Quanto questan?

goose · Post by **goose** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 8:34 pm

In the past week, I've probably used almost as much Spanish while talking to guests as English. They rarely ask me if I speak Spanish, they just start talking. I know a little. But I don't have command over the entire language.

One guy came up to me and bought some chips. I told him 2.75 in English. He didn't understand so I just told him three in Spanish because I always forget how to say 75 cents. I gave him the quarter back of course. A couple mins later his wife comes up to me to make sure I charged him correctly. Maybe she should just take care of all of his purchases, then he wouldn't have to constantly fear that us gringos are ripping him off.

There was this older Spanish lady who tried to get my attention a couple of days ago. I was talking to another cast member. She didn't speak a word of English so she just started making this clicking noise with her tongue until I noticed her. It's ridiculous. You'd better believe that if I moved to Mexico I would brush up on my Spanish speaking skills. Is it too much to ask that immigrants learn a little bit of English?

CujoSR · Post by **CujoSR** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 10:28 pm

Due to my name (which I won't mention here) I have had many problems with spanish speaking guests. I quickly learned "No Habla Espaniol. Uno Momento" while I ran to get the closest Spanish speaking CM. Luckily, half the train crew was Latino. My name is a spanish name but is also Italian, and German. Just because I have this name doesn't mean I speak the Italian and German too!!!

"But your name is Mexican."
"I am all White Boy!!! DO I LOOK LIKE I AM MEXICAN!!!"

I really am as white as they get. :bang:

SirWillow · Post by **SirWillow** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:51 am

goose wrote: You'd better believe that if I moved to Mexico I would brush up on my Spanish speaking skills. Is it too much to ask that immigrants learn a little bit of English?

I can sympathize. Trust me, I have to deal with a lot of Spanish speakers where I live. But remember to, that being at Disneyland, you're going to have a lot of those Spanish speakers not be residents of the US. A good number of them are tourists from other countries. I can't tell you how many tourists from Spain especially I seem to have run into this year, but it's been a bunch.

Obviously that's not true for all of them. But don't assume that they are immigrants here, especially not at a world known tourist park. :)

wheelieman · Post by **wheelieman** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 1:43 am

Post removed so as not to offend anyone by Dave the Poster. I apologize. When I first read this site I was mortified that anyone could think such horrible things about MY group [disabled ECV user]. I did get over it though. As for not having any posts about other minorities, obviously there are plenty about the disabled, but no one seemed offended by that...sooo...

=whistles an unrecognizable tune and slowly drives his scooter towards Main Street=

Dave

SRT_GB · Post by **SRT_GB** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:07 pm

ohhh my goodness I get this all the time. I can understand and speak quite a bit of Spanish from taking it in high school for four years, but I still don't speak it that well. Sometimes if I'm being bombarded by Spanish-speaking guests I'll flat out lie and say I don't speak at all just to save myself the trouble of having to deal with someone I can't understand. Anyways, it's always baffled me how people will walk up to me just busting out with Spanish, assuming I speak it. My first name is of Irish origin, and most of my friends say I look [insert my non-white, non-Latino race here].

Weeble · Post by **Weeble** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 1:10 pm

Hi, when I worked at D-land I was appaled by the comments from other cast members. I am mexican american. Cast members would crack jokes about mexicans right in front of me and when confronted they would say stuff like : yeah, but you don't act mexican.

Thank god I moved away from orange county and it's closed minded, xenophobic sheep.

By the way, yes this is a sore subject for me, it's one thing to discuss the difficulties of communicating with someone who speaks another language (look around, notice all the people from other countries at disneyland?) and quite another to say somebody had to get on a "donkey to go get Jose".

[/rant]

wheelieman · Post by **wheelieman** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 2:01 pm

^Sorry Weeble, didn't mean to offend. It is TRUE, NOT an exaggeration. That is simply the way the phone system worked down there. Not meant to be derrogetory.

dave

Dante101 · Post by **Dante101** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 2:34 pm

I grew up in Hermosa Beach, in LA County, and came in contact with very little racism. When I moved to Orange County and started working at Disneyland, it was very apparent how racist a lot of the cast members could be! What especially got me were CMs of one minority would be racist against other minorities - I never understood that. I guess it's like a kid who gets bullied, then turns around and bullies someone smaller than they are.

I don't understand that, either...

But, yeah - I always heard stories of life behind "the orange curtain," and how the people there were ultra conservative racists, but thought it was just BS. But still, I was blown away at the reality of it all.

SirWillow · Post by **SirWillow** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 5:09 pm

^ Just one added comment. Just because someone is conservative does not make them a racist. Truthfully, some of the worst racists I've ever met were also among the most ideologically lilberal people I've ever met. They just might hide it in other language sometimes.

Sadly, racism comes in all sizes, shapes, colors, and beliefs. It is sad that there may be more in Orange County, but that isn't necessarily related to it also being conservative.

BirdMom · Post by **BirdMom** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 5:41 pm

Intersting discussion. What I find amusing is that there are all sorts of quantifications for what/who is good and who is bad. Since I was born during the Eisenhower administration, I've been around here long enough to see a big change in O.C. The funny thing is that my family has been in this area longer than it's been United States territory. My grandmother's ancestors arrived here from Spain in the the early 19th century, so our people have been around for California's incarnations as not only the U.S. but New Spain and Mexico as well. I grew up speaking Spanish as my first language, but I get annoyed as much as anyone else when I run across someone who didn't come here legally and hasn't bothered to learn how to speak English, yet they expect me to be sympathetic to their plight because we have something in common - a language.

I wish my Spanish was better - I don't use it often enough. I need to relearn to speak French for school, although I've been told that for my purposes, it would be better to speak Italian and Greek (Art History major).

Having said that, enough with people moving here from somewhere else. I don't care if they're coming from Guatamala, Thailand or Idaho. Come here for a week - then get out already. Good riddence!!!!!!! There's too damn many people here. I miss the O.C. of wide open spaces, orange groves, clean beaches (with no tourist trap destinations other than Laguna) a few tracts here and there and no poseurs trying to tell you that "old money" is here in South County. Puh-leeze!!! :roll:

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