how important it is to stretch yourself beyond your little realm of existence. Expand your vocabulary in a different language (and I’m not telling you that you have to learn Spanish) or at least learn about the cultures that are opposite of yours.
I believe my Spanish teacher helped me do this at a vital age. She inspired me to learn Spanish, and not just the vocabulary, in a way that would allow me to interact with people who are different than me that I may come into contact with, as I already have. It taught me to accept those who have a completely different dictionary than me.
To my Spanish teacher from high school: Thank you for helping me step out of my little realm of small-town existence.
