Dual Existence

I have seen dual existence very much here in the Nashville area in the past few years, especially in my hometown of Smyrna. Smyrna went from being a town with almost no Hispanics in the 1980's to a town with 4.3% as of 2000. I'd be willing to bet that it is much higher than that now, due to a noticeable difference in the Hispanic population since that time. As Quiñones talked about the Mexican enclave that exists in Garden City, it reminded me of the one that I know so well in Smyrna; however, the enclave in Smyrna consists of not only Mexicans, but also numerous Guatemalans and Salvadoreans.
I have had the priveledge of speaking with one of Smyrna's first Hispanics. He is the owner of La Poderosa, a store which caters to Hispanics in Smyrna. He and I spoke one time, and I was surprised to learn that he had been in Smyrna since 1982. He said that at that time, there were only four Hispanics that he was aware of in the whole town. Three of them are still here. He is from El Salvador, and came to Smyrna to work construction. He was the beginning of the Smyrna Salvadorean community, which now has to be in the hundreds. His store was the first one in town. Now there are six. The Hispanic community frenquents these stores for international calling cards, bread, meat, and tortillas. One store, La Raza Latina, offers many more conveniences. It sells and activates cell phones with Cricket service, sells internet, and does money transfers to native countries. Most Hispanics that speak little English use these stores to handle most of their business. There are two barber shops in Smyrna that offer services in Spanish, as well as eight Mexican restaurants and one Mexican nightclub. Many of the gas stations in Smyrna have begun to sell the international calling cards and Jarritos, a favorite Mexican soda. Wal Mart has an entire section devoted to international foods, and have reaped the benefits of most Hispanics choosing them over K-Mart and Target due to the signs in Spanish. The Bank of America has used Spanish to reach out to Hispanics as well. There is a Spanish speaking representative at each Bank of America branch in the area. The Hispanic sector of Smyrna's economy, as well as the United States economy, is a growing force which cannot be ignored.
I witnessed this dual existence in the workplace nearly every day for six years. When I was sixteen, I began working at McDonald's. It started out as a little part time job, but little did I know that it would have a big impact on my life. The kitchen staff consisted entirely of Hispanics, all of which knew just enough English to do the job. They hardly interacted with the rest of the American staff, except for the occasional smile and basic phrase. At that time, I didn't know much Spanish, and I didn't know much about them. But I had a curiosity to learn about them, their culture, and their language. I was determined that I was going to learn Spanish. I was taking Spanish in high school at the time, and I went to work and practiced everything that I learned with them. Within a year's time, I was able to converse quite a bit in Spanish. After another year, I could hold a decent conversation. After my first year in college, I was fluent. Knowing and befriending those Hispanics from McDonald's has led to many valuable experiences for me. I have been to their quinceañeras, birthday parties, and New Year's parties. They always insist that I be there. I am grateful for having the opportunity to immerse myself in their culture. When I became a manager, I saw how connections in the enclave worked. Some of the kitchen workers would bring in their friends to get jobs when they knew of job openings. They would often get the job due to the recommendation. They would then train the workers themselves. We had an established system there. As a manager, I also saw the dual existence between the Hispanics and the Americans. For the most part, everyone got along; however, the language barrier prevented any real strong social interaction between the two groups.
In order to dissolve this dual existence, teachers must create an environment in which American students show more interest and respect for students from other cultures and eliminates stereotypes. Teachers have to cultivate a welcoming attitude among American students towards immigrant students. I believe that some immigrants have a hard time adapting to the United States because they do not feel welcome; therefore, unsure about English-speaking Americans, they reach out to members of the community that they trust. Teachers must also try to erase the dual existence by doing what Angela did. I read Angela's blog, and see what she did with JT as exactly what a teacher should do with ELL students in order to break down the dual existence. She did not pressure him, but found things that he liked and sought to get him involved in class through those things. By the end of the year, he was much more active in class. Teachers have to be there to encourage the students because sometimes no one else is. Their parents may work low paying jobs and not have the money to send their children to college. For students that are undocumented immigrants, postsecondary education is very difficult to get because they would be paying out of state tuition. This often crushes any aspirations of postsecondary education for undocumented immigrants. It is a political manuever for legislators to say to their constituents "I'm tough on immigration" when really all that they are doing is holding these young people back and denying them the right to a reasonably priced postsecondary education. Apart from that, they are denying the state all of the tuition money that those students would pay. No one wins in a situation like this. As I read Chapter 8 and saw all of the students that did not pursue higher education, I thought of that as the main reason. In America, in the past century, we have made tremendous strides on civil rights and race relations. I am proud of the progress which has been made, but I feel that there is still a LOT of work left to do in order to create a more ideal society here.