Coming to America

I want to relate an interesting back-&-forth I observed, this past saturday.

That afternoon, my wife and I went to I-HOP for supper. For those who think I'm talking about B'rer Rabbit's house, that's an acronym for International House of Pancakes.

Our waiter was a polite man in his mid-to-late twenties, who spoke with a foreign accent. He was very attentive and eager to please.

In a private moment, my wife asked, "Is he Russian, or something?"

"I dunno," I said. "I haven't heard him speak enough to place his accent."

Our meal came. Midway through gorging myself on chicken tenders and a baked potato, I overheard a conversation between our waiter and another family he was serving, just a few booths away.

Turned out my wife was correct. He originally was from Russia. He had emigrated to the U.S. through legal channels, after many difficulties. It took him a year-and-a-half to learn English, and he accomplished this arduous task before stepping foot on American soil. He was well-spoken, and his accent was not thick or garbled.

What's the point of my story, you may ask? Well, I just noticed the glaring contrast between this hard-working guy and many immigrants from Mexico.

I've personally worked with Mexicans. In my experience, most speak either no English, or very little. When I see them out in public, clustered together like a gaggle of hens, they usually speak only Spanish. I see no interest on the majority's part in learning the language of the United States. In fact, just a few days ago, I was sitting in my car in the parking lot, while my wife grabbed a few items inside the nearest store; and I saw a man exit another store with a three or four year old boy in tow. As they crossed the parking lot, the man (presumably his father) gave vent to a staccato rapid-fire of pure Spanish. When children are small, and their brains soak up knowledge like sponges, that is the best time for teaching a language. I just shook my head and wondered at what I beheld. Of course, I don't know their situation. But was he doing his child a favor, by only conversing with him in a language most people in this country don't speak or understand? I overheard the manager of I-HOP complaining along these lines. She mentioned that hiring Mexicans is a nuisance (I'm paraphrasing, here), because none of them know even rudimentary English. She lamented the situation, saying that she's forced to manually take them and show them what must be done, each time she has a task for them.

Lest I be misunderstood, these are not isolated events. I see such things all the time. Nor am I suggesting that all Mexicans or Central Americans fall into this mold. I know that some come here legally, thirsting for the American Dream, as it were. I know some work hard, and become decent upstanding citizens. This isn't a blanket accusation or condemnation. I'm speaking merely of trends I've noticed in the news, and in my own experiences. Furthermore, the influx of Mexicans into my neck of the woods, alone, cannot possibly be explained as a product of legal immigration only. It's statistically impossible. Just a few short years ago, I didn't encounter one-sixth as many Mexicans as I do, now.

The gulf between integration and non-integration is wider than the distance between stars. I'd suggest asking the Romans, for the skeptics, but they're conspicuously absent from the discussion--and contemporary life.