"Filling out job applications, you and I think it's simple, but it's not," says Higgins, the job developer. "Last name first." But the boys would ask, "'Why if it's my last name does it go first?' "
Among the Dinka, it's considered terribly impolite to boast about yourself. Yet in a job interview, employers are looking for people who express confidence. Higgins and others taught the young men to enthuse about their strengths, to smile and maintain eye contact--also considered rude by the Dinka.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday January 18, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 12 inches; 431 words Type of Material: Correction
Sudanese refugees -- In the Jan. 5 Magazine article "What the 'Lost Boys' of Sudan Found in America," it was incorrectly stated that one of the Sudanese refugees, Buay Tang, will be shifting from premed studies to a career in acting. He is continuing with his premed studies while also pursuing an acting career.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday February 02, 2003 Home Edition Los Angeles Times Magazine Part I Page 6 Lat Magazine Desk 1 inches; 49 words Type of Material: Correction
In "What the 'Lost Boys' of Sudan Found in America" (Jan. 5), it was incorrectly stated that one of the Sudanese refugees, Buay Tang, will be shifting from premed studies to a career in acting. He is continuing with his premed studies while also pursuing an acting career.
"I got a couple of guys jobs at Fat Burger in Pacific Beach," Higgins says. "They thought it was rude to speak loudly. At Fat Burger, when somebody orders a burger, the order taker is supposed to yell out: 'Fat Burger with Swiss cheese, onion and ketchup!' But the guys wouldn't do it. They'd murmur it and the chef wouldn't hear them. People's orders weren't coming out. So we had yelling lessons one day out on the balcony of the office. I made them yell out: 'Fat Burger with chili!' "
Bernstein vowed to not only find jobs for her charges, but good ones with health insurance and flexible hours so that they could attend classes, pass the high school equivalency test and go to college. She hit the phones and the streets, making her pitch to countless employers. After many rejections, she called a Ralphs supermarket in Mission Valley. When Bernstein asked if they needed any box boys, manager Bob Sullivan said, "Yes, the holidays are coming up."
"OK," Bernstein replied. "I've got these guys. Let me tell you about them." Sullivan had seen a television segment on the Lost Boys, was intrigued, and told her to bring some of them in for an interview. In she went with Benson, Alepho and two others.
"We had quite an interview," Sullivan recalls. "They told me their stories and what they'd like to accomplish. They had good English; they were all extremely polite, very friendly, respectful. That sort of person works really well in this business--somebody that can show a customer that they care."
Ralphs hired all four--giving them union jobs with health benefits and flexible hours. But in the beginning, the work was no walk in the park. "We had a class for three hours," Alepho explains. "The lady was explaining things, but I didn't understand what she was talking about because she was saying stuff that I never heard before."
