[Myrddin]

My son ran into the same problem in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego as a high school student in 2001. He resolved the problem by learning Spanish and had his pick of jobs. The Mexican fast food work turned into real estate agent, then real estate broker work. He's skilled enough to represent a Spanish speaking client in a court proceeding where English is the spoken language in court. Not bad for a US Marine with a 4.33 GPA :-)

[Kipp]

My grandparents emigrated to the US from Sweden and somehow managed to learn enough English to get jobs shortly after their arrival - my grandfather worked for Pullman and then International Harvester, and my grandmother worked as a nanny and a maid. My grandparents came here with only grade school educations - one came from a poor farming family, the other from a poor family of fishermen.

I truly resent the many seconds of my life I've had to spend listening to "press 2 for Spanish" when I call my bank or pretty much any company these days.

[shotgun]

I went to 1st and 2nd grade in Vallejo in the 60’s and they were teaching us Spanish then.