'My English is good enough"

In a small Arizona town, a woman named Alejandrina Cabrera is running for city council. She is Hispanic and bilingual...sort of. A judge recently ruled that her name couldn't be on the ballot because she doesn't speak English well enough to run for public office (you can read the full article here).

According to the article, Cabrera's community is 98.7% Hispanic, and 87% of them speak a language other than English at home (ie Spanish). Cabrera is a US citizen who graduated from a bilingual high school. She rates her own English skills as a 5 out of 10. Most of (dare I assume all) the other city council members are bilingual. Meetings are conducted in English, but with a Spanish-speaking community, and much of her interaction would be in Spanish. As with most foreign language speakers, her comprehension is higher than her productive abilities, but in a court evaluation, she struggled to answer questions put before her by the court.

Arizona does have an English-only law, and in 1910 Arizona became a state under the stipulation that "The ability to read, write, speak, and understand the English language sufficiently well to conduct duties of the office without aid of an interpreter shall be a necessary qualification for all state officers and members of the state legislature." Now if Cabrera's English is so poor that she requires a translator, I would agree wholeheartedly with the judge. Cabrera, however, believes she can function efficiently as is, and even studies with a tutor to improve her English. The law does not specify a particular level of English one must speak as long as one can understand sufficiently well.

I'm reminded of a particular southern state representative who, when giving a testimony at a congressional hearing (or some similar type of event...I can't quite remember) was nearly incomprehensible to a speaker of Standard American English. But her constituents understood her well enough to vote her into office, so who am I to complain that I didn't understand her dialect? I think the same principal applies here. Cabrera is an ideal representative of the people of her community; they want someone who speaks like they speak and knows what it's like to grow up bilingual. 

I tend to agree with them. I think this issue goes beyond the English-only debate; Cabrera is not arguing that Spanish should be used on the city council, but that her English, imperfect thought it may be, is good enough. And in a country full of languages, dialects, and accents, I think that's all we should ask for. Thoughts?

taxes

Romney.

What do you think? Does it bother you that he is so ridiculously wealthy? Does it bother you that he only paid (quite legally) only 15.4% tax rate?

I don't love Romney. I don't hate him. (I actually quite liked Huntsman, but we all knew he never really had a chance). I like him more than the rest of the current Republican candidates. I'd vote for him in the primaries (in Virginia those with no party affiliation may vote in either primary. I think). I might vote for him in the general election if he gets the nomination...then again, maybe I'll stick with Nader. I haven't decided. It doesn't bother me that Romney is wealthy or that he paid a smaller percentage of taxes than Obama or Gingrich. It DOES bother me that the current tax system will require that someone like me pay 22-25% taxes, but the millionaires don't because of capital gains or something that I don't really understand (Father or sister, here's your cue to offer a SIMPLE explanation of tax law). It seems the system could use an overhaul. But I don't think that should influence one's opinion of a candidate's politics. Because who would volunteer to pay more taxes than required by law? As long as it's all legal, what's the big deal?

I'm just wondering what you think. Please share. All six of you who still read my blog on occasion.

jobs jobs jobs

In a few months, the project I have been working on at the company that hired me when I moved to DC will be over and I'll either have the option to stay and start a new project or quit.

I'm not sure what to do.

I don't love my job. It's rather boring, sometimes mindless, and keeps me cooped up in an office all day long. I'd rather be teaching, and having this job prevents me from taking more classes and really getting my foot in the door at Gtown.

On the other hand, it gives me a salary, and I really like getting paid. I have decent benefits, excellent co-workers, and the most diverse, flexible work environment one could want. One might say I'm crazy for even considering leaving something relatively stable to be an adjunct at some university where the pay is always minimal and respect hard to come by. In reality, this decision will mostly be based on what kind of job T-rav gets (ie how much money he makes) after he finishes up his temp job next month. I only have the option of quitting if Trav's job, whatever it ends up being, is enough to pay the bills.

But it's made me think lately about what's more important: doing something you love (or at least really like) or doing something that makes a lot of money (relatively speaking, of course. I AM in the language field after all). What do you think?

MLK day

Today both T-rav and I had the day off. And although I felt weird all day--I think I'm coming down with some sort of cold or flu or sinus something--after a moment of silence for Dr. King, we decided to go oot and aboot anyway. We started with a trip to the nearest Wegman's (which, by the way, now sells their own brand of most delicious organic milk) accidentally took a wrong exit on the way to Ikea, putting us back on the right road 20 minutes later--so typical for a DC detour--and then stopped at a little state park on the banks of the Potomac called Mason's Neck. I'm sure it would be much lovelier in a non-winter season. As you can see in the picture below, it bears strong resemblance to the Fire Swamp, but I think we'll go back when things start to green up a bit.

I've been lamenting my lack of a social life lately. We've been bad about making new friends around here, but it seems to me that everyone is So Busy! and Important and no one has time to make new friends. Or maybe we're not trying hard enough...honestly, it's probably mostly that. The good thing is that neither Trav nor I really have any friends (aside from Ryry, of course), so we've been spending a lot more time together. We're a good match, if I may say so myself. We generally have low expectations of our "adventures," have plenty of things to talk about (even if I occasionally end up ranting), and aren't afraid to try weird things. And while I'm being forthright, I might as well admit that a large portion of the time I'd much rather sit at home and read a book or cook or watch reruns of Law & Order than make new friends. It's much less intimidating, don't you think?

may 2012 bring...

my very first race since high school (an 8K in March) and a Ragnar, perhaps (Adirondacks, DC, or PA, anyone? I'll only be motivated if I can run with Kee)
more patience
trips to: Turkey, somewhere in the Balkaans, Norway, Morocco? Brazil? and of course US-bound road trips (anyone up for the Appalachian trail?
less self-loathing
uileann piping
less cynicism
a dog crossed off because Trav said I shouldn't put unrealistic things on my list :(
lots of bread baking and Irish dancing
some Portuguese to my tongue
friends to my house in DC

This picture is actually a couple of years old (ie note the  rounded bottom..not that it's that much smaller these days. Us Hill girls are a little bootylicious), but I felt it was a promising way to usher in the new year. ;)

Christmas 2011 in pictures

Clockwise from top left: Grandma and great grandson Connor ◊ Connor eating a lemon (yes, he really does like them) ◊ Me and T-rav at a park ◊ Kate and I stuffing our faces with crepes ◊ Kristi and Rapha ◊ Kristi expressing her feelings about having a pregnant belly ◊ Trav and Grandma's Christmas present (from 2 years ago) that he finally put together for her ◊ Sleeping Christmas afternoon ◊ Connor and my dear friend Jay's kiddo ◊ Adam, Lauren and Connor ◊ Four Generations


I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!