I have a nephew, Jim, who grew up in a part of California where there are large numbers of Mexicans and lots of people speak Spanish. He became quite fluent in Spanish because most of his friends spoke it, and he didn't want to be left out of the conversation. He is blonde and fair skinned, so people are often surprised that he is bilingual.

One day he came upon an accident on a freeway. No one was injured but two cars were badly bent. The policeman spoke no Spanish and the people in the cars spoke no English. Jim to the rescue. He stood there and translated for the officer and the Mexicans. After about 15 minutes, a bilingual policeman showed up and he went on his way.

After he finished school, he got a job in a department store. He was soon promoted to a management position, mainly because he could communicate with the bosses who spoke no Spanish and with the employees and customers, who often spoke no English. Now he works as a social worker with the police department, dealing mostly with Spanish-speaking people.

I know other people who have had doors opened by the fact that they speak more than one language.
Howard