I was riding the Public Transportation Vehicle, simply said, the bus. My destination was the ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬-Marriot Suites; I wanted to apply for a job. I arrived at the hotel. There was this big sign that said, Help Wanted/ Necesitamos Empleados Se Habla Español. It seemed like a nice enough place from the outside. I opened the door to the lobby and went in. I scanned the place quickly, it seemed clean enough. The wall was painted turquoise blue; it gave the place a nice look to it with its white sofas. I asked a person behind the counter, “Do you have somebody speak Spanish please.” I can speak and understand English fairly well, but I feel more comfortable talking in Spanish, my mother tongue.

The clerk said, “One moment please.” He walked away. I sat down on a loveseat, it was so soft and comfortable I was tempted to take a nap. About five minutes later the person arrived with a Puerto Rican.

“En que le puedo ayudal?” he asked.

“I come to apply for a job.”

He looks me over, “You’ve come to the right place. Now, could you clean up after the people leave? It pays 15 dollars per hour.”

“Yeah, I can do it,” I answered.

He told the gringo I had agreed. “That’s good,” he said, “You can start work tomorrow, Monday. Be here by six thirty. Just fill these papers out and bring them to me tomorrow. Then you’ll be good to go.”
“Thank you sir, I will see you tomorrow.” As soon as I got to the bus stop to wait for it to take me home, I shot up a prayer thanking God for the job. I thought I would have to go to various places to get a job. It was what everyone said, there’s jobs for the picking. I was excited to go to work the next day.

The next day I got up at five to be at the hotel by six thirty. I got ready and caught the six fifteen bus.

I arrived just when a Hispanic lady was unlocking the lobby door. I got out of the bus and walked up to her. She smiled and asked, “You’re the new worker right?”
“Yep,” I answered.
“My name is Maruja. The manager wants to talk to you. She’s in her office.”
“All right, thank you,” I replied; I went in, and smiled to the lobby manager. I got to the door marked Manager’s Office and knocked on it.
“Who is it?” a woman’s voice called out.
“It’s the new worker, José Hernández,” I answered.
“Come in.”
I opened the door, and was taken aback when I saw several Buddha posters on the wall. There were also two fat Buddha statues on the manager’s desk. I didn’t like seeing those things as they are pagan things according to my beliefs. I instantly felt uncomfortable in the office; I wanted to flee the office. I took a quick look at the manager, Chinese. That explained the Buddhas. My thoughts were interrupted by a pleasant lady’s voice, “So you’re the new worker, I wish you luck. Now I would just like to tell you some specific things. You may smoke in the smoking room that’s two doors to the left of this office. If you are caught smoking in a hotel room, you’ll be instantly fired. You may only smoke during your lunch hour, only then, company regulations. We sell cigars and cigarettes in the cafeteria, since you’re an employee you can buy them at 20% off. Do you have any questions?”

“I would just like to say something. I don’t smoke, so you won’t have to worry about me smelling up a room.”

“How come you don’t smoke? Practically everyone does. Don’t you even want to try, just one time?” Man! That lady talked as if it were healthy to smoke.

I gave her an answer that I knew would shut her up, “Because I’m a Christian.”
If looks could kill, I’d be long gone by now. She grinded her teeth and dug her long, red fingernails into her fleshy palms. Her eyes gleamed with hatred.
She probably stayed like that for a few second, but for me it felt like an eternity. Then, she started talking to me in a low voice, full of hate, “You’ve just started this job off on the wrong side. I don’t like Christians one bit. They don’t approve of my religion, the true religion. You’d best do things right if you don’t want to lose this job. I know how you Central American mojados are desperate for jobs.” She spat Central Americans as if it were a cuss word. I can dismiss you and get another employee, like this,” she snapped her fingers, “now get to your job, and you better do it right. I’m keeping my eye on you.”
I got out of the room fast. That lady was prejudiced, pobrecita. Maruja was out on the lobby when I got out of the office. She noticed me and commented, “You look scared to death. Are you a Christian?” I gave her a nod, “Vaya, vaya, she hates Christians.” As if I didn’t know. “You’d best keep out of her way, and don’t let her find something to use against you and fire you.”

“That’s right.” I answered. I looked at the time and saw I was already fifteen minutes late; I said goodbye to her and got the cleaning supplies. The lobby manager gave me a sheet of paper which said what rooms I had to clean. I went to the first room; my job was to throw away the trash and vacuum. I followed this routine all day. By the end of the day, I didn’t feel any tiredness; I was used to heavy work from El Salvador.
The next day, as I entered the lobby I spotted the manager watching me from outside her door. Maruja was there, and as soon as she saw me she warned me in Spanish, “The manager inspected every single room that you did yesterday, cuidado.”

“Esa mujer no tiene nada que hacer,” I muttered. That woman doesn’t have anything to do. I thanked her for warning me and went to work. All day I kept a careful lookout to see if I could find the manager sneaking up to check a room I had just cleaned. One time I saw her coming out of a room, I was going into a room. I paid careful attention to the carpet, I didn’t want there to be any trash on the carpet; I had no desire of seeing a smug smirk on that woman’s face, and have her wagging her finger at me just because I’d left some lint on the carpet. At the end of the day I put my supplies away and said goodbye to the lobby manager.
As I walked to my bus stop I was thinking about Maruja’s warning. I remembered promising to myself to do my best and not get fired from a job. I decided that if within two weeks the manager kept on trying to find a fault in what I did, I would just leave the job. I definitely did not want to get fired on my first job.
Two weeks passed, the rooms I cleaned kept on getting a general’s inspection; I had already decided I’d just pick up my paycheck and say goodbye; I did my day’s work, and then went to the clerk to receive my pay. I said goodbye to him, when he asked me why I was leaving, I explained, “I don’t want to risk giving that woman the joy of firing me.”

“I see,” he looked at me in the eyes, “I’m a Baptist; that woman hasn’t found out yet for two years. It was a kind manager that welcomed me to the job five years ago, but the old man died of a heart attack. She’s his physical replacement, but in personality and niceness it would be hard to find someone like him.” I expressed my regrets and moved on to say goodbye to Maruja.

She wished me luck in finding another job. “Vaya, que le vaya bien, y que encuentre un mejor trabajo pronto.”

To leave with a happy note I answered with a joke, “Thank you. If I don’t find a job soon, then I’ll be out on the streets soon.” She chuckled and we shook hands; I left the hotel. The next time I would enter the hotel would not be as an employee, but as a guest with his wife.

The day before I had asked in several hotels and stores that had help wanted signs, but they all needed people that are experienced with computers. I didn’t even know how to turn on a computer, much less use one. I had almost given up hope when I arrived at a construction depot, there was this big sign that said, Help Wanted/ Necesitamos Empleados Se Habla Español. I walked in to the office. This office was plain, just a wooden “teacher” desk and several wooden chairs lined up; the one decoration was the United States flag. No Buddha in sight. The man behind the desk was an American. I asked him about the help wanted sign, he responded, “The pay is $20 dollars an hour. It’s hard work, but good paying. You’ll be doing a 40 hour work week, from five to one p.m. Saturday and Sunday off. You can just fill out this form and bring it next Monday, be ready to work when you come.”
“Thank you very much, I will see you Monday; have a good day.” I walked out. I couldn’t believe it, 20 dollars an hour! It’d be hard work he said, but I’m used to that. I’d have to get up early, which I definitely don’t like to do, but I would make do. In my hotel job I worked Saturdays and only got Sundays off; in my new and improved job I got the whole weekend off! I decided that there are indeed jobs for the picking, just that to get a good one you have to rebuscar, search carefully.