"Community Proposal"

The community that I have picked is a restaurant a few miles away from me. It is a small diner that serves very tasty Mexican cuisine. When I went by the diner the other day I noticed the name of the diner had changed. I hope that doesn't mean the owners have changed. I have had dinner with my husband at this diner a couple of times. About seven years ago when I was taking Spanish classes at J.C.C. my instructor suggested that we try the diner out because the workers there were willing to put up with slow speaking Spanish students. After ordering our meal I began to ask the waiter questions. Then another man came from around the corner and began talking too. He was the owner and he shared that he had moved from Guatemala. If I remember correctly he said his wife was in Guatemala when he met her, but she was from Michigan so that is how they ended up in Michigan. All the workers were very happy, lively music was playing all in Spanish. The workers were singing along and laughing having a good time entertaining my husband and I. The smells wafting my way made my stomach growl. The food was delicious, I ordered a bean, rice and chicken dish that had cactus in it. The beverages we had were pop (sodas) from Mexico. They are called Sangria's. There are other flavors too. Part of the diner is the food area, while the other part is a make shift little market. They sell foods and canned goods that Hispanic neighbors like to use. I hope to learn more about this little diner/store community. I plan to ask for permission to observe the diner and I am pretty sure they will let me. My husband and I will eat there for our date night. I hope to learn more about how they prepare and cook the cactus. Several questions I would like to ask are:1.) How many of your dishes do you use the cactus in? 2.) Did you own and operate a restaurant when you lived in Guatemala? 3.) I plan on asking them where in Guatemala did they used to live, how long have they lived here? Do they have any other friends that are involved in the restaurant business? What made them want to start a restaurant and move to the United States? 4.) Do they get more business from the store or the diner part of their business? I want to learn more about their culture, community as I have been to Guatemala. I visited a little poor town and some wonderful Mayan ruins, this will help with my insider view. I wonder if they support family members back home or if they have been able to move them here if that is even a factor. It will give me a chance to try and converse using my ever so rusty Spanish speaking skills. I know one thing it will be good for my husband and I to eat there again, it was such a happy place. Mustang Sally