#3 “I don’t speak English.”
I strutted up to the cafe bar ready to take on the day and knock out some work. I ordered, “Un cafe con leche, por favor” the barista quickly responded “I don’t speak English.” I paused, stunned that my accent had been THAT bad that the man couldn’t even recognize a typical order. I smiled, “Oh, un café con leche” while I pointed to the person next to me’s cup of coffee.
Now my Spanish is okay, I can usually get the gist of the conversation and I can get my point across, though rarely grammatically correct. The thing is I minored in Spanish. I’ve been studying since I was in 8th grade. And I’ve lived with homestay families in both Spain and Costa Rica. So honestly speaking my Spanish should be better than it is. But I’m also happy that I can communicate as much as I can, and I’m also very thankful for Google translator which is constantly left up on my safari. But, Google translator can only get you so far…
I was sitting in my room reading Brene Brown’s Rising Strong when my roommate Antonela knocked on my door. Antonela and I only speak in Spanish but obviously I’ll be writing in English to tell the story. She asked me if she could borrow my avocado (aguacate) that was in the bathroom. I tilted my head to the side looking rather confused, pursed my lips, and said “well yes, but why is my avocado in the bathroom?” She bursted out laughing went into the bathroom and grabbed my nail clippers (alicates).
Another time we were watching basketball and she asked me if I watched the “en-eh-beh-ah.” I said this out loud to myself multiple times. Hmmm enehbehah enehbehah enehbehah… I don’t think I know it. She was like you have to know it. So I thought about it again, enehbehah… OHHHHHHH the NBA?! I felt silly, I didn’t recognize that she was saying letters.
The second to last day before she left, after spending 4 months together, Antonela learned that my name is actually pronounced Day-Na. The Spanish language doesn’t use a long A sound so the first A in my name is difficult for some people to pronounce, so here I am Dah-nah. When I was getting COVID tested and they had to stick a long swab down my throat the doctor joked, “Say ah, oh wait, you’re from the US, say aye!” It still makes me cackle, this is my kind of humor.
While most of my communication mishaps make me laugh, there’s one that hit me real deep. We were at practice preparing for semi finals, working on our defense, when my teammate told me she couldn’t understand what I was saying on the field. I asked her what word I should use that would work so she could understand and we could be on the same page. She said use “push,” to let her know when she can bump out to the next attacker. I was like okay great I can definitely do that, it’s in English, simple! The next play I shouted “push”, she bumped out to the next attacker and I made the tackle on her inside. I thought it went well! And then I overheard that same teammate passionately venting to the coach so I entered the conversation. She looked me straight in the eyes and said all I hear is “rah rah rah rah rah rah” when you speak. Now when you read that, read it in the most irritating voice you can imagine - apparently that was my voice when trying to communicate on defense.
I peaked at my coach whose sympathy was all over his face. I looked back at my teammate, let out a little uncomfortable laugh and said “well, I’m not really sure what to do about that. I will try to be more clear.” I tried to play it cool but honestly I had to take a few big breaths to suck the tears back into my body from my eyeballs. When I got home I was explaining what had happened to Antonela (in Spanish) still flustered and while explaining a part of the story she looked over at my other roommate and asked what I said and he had no idea either. Feeling dramatic, internal dana was like NOBODY UNDERSTANDS ME. But externally and with my best Spanish accent, I explained the situation again. I was brought back after a therapeutic laugh cry phone call with Lili and an apology text from my teammate who just happened to have a hard day.
Given the language barrier, it’s incredible how close Antonela and I got over the last 4 months. It was a sad goodbye when she left to go back home to Argentina last week. My friendship with her helped me learn to be bold, speak any Spanish I have in me even if my accent is embarrassingly awful, because communicating even if it’s difficult, is better than not communicating at all. It can lead you to friendships and memories you wouldn’t experience if you didn’t try. I’m also SO thankful for people like Antonela who are patient with me and who take the time to speak slowly so that I understand. In other words, the mockery and friendships are worth it, and my Spanish is going to continue to improve one “cafe con leche” at a time baby!
PS: Stay tuned for my next move because I currently have no idea!