What goes around comes around - living la vida loca
Not long ago being bi-lingual (able to speak Spanish) was of little benefit to me and I wondered if knowing it would ever serve any purpose. In fact I rarely heard Spanish spoken and would actually get a little excited upon hearing it spoken in public. Who would have imagined the rapid change in all of that?
I'm not sure about all locations in the country, but the explosion of the Hispanic population in Atlanta has been dramatic. The official numbers claim that the Hispanic population is about 200,000. But in actuality it's more like 700,000. Atlanta now reminds me of what once only Miami was.
Spanish is spoken here EVERYWHERE. You can't escape it.
Tonight for example I stopped by CVS where a twenty something latina asked the portly southern white boy behind the counter in Spanish, "Excuse me, you speak Spanish don't you?"
The guy replied, "No not really". I have to give him credit for at least understanding what the girl asked him.
Ignoring his response the girl proceeded to ask politely, again in Spanish, "Do you have any postcards of Atlanta?"
Again, despite a lack of total command of Spanish (he must have picked up on the "postales" part), "No", he replied. "They might sell some at the Mall".
This is the type of behavior I expect of Americans traveling the world. They assume everyone speaks English and they just speak English most times without even asking if the person they are speaking to understands English. Most all Americans actually expect the world to speak English. I myself don't automatically expect it and always politely ask if the person I'm talking to can speak English. Furthermore, I assume their command of English is less than fluent. Thus, I avoid as much as possible the use of slang and speak in slower complete simple sentences.
Anyway, whatever happened to the concept that immigrants will integrate and learn the most common language of their new country of residence? The Latins (ok, mostly Mexicans), can really live here now without ever having to learn English at all. In fact, as the way things are going I fully expect that within a few short years (or months perhaps) I will be going into "La Farmacia - CVS" in la ciudad de Atlanta and asking at the counter in English, "Excuse me but do you speak English?"
Yes, knowing Spanish is going to come in very handy, but still I'm going to miss my native tongue. )-: Thank God, I will still be able to bank at the ATM when they remove the "English" option.
I'm not sure about all locations in the country, but the explosion of the Hispanic population in Atlanta has been dramatic. The official numbers claim that the Hispanic population is about 200,000. But in actuality it's more like 700,000. Atlanta now reminds me of what once only Miami was.
Spanish is spoken here EVERYWHERE. You can't escape it.
Tonight for example I stopped by CVS where a twenty something latina asked the portly southern white boy behind the counter in Spanish, "Excuse me, you speak Spanish don't you?"
The guy replied, "No not really". I have to give him credit for at least understanding what the girl asked him.
Ignoring his response the girl proceeded to ask politely, again in Spanish, "Do you have any postcards of Atlanta?"
Again, despite a lack of total command of Spanish (he must have picked up on the "postales" part), "No", he replied. "They might sell some at the Mall".
This is the type of behavior I expect of Americans traveling the world. They assume everyone speaks English and they just speak English most times without even asking if the person they are speaking to understands English. Most all Americans actually expect the world to speak English. I myself don't automatically expect it and always politely ask if the person I'm talking to can speak English. Furthermore, I assume their command of English is less than fluent. Thus, I avoid as much as possible the use of slang and speak in slower complete simple sentences.
Anyway, whatever happened to the concept that immigrants will integrate and learn the most common language of their new country of residence? The Latins (ok, mostly Mexicans), can really live here now without ever having to learn English at all. In fact, as the way things are going I fully expect that within a few short years (or months perhaps) I will be going into "La Farmacia - CVS" in la ciudad de Atlanta and asking at the counter in English, "Excuse me but do you speak English?"
Yes, knowing Spanish is going to come in very handy, but still I'm going to miss my native tongue. )-: Thank God, I will still be able to bank at the ATM when they remove the "English" option.