Ravings of a Long Haired Dude

Out of My Depth (For a Minute)

I have recently begun to study Spanish again, after a few years. You can't really learn a language from classes alone. They are a good starting point, but you need to talk to native speakers. I happened to be near La Perla  , a small combination Mexican tienda and restaurant that I had visited a few years ago. I decided to go in and see if I could practice a bit.

I know from experience that it isn't always easy to strike up a conversation with a Spanish speaker. In the past, I have encountered either somebody patronizingly saying, "very good", or just a cold stare that seemed to say, "what the hell are YOU trying to do, Gringo?" I was a bit ill at ease when I went into the place.

I walked around the grocery part for a bit, and then decided to get something to drink and see what would happen. I told the lady who rung up my drink what I was doing there. There was a group in there that I think was a grandmother, a mother, and three daughters. I sat down and looked at the menu. I noticed that they had menudo on the menu. I like menudo, so I said so in Spanish. I tried to say a couple of other things, but nothing really led to a conversation. The grandmother did say that I was doing well.

After I finished my drink, I wanted to wish the group a good day. I walked over to the family table and suddenly froze. The mother was just looking at me like she was wondering if I would say something, or just run out of the place. The grandmother had a look on her kind face that seemed to say, "I know you can do it!" It was the three little niñas that were really freaking me out. Their eyes kept getting wider and wider, like they either wanted to see me say the right thing or run. It couldn't have been over about five minutes, but it seemed like much longer. The words just wouldn't come to me. After what seemed like forever the previously well-known sentence bubbled up out of the sludge in the bottom of my brainpan. I spat out "¡Que tengan un buen día!"

The girls looked like they were about to break into applause! The mother smiled, and the grandmother said kindly, "Y tú también (And you too)." Relief flooded through me. I had pulled it off.

The people in La Perla made me feel welcome and didn't make fun of me. I hope to go back to La Perla soon to learn, and to hopefully make some new friends.