The best Mexican ever

I work with this lady whom we call Maria O. She is an immigrant from Mexico. When she first came to the United States, she spoke almost no english at all. She wanted to work here and she realized that for her to find a decent job, she needs to be bilingual. So she went to one of those city colleges and studied english. Her english is not perfect but she is bilingual enough and that makes her an asset at work. She continues to learn english by asking questions and using the language with us. Her work ethics is excellent. She does not need to be told to do her duties. She is friendly and nice to everybody. And the most important reason why I think she is the best Mexican ever, she feels that she needs to accommodate to what this country uses, which is english, and not the other way around. I have met plenty of Mexican immigrants out there who does not even bother to try to learn english. Can we blame them considering that our government demands that we accommodate to their language needs? And it is not just Mexicans. There are plenty of spanish speakers from other nations who are this way. And the worst kind of Mexican out there are the ones demanding that spanish should be used when speaking with them. My other coworker had the misfortune to meet one of those Mexican woman. She had the audacity to demand that "there should be a spanish speaking Physical Therapist to work with my father". Lucky for her she did not say that to me or I would have told her something like this: "Last time I checked we are in Chicago and not Gualadajara." "Then perhaps you should bring your father back to Mexico where there is a spanish speaking Physical Therapist." Don't get me wrong. That example of the worst Mexican is indeed a rarity. Most spanish speaking Mexican I meet are so happy and delighted that I can speaking spanish to them. They are OK in my book. They hope but do not demand.

I myself was an immigrant here but I made sure I can speak english and I never expected or demanded that anybody to speak Filipino to me.