In a hot Havana heat in July, I'm chilling
out on a mojito, Cuba's national drink.
out on a mojito, Cuba's national drink.
On my first day in Cuba, I learned an object lesson as to how so many bilingual U.S. Latinos feel, when we non-native speakers try to practice our Spanish on them.
I was bicycling along the malecón (waterfront) in Havana, and this brother rode up beside me striking up a conversation in "English." I got insulted because I felt that he thinks "this gringo" can't speak Spanish. To teach his narrow ass a lesson, I decided to respond to everything he says to me in Spanish; just as U.S. Latinos respond to me in English when I speak to them in Spanish.
Finally, the brother snapped and shouted, "MAN, STOP SPEAKING SPANISH, I'M TRYING TO PRACTICE MY ENGLISH!" My empathy and compassion suddenly kicked in, and I gladly complied :-)
The same thing happened in Lima, Perú. When a man whom I kept responding to in Spanish inside of a restaurant asked me politely if its OK to practice his English, I granted his request knowing that I will be overwhelmed with plenty of other opportunities to practice my Spanish.
I just wished that more of my U.S. Latino neighbors and schoolmates had the same compassion for me in my attempts to improve my Spanish.
Finally, the brother snapped and shouted, "MAN, STOP SPEAKING SPANISH, I'M TRYING TO PRACTICE MY ENGLISH!" My empathy and compassion suddenly kicked in, and I gladly complied :-)
The same thing happened in Lima, Perú. When a man whom I kept responding to in Spanish inside of a restaurant asked me politely if its OK to practice his English, I granted his request knowing that I will be overwhelmed with plenty of other opportunities to practice my Spanish.
I just wished that more of my U.S. Latino neighbors and schoolmates had the same compassion for me in my attempts to improve my Spanish.
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