Salvador waded through a shallow part of the Rio Grande at age thirteen to where his U.S. Resident brother awaited.  From Texas, they traveled to Kansas where Salvador learned English quickly but could not adjust to macaroni and cheese and white bread.  Tortillas were scarce and food items were commonly transported by family members.  Staples such as masa for the tortillas, varieties of peppers, spices, and other perishables were often requested when one traveled home.

Salvador returned home after a year and returned again at age fifteen.  It would be one of many trips back and forth.  I asked him about his life there and explained that parents in America did not understand how his parents could just allow him to go so far for so long – even accompanied. 

Salvador answered with a shake of his head and a grin. “You Americans mature slowly, we don’t have that option.  At age eight I was driving my dad’s truck or riding horseback thirty minutes to the cattle ranch to walk the water line and make sure all was well.  I went to school when I didn’t have to work – not the the other way around.  At age thirteen, I was a man according to your standards.”

I agree with him and share some of my observations.  Five year olds who successfully remove clothes from the dryer, fold and put away – neatly- everyone’s laundry.  Boys who work in U.S. fields as young as age ten, sometimes younger.  Nine year old girls who babysit infant siblings, successfully and with more attention and care than most.

Salvador shakes his head.  “It’s our way.  We teach responsibility from a young age.  We don’t wait.”

I give him our perspective, explaining that we work hard to allow our children to play and mature naturally, often waiting to teach responsibility until they are older.

Salvador again nods his head.  “I have a son and nephews.  It’s harder here with so little to do.  There are no animals to care for, no clothing to wash outside and cooking is done faster and easier.”

Silently I ponder, which is better?  To be honest, I never knew children could be taught to fold laundry that young or cook or clean or care responsibly for siblings.  I did wonder, like many teachers, how it was that so many children with parents who could not understand English, managed their homework, to be super-organized and eager.  Granted, not all – but a great majority of those enrolled in ESL classes exhibit this behavior.