Yo hablo espanol...y luego?

So I have used my Spanish a lot recently, at work and in the neighborhood, and most recently when we had a yard sale this past weekend. It just so happened that we had some friends come over towards the end of the yard sale and they were just hanging out with us when our neighbor came by for a last sweep of the sale. She is a Spanish speaker so we changed the conversation to Spanish for a little while with her. When she left our friends basically said "Hello, we can't understand! Speak English!"... this disturbed me on so many levels!!!

Now, I know that English is the "official" language of the US, I have no problem with that. I personally speak many languages so I don't really care what is being spoken around me because I feel like I can communicate regardless of the language. I also agree that when you go and visit or live in a country, that you should make the effort to learn and understand the language of that country. That being said, I don't think out neighbor has any problem understanding English, but she just feels more comfortable speaking in Spanish, since DJ and I have no problem speaking either language with her, we just revert to what is the most comfortable method of communication.

Anyway, I think that it is high time that Americans get off of their high horse, or whatever it is, and learn to accept the fact that learning a foreign language is a benefit and not a detriment to their country. Was this not a nation that started as a "melting pot" of people who wished to start a new life and before it even became the "new world", it was comprised of peoples who spoke other languages other than English. California used to belong to Mexico! Spanish is really the offical language of this state originally!

I digress... most other countries have seen the benefits of teaching their children a second and even a third language. As a result, most European countries (for example) have a better social structure, a higher per capita income, and better cultural education. I know that I have had a chance to visit different countries and meet different people and I feel very comfortable in those situations because I know that I am making an effort to learn about a different culture and so do they!

So, it isn't my fault if you can't understand when I speak to someone in Spanish. Sucks to be you.