R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I’ve said to myself for years, “I should learn another language!” I took one semester of French in high school, although it wasn’t a graduation requirement. As my adult awareness of US immigration policy grew, I thought about becoming bilingual again. I thought back to the Cuban family that my parish sponsored to become American citizens in the 1980's and what a difficult time the parents had. I don't know if he had a professional degree in Cuba, but as a Cuban American refugee, the father became a janitor in my hometown. As a kid, it went right over my head. As an adult, it made me sad. Spanish seemed like a good choice for my second attempt.

Like most, I had my two or three false starts. Being able to converse politely with my cleaner didn’t do it. Having a Thanksgiving conversation to impress my Spanish teacher/sister didn’t do it. Sheer desire to learn something new as a New Year’s resolution really didn’t do it.

Then, I found my “why.” It’s respect.

I have the privilege to work for Children International and have colleagues in agencies all over the world. More than half of the communities we serve are in Mexico and Central America. My development team consists of Ecuadorian nationals who excel in their technical skills and are English-proficient. Daily, I get to converse with people from all over the world in the service of making it a better place for the kids we serve. 

Both times I have travelled off-continent I was 100% dependent on translators to help me get where I was going, to order food, and to help me feel included in the conversation. That’s damn hard work by the way. Mad respect for all the translators out there. But what shocked this midwestern girl was how many workers in the most menial, physical jobs - from hotel room maids to restaurant staff to convenience store clerks, knew enough English to converse a little with the ignorant tourist. The second trip was to Guatemala and it reinforced my suspicion. Those who can achieve English proficiency automatically have an advantage in finding jobs in the swanky business hotels, the high-end restaurants, the call centers, etc. where they can make more tips. And almost universally, having more money goes a long way to providing for your family, especially in ending generational poverty.

This brings me back why "respect" is my why. English is the lanugage of business, which simply means I'm luckier than most to have learned it since birth. My life is immeasurably easier just for that one little accident of birth. One way I can show how much I respect everyone from immigrants to my developer team and other colleagues is to put forth the effort to learn how to speak in Spanish sometimes.

By learning Spanish, I demonstrate how much I respect for others who became bilingual a lot sooner than me. I show respect for the immigrant experience, frightening and frustrating as it is to be one in the US these days. I show my respect for professionals who learn to hold the grammatical spaghetti of multiple languages in their head and easily slip back and forth between two or more languages. And I especially respect my team at CI, who are generous with their technical skills and their support of my journey. My “why” is to show how much I respect and admire them all.