This is Planet Money from NPR.
Mania doesn't speak any English.
Not a word, she says.
But she does know some, like sizes.
She knows sizes.
She knows label, ticket, all words related to her job.
Manager.
Okay, the boss, you just call him Mr. The boss is a girl,
it's a Mrs. Mrs. Mrs over here, Mrs. over there, she says.
You got to call your bosses, Mr. or Mrs. She says, and I'm like, this is all English, Maria.
Oh, Mr. Mrs. Maria is a garment worker in the US, one of not that many left.
She's originally from Puebla, Mexico.
Sweet potato city, she says, proud,
nodding her head and making a little fist to herself when she says it.
Maria is only 73 years old, but she has the presence of both a much older,
comforting grandma and somehow also like this easily delighted kid.
She has those little grandma sandals on and a little white flower tucked behind her ear.
Whenever Maria sees a flower, she picks it up, puts it in her hair.
You've been doing this since you were a little girl.
It makes her happy.