dippin

Why do you think you are "expected" to learn Spanish? Are TV commercials that important to you?

Regarding the "work hard to assimilate" and the "learn English" comments: first, for a good chunk of Hispanics, the border crossed them, and not the other way around; second, Hispanics have assimilated to American society as fast as most other immigrant groups.

Finally, considering you've been around Latin America without speaking Spanish, I think it's safe to say you spoke English around the region. You might not have expected every individual to speak it, but you still spoke it. And a good chunk of the people working in the service sector there probably learned to speak English to satisfy their consumer base. Not too different from the situation you are describing.