Brian Geiger

Trotter

English Literature/ Per.2

29 August 2017

An Unlikely Friend

Over this past summer I got my first job as a dishwasher at a restaurant downtown called

Proabition. Although this isnt my ideal career, the people there have taught me so much about

respect. A little ways into my job I met a bussboy named Marco. Marco speaks very little

English, is 45 years old, and was raised in Mexico. He has lived in Riverside a couple of years

and is still working to get his citizenship. In the beginning we didnt converse much, but as time

progressed we began to warm up to each other. Then one day Marco asked me Any

Spanish?, and he was disappointed in the fact that I have taken two years of Spanish in school

and still have very minimal knowledge of the language. After laughing at me he then expressed

to me, in broken english, that I must learn spanish, and start with the items around me in my

work area. From there he has helped me pick up on phrases and words in spanish and I have

done the same to him with english. Now our relationship has progressed to the point where

everytime he walks in the kitchen I yell, MARCOOOOO, and he responds back with a smile,

knuckles, and a heavily accented, Wassup bro?. The fact that he was, and is still, so kind to

me, and made me feel comfortable at such an uncomfortable and new work environment, tells

me a lot about his character and personality. Now that is respect.