Blog Challenge, Day Eight: A Moment where you have felt Satisfied in Your Life...
I had this moment of satisfaction the other day: I was at another apartment site, helping out the manager with something. After our meeting with one of her applicants, she was showing me the new building and its amenities, and introduced me to her administrative assistant. We were chatting about some of the things that she and I have collaborated on over the past couple of years, and one of those things was helping with one of her residents who needed help and didn't speak English. The manager said, "Oh, Ginny's bilingual."
Bilingual. I've never exactly thought of myself as bilingual, but I guess I am! My command of the Spanish language is pretty good, though I understand the language much better than I speak it. Also, if the conversation doesn't involve housing, I tend to get a little shy and clam up. I've worked hard to learn the language, and hispanic culture in general. And my efforts have paid off: Recently I went out to lunch with a co-worker who is truly bilingual, and we went out to a restaurant that serves Latino cuisine. Everyone in the restaurant was speaking Spanish, and I started to doubt my abilities. However, I was able to order for myself, and even got in "I'm paying for both of us" when the bill came! Not bad. But even better: upon being asked a question about a peculiar odor in the hallway, I came out with this without missing a beat or even thinking about it: "I don't know why the second floor hallway smells like cat pee by the elevator. But you're right, it does."
Ladies and Gents, with that sentence, I've arrived!
No comments:
Post a Comment