About my job
Working at the body shop has been an extremely rewarding experience so
far. It's been about 2 weeks and I've already learned so
much. I'm not talking about fixing cars, but the real
world. I have been, to put it bluntly, so naive. Everyday,
I work with 12 other people. One Korean, one Indonesian, the rest
are from Spanish speaking countries, mostly el Salvador. None of
them speak fluent English. I'm grateful for taking Spanish in
highschool and not giving up on Korean. Even though my Spanish
and Korean are still at the level of a moron, it's helped me
tremendously. I never thought I would be emailing Olson, Bruja,
and Losada a thank you letter, but I just sent it. I'm really
happy that I work with these people, they are so nice to me, maybe
because I can speak their language.
The first day of work was a really bad day that I hope to never repeat ever again in my life. I mostly washed cars and parked cars and brought them in, and chauffered customers around. Pretty simple stuff. I was bringing in a Hyundai Sonata into the garage for washing when I ran it into a pole. I want to make an excuse, but I don't really have any. I just suck at driving. I was going maybe 5 miles per hour, but it was enough to break the radiator, crush the bumper, frame, crack the fan, hood, grille, other stuff. Note to self: Hyundai cars are made of aluminum foil. So yeah, terrible first day at work. But everyone at work was really nice to me about it, made me feel much better. I owe them alot. Damage came out to be about $2000 for labor and parts. I'll be the one fixing it since it was my fault. It'll take awhile though since I'm still learning all the parts and how to replace them. Then painting.
I wanted to write about one friend I made at work. His name is Alejandro, from el Salvador, 25 years old. He's been exceptionally nice to me, always saying hi, waving, cracking light jokes in Spanish, smiling all the time. I'd give him a free can of mountain dew and he'd help me work on my car. He's really really hardworking. Our boss literally has to kick him out to close the shop. I finally got to talk to him a bit more on Friday, we had a long conversation about pretty much everything. He came here with his brother only a couple months ago. He didn't come here legally so he can't drive. He and his brother pays rent at an apartment nearby and take the bus to work and back everyday. The wage here is $14 so I know that they're struggling. His father got hit by a bus and died a few years ago and his mother and sister still live in el Salvador. He explained to me that the economy there is terrible. He and his brother send whatever money left over back home to support them. No friends in America, the only friends are at work. I wanted to give him some words of encouragement, but I honestly couldn't find anything to say. To be honest, I don't see much opportunity for him at this point. Living off $14 an hour, illegal alien, no friends, no time to even consider having a girlfriend. No chance for education or a better paying job. At least he's a Christian, he'll have God on his side. I'll pray for him, but I'm getting pessimistic. I want to do something to help him out. I look at myself and compare my life to his. What did I do that makes my life so much more convenient than his? My dad worked his ass off to make my life that much easier. I am spoiled. Here I am, driving a car to work every day, living under a home with my family. I have awesome friends, a good college education, money...sorta, really I have it all. Everyday I go to work, I get to leave my luxurious life behind for 10 hours and live the life of these hardworking people. It is damn tough. I don't want to forget what I learned from working here, that's why I'm posting it up. So I can remember when I go back to school and live comfortably with my friends.
God bless these people. I admire their spirits.
The first day of work was a really bad day that I hope to never repeat ever again in my life. I mostly washed cars and parked cars and brought them in, and chauffered customers around. Pretty simple stuff. I was bringing in a Hyundai Sonata into the garage for washing when I ran it into a pole. I want to make an excuse, but I don't really have any. I just suck at driving. I was going maybe 5 miles per hour, but it was enough to break the radiator, crush the bumper, frame, crack the fan, hood, grille, other stuff. Note to self: Hyundai cars are made of aluminum foil. So yeah, terrible first day at work. But everyone at work was really nice to me about it, made me feel much better. I owe them alot. Damage came out to be about $2000 for labor and parts. I'll be the one fixing it since it was my fault. It'll take awhile though since I'm still learning all the parts and how to replace them. Then painting.
I wanted to write about one friend I made at work. His name is Alejandro, from el Salvador, 25 years old. He's been exceptionally nice to me, always saying hi, waving, cracking light jokes in Spanish, smiling all the time. I'd give him a free can of mountain dew and he'd help me work on my car. He's really really hardworking. Our boss literally has to kick him out to close the shop. I finally got to talk to him a bit more on Friday, we had a long conversation about pretty much everything. He came here with his brother only a couple months ago. He didn't come here legally so he can't drive. He and his brother pays rent at an apartment nearby and take the bus to work and back everyday. The wage here is $14 so I know that they're struggling. His father got hit by a bus and died a few years ago and his mother and sister still live in el Salvador. He explained to me that the economy there is terrible. He and his brother send whatever money left over back home to support them. No friends in America, the only friends are at work. I wanted to give him some words of encouragement, but I honestly couldn't find anything to say. To be honest, I don't see much opportunity for him at this point. Living off $14 an hour, illegal alien, no friends, no time to even consider having a girlfriend. No chance for education or a better paying job. At least he's a Christian, he'll have God on his side. I'll pray for him, but I'm getting pessimistic. I want to do something to help him out. I look at myself and compare my life to his. What did I do that makes my life so much more convenient than his? My dad worked his ass off to make my life that much easier. I am spoiled. Here I am, driving a car to work every day, living under a home with my family. I have awesome friends, a good college education, money...sorta, really I have it all. Everyday I go to work, I get to leave my luxurious life behind for 10 hours and live the life of these hardworking people. It is damn tough. I don't want to forget what I learned from working here, that's why I'm posting it up. So I can remember when I go back to school and live comfortably with my friends.
God bless these people. I admire their spirits.