My response to the AZ law: I'm going to learn Spanish

[jmondine]

This will undo a mistake made due to Hispanic prejudice dating all the way back to the 1950's.

I am half Mexican on my mother's side. But because she and my uncles were relatively fair-skinned, my grandparents decided to raise them speaking only English. As a result, I was raised the same. I have always regretted this, and always intended do something about it... eventually.

Well, eventually is now.

Thanks to the Arizona GOP, I will be proudly reclaiming my Latino heritage.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Bienvenida

:hi:

[DesertFlower]

2. great idea. i think we should

all speak a second or third language.

[WillParkinson]

3. Oddly I just posted a question in the Lounge...

Asking if anyone had ever used Rosetta Stone software and had any opinions on it. I want to learn a second language and if it's good I might be able to pop for it (it is kinda pricey, though).

[sabrina 1]

4. I just rec'd this OP

but apparently there are some people here who don't like the idea of you learning to speak Spanish. I worked with some people from S. America and they taught me some Spanish, they asked if I would help some of their friends learn English. We had so much fun.

[rabs]

5. Go for it; I undid the same mistake

We lived in a little rural community where Spanish-Americans (that's what we were called back then before some bureaucrat invented "hispanics") had lived since the mid-1700s. We grew up speaking Spanish with our grandfolks, who spoke little English.

One day, when I was five, I was sent to the local grade school. To my befuddlement, the Anglo first-grade teacher would hit the palms of our hands with a ruler if she heard us speaking Spanish. So we learned English very quickly and for years after our Spanish-speaking skills withered and practically died.

Until I was at the university and realized that the teacher, who probably meant well, had robbed me of part of my culture. So university studies included Spanish and Latin American Studies. After college, almost 20 years of working and living in South America honed those skills.

So now am fluent in both languages, and in fact we speak Spanish at home out of preference. Can also get along quite well in Portuguese, thanks to the similarities to Spanish.

Buena suerte y bienvenido a nuestro mundo y nuestra cultural que nos han querido robar.

[NanceGreggs]

6. Well, all I can say is ...

... that's a pretty damned fine idea!

It's never too late to transform "eventually" into now - or, as JeffR always says, "Now - it's the new then!"

:hi:

[BlooInBloo]

7. :)

[Vinca]

8. That's a good idea. I always thought it would make sense to learn Spanish.

I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for something I can listen to in the car.

[lunatica]

9. It's much easier than English and much more expressive

It's fun to know languages, even if it's only to get by.

[mucifer]

10. Great idea! I learned Spanish when I was 16yo I volunteered in Mexico and it

really helped my Spanish. Now I'm a hospice nurse and I work with many immigrants and undocumented patients because I'm one of the few nurses in the agency that speaks Spanish. The stories that I hear from the families are chilling. I live and work in Chicago and can tell you the fear is national. It's not just in Arizona. And the stories I hear about why people immigrate make me think that a large number of them are really refugees. Much of Mexico these days is a lawless scary place. Unless you are a politician or have lots of money.