On my last day living in El Paso, I travelled downtown to walk through the area. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the downtown area and emerging myself in Hispanic/Mexican culture. On my walk, I stopped into a Mexican café. Now, when I say Mexican café—it seems misleading, because this is not like the Tex-Mex Mexican Restaurants that we scattered throughout the United States, this café was a simply corner eatery that served Mexican people in downtown El Paso. It is incredibly difficult to be politically correct about the people in downtown El Paso—many of them are American citizen, but they or their recent relative grew up in Juarez, Mexico. The lines are the border are very blurred. As I approached the counter to order my lunch, I discovered that the owner did not speak English but Spanish. The enjoyable experience helped me remember three big lessons that I have learned while living in El Paso.
1. Boy, look how I’ve grown! The first lesson that I have learned while in El Paso is an appreciation for the Mexican people and Mexican Americans living in America. Most of us are fearful when we approach people who are different from us, that is normal and to some degree understandable. But, to live amongst a people and to interact with that people on a regular basis helps build and understanding and a trust between both groups. I feel like I have been able to grow in this area. I wasn’t fearful as much with the Mexican population—but the language barrier was scary. I found myself over coming that today and enjoying the interaction.
2. Language isn’t as big of a barrier as we make it. When I walked in the store, the owner began speaking in what she would assume I would be speaking-Spanish. I spoke in what I assumed she would be speaking-English, after all it IS America! She didn’t budge—she just looked at me. If I was going order from her store I have to figure out how to communicate. So, I pointed to something on the menu that said burrito and told her that is what I wanted. After some more clarification and communication, which I still don’t understand, she told me to go sit down (which I understood) and she began cooking. I discovered that the language barrier wasn’t an issue but the wiliness was and we both overcame the obstacle.
3. A smile is internationally spoken—so is friendliness. After being served and paying, we smiled and we even laughed. That wordless communication was spoken very clearly. And it always will be. We are so often wanting to get our way that we try to push others around with frowns and scowls. Here in a completely different context that my own, I see once again that the positivity wins the day once again.
It was an interesting visit to the café today. I enjoyed the food and the reminder of the lessons I learned. I am going to miss all of these adventures that I have enjoyed in El Paso, but it is time to move to another set of adventures ahead.