Juan Gabriel Mejia has been in the U.S. two years and six months. So far he’s seen the insides of three kitchens, towers of dirty dishes, and a seemingly endless cycle of row crops. He went to San José once, and picked up a Chicago Bulls cap he likes to wear, even though he’s never been to Chicago. “They used to say in Guatemala that this was a place you didn’t even need to work to earn money. That’s not true,” says Mejia, shaking his head. The 28-year-old left Olopa, his hometown in the mountainous region of Chiquimula in May 2012 to find work in the U.S. to support his parents, wife and three young children. He found plenty of it, first in Santa Cruz and then in Pescadero. As he describes his manic schedule, it’s hard not to wonder when he sleeps and eats. “In Santa Cruz, I worked 4 p.m. to one in the morning washing dishes. And I had another job washing dishes at another restaurant from 4 a.m. to 12:30. “Here I work in the field six days a week, nine and a half hours a day. I work at Duarte’s washing dishes four days a week; starting at 6:30 p.m. It’s a 6-hour shift. “On Sundays, I work at Cindy’s in Pescadero (Pescadero Country Store) … Continue reading Juan Gabriel Mejia: learning English between jobs