Growing up in America, a bit spoiled if you will, we often take family for granted. We lie, cheat, and steal from each other. We disrespect, tease, and kick some out. We need to learn a lesson from Hispanic Americans, who are too traditional to ever try to disrespect an elder or family member. Traditionally, the Hispanic family is close-knit, and is the most important social group. This basically means, traditionally and generally speaking a Hispanic teenager would not ditch a family member in need to chill with their friends.
The term familia goes beyond just the mom, dad, brother and sister;it stems out to the extended family. They follow the basic family structure: the father as the head of the house, the mother as the caretaker, and the children as the obedient helpers. In the Hispanic culture though, the child is expected to help out as much as possible, even if that means dropping out of school at the age of six (much different from the American culture). Fortunately, the child is almost always willing to help!
The family ties are so deep that even when traveling long distances, they expect to stay with other family members along the way. A lot of Hispanic families live in clusters, and stay that way. The family is valued as highly as an American teenager with a phone. Keep that in mind, and maybe next time you won't abandon your fragile "phone" so much!
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