The Petra Zone

are the hardest workers I have ever seen. How do I know this?

I just started a new job... I will be selling uniform rentals to business accounts, along with entry-mats, and so on. Part of my sales training involves working in all areas of the facility, including the plant where the trucks come in with all the dirty uniforms, shop towels, floor mats, etc.

Especially in the wash alley, where all the HUGE commercial washers and dryers are, after spending a couple of days helping to load everything - I gotta tell you all, it is very strenuous work. Other jobs in the plant are not so hard to do, but they are tiring. There are a few Asians who work out there in the plant, but by and large, there are mostly Mexicans doing the work.

They are the hardest workers I have ever seen. I've known this to be true, but I guess it's just I've never seen it up close and worked beside them doing the hard stuff until now (for 3 days now). They don't complain. They're there to get their jobs done and they do excellent work. I can't say enough about their work ethic.

Now, as far as I know, at the company I'm working for, everyone who is there is there legally and they make decent wages. They are treated with respect and without exploitation of any kind.

In previous discussions on the zone, one could easily think that the only jobs Mexicans get are the ones in which they are exploited and work illegally. While I know this goes on in certain places, not enough is said about the Mexicans who are here and are thriving legally within the American system. Many are living the American dream, and they don't mind telling you so.

when you said "the hardest workers" i thought you meant like "the most annoying workers" and i was starting to get mad at you lol!!! sowwy!!!!!.


OF COURSE WE ARE AWESOME ya know, you are true in that, at least in what i see on tv, on many tv shows, if a latin character appears, it appears like illegal, ignorant with no education and people often forget how many are there legally and have an education and know english ya know.

`Yeah I know I`m mexican but I`m so glad you posted this here

Thanks, Elo. I started laughing when I read in your post that you were starting to get mad at me... I could see you in my mind fuming as you read it!!

I just wanted to mention in that post that many Mexicans are here making their dreams come true - legally. We just don't here enough about it because only the bad stuff is deemed newsworthy by the media.

By the way, the two ladies I worked with today spoke perfect English. Better than some "Americans" I know!

a friend`s mother from Phoenix made fun of me because she talked to me and thought i speak english very good and when she put on a DVD I asked her to put spanish subtitles `cause I said: I`m awesome in english, but I`m not that awesome," hehehehe.

is to cool to talk with people from other cultures, so far I have a lot of fun here

Oh, phooey on her. You speak English better than some Americans.

I listen to some of the Spanish stations on cable sometimes, and I can understand bits and pieces, I'm getting better. And I understand most of the e-mails you send me that are in Spanish. I still don't speak Spanish all that well though. Oh well, that will come with time.

so far you are doing it great and I know one day we will talk in spanish


ya know what has been the best compliment i have ever received about my english? from a girl in sheboygan who told me my pronunciation was excellent, that the only thing that discovered I was foreigner was the accent (i didn`t have wisconsin accent, i don`t know how is it though hehe)