Job Discussion Forums

[shaner]

Here is a little story for you. I have never had this happen to me before.

I am from Canada and i have a friend of mine here in Guadalajara from the United States. We often go out together in the afternoon to hang out.

One day we were riding the metro, speaking to each other in English. All of a sudden some guy walks up to us and said....."we are in Mexico and in Mexico we speak Spanish." Obviously, he could see we were foreigners. It was clear that he was annoyed.

We were just shocked and stopped speaking until we reached out desired stop.

I will now leave it open to discussion.....

[wildchild]

obviously, he is stressed and depressed. i would recommend normal doses of cannabis for the offender.

really, doesn't he understand we're living in a globalized world???!!! He will never be a CEO!!! He's fired.

[geaaronson]

Tell him that you have been authorized by Ebrard Commission of Multi-Linguation to speak English. Show him some identification and claim that it is your authorization card.

[robertokun]

[TheLongWayHome]

[wildchild]

[aroha]

It's always surprised me that this kind of thing doesn't happen more often in Mexico based on my experiences back home in New Zealand. Although I think that things have probably changed somewhat, many years ago when I was studying in Auckland, it was sometimes commented that the international students from India, Korea, China, Malaysia etc. ought to be speaking in English all the time instead of using their mother tongue - no matter if they were involved in private conversations between friends. The idea was, "You are in our country, so you do it our way, and you must only speak English!"

But about what that guy said about speaking Spanish in Mexico, I wonder if he was once "encouraged" to only use English while travelling in an English-speaking country. Otherwise, it sounds like plain old ignorance or arrogance on his part! Would've been great to break into a bit of Nahuatl just to put his nose out of joint!

[Samantha]

In rereading this thread, I have to say that I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. Many local people feel that foreigners should speak at least some Spanish, rather than them having to speak English. I live in a beach city, yet tourists have a difficult time finding someone in the Walmart and other stores tourists frequent to readily speak English to them. They don't feel they have to, but it's not like they haven't studied English. That's a prerequisite to getting the job.

My husband often gets asked if he speaks English, both by workers and customers, in Home Depot (for one example) when they see us together. He then immediately gets nailed for translating duties, which sometimes includes explaining how some paint thinner, glue, or other product works! He recently got cornered to explain to 4 (huffy) tourists why they couldn't buy liquor after 2 pm on Sunday in Walmart. None of the staff admitted to speaking English when the poor cashier, who was about to have a panic attack, tried to find a coworker to help him. Afterward, my husband has often said to me, "What is wrong with this picture?"

I think the guys Shaner posted about were being jerks, because obviously two English speakers aren't going to hold a private conversation in Spanish or any other language.

[lennon146]

It's because English is seen as the language of American and British imperialism. There is a natural arrogance associated with American and British people, especially Americans (although the Brits have the same rep in Europe and other places). Plus, Mexicans' stereotype of 'gringos' is that they are unsympathetic to Mexican culture, and arrogant. Of course, this stereotype doesn't always apply - particularly to those of us who have decided to make our living in Mexico. To prejudge that two foreigners on the Metro speaking English are arrogant cultural colonialists is pretty small-minded. But two people on the subway in the U.S who were speaking Spanish would be subject to similar 'lenguaphobia', for different, equally small-minded reasons.

[Prof.Gringo]

[SaratheSlytherin]

That's weird.

Maybe the guy was having a bad day and you were the scapegoat. I snese there's more to the story.

I understand that people talk in their L1 when they're with their peers.

It's ironic, I have been fluent in Spanish since I was a kid, and I went to college down in Mexico and most people were friendly and kind (all countries have jerks), but I hate it when people assume I don't speak Spanish.

I had red hair and freckles so I sort of stood out down there. (I have much darker hair now)

[SaratheSlytherin]

I think the guys Shaner posted about were being jerks, because obviously two English speakers aren't going to hold a private conversation in Spanish or any other language.[/quote]

Those guys Shaner posted about sounded a bit "metiche." Private conversations are just that, private.

My friend and I would always talk in Spanish, but he was Mexican American and I'm from a part of Florida where many people are bilingual; for all practical purposes I could be Puerto Rican, lol.

[slipothelip]

I just have one question, did he make his comment to you in spanish or english??
If it was english, I would have responded with no hablo ingles

[Insubordination]

Same thing happned to me in Spain last year. A bartender told me and some other teachers that we weren't welcome if we weren't going to speak Spanish. I could barely hear him over the American music he had chosen.

I feel sorry for the bad rep Americans have. One night in Chile, some friends (Kiwis) and I were being totally obnoxious having a party in a hotel room. The owner complained twice and so did some guests (we were 19 at the time and we didn't care). In the morning, the hotel owner asked us where we were from and my friend answered, "Somos de Estados Unidos". We got it and didn't contradict him. He signed the guest book 'Hank from U S of A'.

So you see it might not be your fault.

[ontoit]

Fairly rare, I'd imagine, and usually from the lower right corner of the box.
Best to ignore their attempt to feel better about themselves and not let it slow you down.