(no subject)

[molly_o]

Well, this is embarrassing: Having found the past few episodes of The Dresden Files moderately enjoyable, I started reading Jim Butcher's Stormfront. Several pages into the first chapter, I realized I've already read it. I have no memory of *when* I read it, and I can't actually remember whodunnit, so I'm persisting with this second reading, but I feel kinda dumb.

Also, darthrami posted this about speaking a few words of Spanish with a woman at her office, and in a weird coincidence I was pondering the same thing at the same time.

I ate at Chipotle today, and almost all the employees behind the counter seem to be Latina (I don't just mean their appearance, I've occasionally heard some of them speaking Spanish with each other and with customers). I don't know much Spanish, but I know enough to say "lechuga y guacamole, por favor" and "gracias." But I NEVER use it when I'm speaking with them.

I can't work out exactly why I'm so hesitant. I consider it just about every time I go there -- but it feels *presumptuous* somehow. I mean, I think about my friend H, who was born in the United States and whose parents are from Japan. If a white American saw him in a sushi restaurant and greeted him with "konnichi-wa," I suspect he'd be like, "I speak English, you know, I was born in this country."

Meanwhile, back at Chipotle, most of the employees speak English with fairly thick accents, and based on local immigration patterns, my guess is they probably *weren't* born in this country. But those are assumptions I'm making, and I'm still uncomfortable speaking Spanish with them, and that makes me a little sad, because there's every chance they'd be just as pleasantly surprised as darthrami's coworkers were.