Linguistically Challenged
Flag of Belize
As I mentioned before, I’m a mixed Hispanic who can barely speak Spanish. I should know the language since I had to take it for 4 yrs in high school growing up in Belize. But Belize is an English speaking country and is more “caribbean” than it is “central american”. At least the city I grew up in. I get grief about this ALL the time and have had a couple funny incidents because of this.
Once I went to Shoppers for a few items and the checkout lady started speaking to me in Spanish. I told her I didn’t really understand what she was saying and she gave me a small lecture about why its important to know one’s own language. I guess this was part of the “better service” I was paying for. When I got to the car I realized I had forgotten something so I went back in and somehow ended up with the same checkout lady. Guess what? Friggin lady spoke to me in Spanish…on purpose…apparently to teach me a lesson? lol.
Fast forward a few months. I usually frequent a nearby Wendy’s (for their chocolate shakes). Sure enough, the lady collecting the money sees me and proceedes to speak in Spanish. I let her know that I didn’t understand and she tries again in English. I was happy she didn’t pull a “Shoppers-Lady” on me. I kept going back a few times each month. Then one day, while I was waiting for my food in the drive-thru lane, I heard someone in the background yell “he’s the one that can’t speak Spanish!” Hilarious.
I guess this is as close as I’ll become to being a celebrity! Have a funny story about someone making assumptions about you based on how you look?
