Khamelia Jones

Caitlin Geoghan

FIQWS 10113

20 September 2020

 

To alienate someone is to make them feel isolated or unincluded. Many people are put in this position and the effects on each person vary. Some may have experienced extreme effects while others effects might have been slight. My friend, Sade, has been put in this predicament recently and decided to share her experience with me. Being that her mom (single parent) had lost one of her jobs because of a current global pandemic, Sade decided to find a job. Knowing that her mom only had one job, she didn’t want to ask her for any money and make her situation any more strenuous than it was.  With Sade having a job, it would remove the need to ask her mom for money. 

Sade got her first job at a fast food restaurant. She was excited yet nervous for her first day. The moment she arrived she noticed that she was an outcast. Sade realized she was the only African American person on the shift. Everyone else was Hispanic. In fact, very few of the workers knew English. One worker (who spoke English) was assigned  to train Sade. Even though her trainer spoke English she still had an accent which could be heard through her pronunciation of English words. This made the job difficult for Sade to understand. Sade frequently asked her trainer to repeat what was said because she couldn’t comprehend. The trainer visibly became irritated. That same day she saw the other workers in groups talking and occasionally just looking at her. They spoke in spanish so Sade couldn’t understand. This made her feel isolated,weak, unworthy since she didn’t fit in. Leaving her first shift feeling excluded and as if she didn’t belong,  made her lack enthusiasm for her next shift. 

Due to the current global pandemic occurring, her school participated in remote learning. Coincidentally, Sade was taking a spanish class this year. Being in the Spanish class made her recall her first experience working. She believed learning could be beneficial for her at work. She began to learn more words in spanish and how to formulate sentences. The next shift she worked went a little easier because she understood some of the words being said to her by other co-workers. However, they still formed groups and talked without including her. Sade saw them do this every time she worked and felt extremely uncomfortable each time. One instance she finds the most memorable is when she asked the manager a question regarding her break and she received a shocked look and a smile from the people who heard her. “Cuando me voy de descanso?” Sade said. Smiling at her the manager stated “En una hora. Seeing that she made them smile made her feel comfortable and like she fit in for the first time.

Everything changed when another African American, Jade, started working at the same place. She didn’t feel alone. She saw her co-workers treating Jade the same way they treated her when she started the job. Sade was the one assigned to train Jade. During the training she expressed to Jade how happy she felt because someone that resembled her worked there now. She told Jade about her experiences when she first started working there and what to expect. After hearing Sade’s experience they made a plan to work similar shifts so they always had each other. Sade continued to improve her spanish speaking skills. She shared her interest in learning spanish with Jade. They took on a new objective to learn spanish with hope to one day overcome the language barrier in their work environment. 

 

To alienate someone is to make them feel isolated or unincluded. Many people are put in this position and the effects on each person vary. Some may have experienced extreme effects while others effects might have been slight. My friend, Sade, has been put in this predicament recently and decided to share her experience with me. Being that her mom (single parent) had lost one of her jobs because of a current global pandemic, Sade decided to find a job. Knowing that her mom only had one job, she didn’t want to ask her for any money and make her situation any more strenuous than it was.  With Sade having a job, it would remove the need to ask her mom for money. 

Sade got her first job at a fast food restaurant. She was excited yet nervous for her first day. The moment she arrived she noticed that she was an outcast. Sade realized she was the only African American person on the shift. Everyone else was Hispanic. In fact, very few of the workers knew English. One worker (who spoke English) was assigned  to train Sade. Even though her trainer spoke English she still had an accent which could be heard through her pronunciation of English words. This made the job difficult for Sade to understand. Sade frequently asked her trainer to repeat what was said because she couldn’t comprehend. The trainer visibly became irritated. That same day she saw the other workers in groups talking and occasionally just looking at her. They spoke in spanish so Sade couldn’t understand. This made her feel isolated,weak, unworthy since she didn’t fit in. Leaving her first shift feeling excluded and as if she didn’t belong,  made her lack enthusiasm for her next shift. 

Due to the current global pandemic occurring, her school participated in remote learning. Coincidentally, Sade was taking a spanish class this year. Being in the Spanish class made her recall her first experience working. She believed learning could be beneficial for her at work. She began to learn more words in spanish and how to formulate sentences. The next shift she worked went a little easier because she understood some of the words being said to her by other co-workers. However, they still formed groups and talked without including her. Sade saw them do this every time she worked and felt extremely uncomfortable each time. One instance she finds the most memorable is when she asked the manager a question regarding her break and she received a shocked look and a smile from the people who heard her. “Cuando me voy de descanso?” Sade said. Smiling at her the manager stated “En una hora.” Seeing that she made them smile made her feel comfortable and like she fit in for the first time.

Everything changed when another African American, Jade, started working at the same place. She didn’t feel alone. She saw her co-workers treating Jade the same way they treated her when she started the job. Sade was the one assigned to train Jade. During the training she expressed to Jade how happy she felt because someone that resembled her worked there now. She told Jade about her experiences when she first started working there and what to expect. After hearing Sade’s experience they made a plan to work similar shifts so they always had each other. Sade continued to improve her spanish speaking skills. She shared her interest in learning spanish with Jade. They took on a new objective to learn spanish with hope to one day overcome the language barrier in their work environment.