By: isabel gentil garcía  (Page 4/9)

When they come to Spain, they know some Spanish. One immigrant shared their language-learning experience:

I liked German but it is now difficult to enter Germany, it is easier to enter Spain or the U.S., where there are English or Spanish classes. Spanish seemed easier to me, but soon after being here I realized it is very difficult, the verbs are very difficult.

They go to Spanish classes during their rest hours from work. Their interest in Spanish is to have interaction with the clients at their tables. Therefore, they use Spanish more than if they worked in construction. The following is an example of the level of Spanish needed for a construction job versus that of a job as a waiter. A Moroccan asked me: “What is ‘power’? Jefe says, ‘more power, more power,’ and I do not understand.” A Chinese man asked me to teach him how to say: “the caramelized mushrooms have to be eaten immediately after served. You shouldn’t wait because the caramel becomes hardened and they are no longer good.”

People from eastern european countries

People from Eastern European countries; mainly Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Moldavia, are young people with education. The objective is to save enough money to buy a house or put a business in their native country. Their entrance strategy is with visas or as tourists. The original plan is to stay in the new country for only a sufficient amount of time to save up the anticipated amount; but the original plan is likely to change. They like many facets of Spanish life. Often, their plan transforms into setting up small businesses in Spain. The change of plan sometimes has to do with them becoming romantically involved. Often times; the other member of the couple is an immigrant of a different nationality. Their original destination is not Spain, but Europe. Those from this group find work in areas of domestic service and construction, according to gender. They adapt to humbler working standards than to what they are accustomed. One said to me: “Never in my life did I think I was going to work as domestic help, never, never, I studied in a University.” Another stated: “I was a History professor in Poland, here, I stroll dogs.” These immigrants not only take care of Spanish children and elders, they also take care of the dogs. Majadahonda, as already stated, has a middle and average class population who work in a professional environment with long labor days. Lacking the time to walk their dogs; they pay an immigrant to do it. Though the immigrants from this group lower there professional standards; they make a real contribution to Spanish society by maintaining the health of its children, elders, and even its dogs.

The interest to learn the language is high. They recognize it as an important mechanism to work and to become independent in the labor area. It is particularly easy for Romanians to learn Spanish, as both languages are Latin-based. A particularly useful tool that many of them utilize is a television channel that continuously shows original versions of Spanish soap operas with written translations in Romanian. However, these soap operas are Venezuelan and Mexican, and although Venezuela, Mexico, and Spain share the same language, the meanings of words often differ.