CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW????

If you know me at all, you know I hate garage sales. Hate them. Hate going to them, hate having them. But crap, they are good fundraisers for my non-profit, and occasionally we have one. Like this weekend. Ugh.

Thankfully, hubby is out of the country so I have Evan to distract me (ahem, keep me away from the public shoppers), and I only occasionally have to step up to translate a little Spanish or pull out a shopping bag for someone. The other volunteers can count to, oh, five in Spanish and that's where it ends. Our garage sale is right smack in the middle of Little Mexico, however, and Spanish comes in handy. So, at least I can contribute without having to actually haggle.

I haven't really conversed in Spanish since I was 20 or so, when I taught horseback riding lessons at a local stables. In case you weren't aware, the equine industry employs a good chunk of not-quite-legal immigrants and those with work visas, so again, Spanish comes in handy. I am not fluent by any means, but I can hobble along in a conversation well enough to make my intentions known and to understand the intent of the other person as well.

When I worked at the stables, it never failed to amaze me how the rich kids were actually able to pretend like the Mexican helpers did not exist. No hellos, no thank yous, just plain old no eye contact. I never got it. Maybe because I wasn't a rich kid- I was the barn slave, the kid who shoveled shit and polished leather saddles and other rider's boots for a chance to be around horses, to breathe in horses, and to ride. I loved every minute and I earned every minute. They didn't. But I digress.

The Mexicans always liked me because I actually tried to converse with them. I would show up to work and I would get a "Hola Don!" and they would often laugh in good humor when I asked them "mas despacio, por favor" (slow it down! Geez! You think I speak Spanish or something??). They would eagerly bring me their 1st grade level Spanish-to-English work books and show me what words they had learned, ask me how they should be pronunciating those new words, and displayed great pride in learning a new language at 30 or 40 years old. I liked to help, I liked to speak with them, and I liked that I wasn't like those rich kids. It even got to the point where the manager would ask me to ask them something because her dictionary just wasn't helping her out. I never understood how some people reacted simply due to a language barrier. And damn, Spanish is not that hard. But even without it, an Hola! would suffice- much better than pretending someone is not there.

The one thing I always noticed, and of course it's a huge joke on tv, is when someone didn't understand a question, it was repeated louder, as if that helped clear things up. You know, someone asks where the bathroom is, and Jose says, Que?, and they ask WHERE. IS .THE. BATH. ROOM. Oh, Jose totally gets it now. Because louder English is way easier to understand than just plain old English. Today, it was that weird side of human nature all over again.

One lady obviously knew certain English phrases, and could form small sentences, but she pronunciated things so loudly, it was hard not to laugh. Of course, then our volunteers would answer back in English, louder and with hand gestures, because we all know hand gestures make things easier to understand as well. Seriously, it's hard not to laugh, but you have to imagine that's what these poor people go through all the time. I am one of those people who thinks that if you are going to live or work in America, you need to learn English, but everyone has to start somewhere. You don't just learn a new language in a couple of weeks. I understand that. But I also think that sometimes, people just don't learn English because it's easier just to not have to deal with the consequences of only knowing a little bit of English while dealing with Americans. Like the consequence of going deaf from so many loud repetitions of a question. I understand that, too.

Tonight, I'm actually going to brush up on a few phrases that will help us out at tomorrow's sale, relearn a few good verbs, and go out armed with some conversational tools that may help a few good immigrants get a good deal and still allow them to keep their hearing.