My favorite mexican place in Chicago welcomed gringos, but the
clientele mostly Mexican. Bilingual menues, but the waitresses were
struggling. I am still convinced that this was the first job in the
states, probably a network from the same town or family back home. No
problem. They were all young, pretty, friendly. And after all, how
hard is it to memorize a few syllables for your favorite things -
media de pollo, caldo de mariscos, taro de cerveza. People who are
trying to learn your language can be very understanding about your
horrible accent and hilarious mistakes in theirs.

I thought I was showing off once with some of my Polish ESL
students. Everyone laughed. One sweet woman said, "Don't laugh,
that's like our English." But she was still laughing.

Once at a Thai place, I didn't see exactly what I wanted on the menu.
I asked for Tom Ka Kai. The waiter: "How you know kai chicken?" I
didn't know any such thing, just that if I made that noise I'd get a
bowl of my favorite soup.


B