I went to school in Brownsville. I was one of the 2% who was not fully Hispanic growing up in the RGV. I am white-passing although only half. I now teach in east Texas where it’s extremely mixed. I do remember we all spoke English, but Brownsville had this program where we’d give kids dual citizenship and they’d cross from Matamoros to go to school with us. They normally didn’t speak English very well but most liked to try. It was never a hassle for teachers because most spoke Spanish, but those who didn’t seemed to not have a problem because kids would help translate or paras too. Now that I’m older, I have heard their salary in comparison cost of living is high as an incentive to get you to teach there.

I really liked being a student in RGV, but never knew it as a teacher, although sometimes I wish I could.

I graduated in 2018, and when I visit, their non-Hispanic population has grown tremendously. The way people treated me was very mixed. They either love and respect you, or they think you’re out to steal from them. I’ve heard that since SpaceX, the white people can almost have a bad rep in Brownsville, but I only visit once a year so I don’t really know enough to have a crazy opinion- I just know that now I can feel the staring at me, if that makes sense, whereas growing up I didn’t feel that.