When I first moved to California and got a new driver’s license, I noticed that the Dept. of Motor Vehicles supplies a lot of their literature, including the Driver’s Handbook, in Chinese (and other languages). I thought of this again yesterday when I noticed someone with voter information and ballots in Chinese. I had mentioned the DMV literature to my mom, who obtained her license in Connecticut in the ’60s without the benefit of translation. I expected her to be delighted that California was so progressive and helpful, or at least perhaps wistful that here she could have used material in her own language. But her response was “I don’t think I would have learned English as well if I could have read things in Chinese.” Still, I’m sure we are both glad that California does take care of its mosaic population. Perhaps if I had grown up here I would’ve retained more of my Chinese.