I flew to Miami on Wednesday for a meeting with a potential client. This meeting went pretty well, and actually ran over its alotted time by an hour and a half… which is a good thing in my line of business (keep them asking questions, and keep asking them questions).

One thing I forgot to take with me to Miami was my English to Spanish pocket dictionary. I forgot that Miami is an “English as a Second Language” (if they know a second language at all) town.

I ordered coffee at the airport coffee shop on Wednesday afternoon, and the woman looked at me and said:

“café con Leche?”

Luckily I know that leche is milk (you’ll learn that in any decent breastfeeding class in Texas), and café sounds like coffee. I’m also a frequenter of Starbucks, and have picked up a little about European coffee from our trip to St. Maarten a few years ago, so, I answered:

“Americano, por favor.”

Americano means “American Coffee”, which is most places means a shot of espresso with hot water to fill the cup, possibly with room for cream and sugar. I was rewarded for my excellent command of the spanish language with a cup of coffee. Black, just like I like it.

The lady behind the counter handed me the cup of coffee, and said “Gracias, uno momento.” I replied “de nada” (it’s nothing, or your welcome, I think).

Then she told me the total. I had no idea how much money she wanted, but, luckily, the register had a LED display of the total, which is spun around, so I could read it. I handed her $2.00, and as I walked away, she says to me:

“Hey honey, you forgot your change.”

Ugh…

At least I got the try and practice some Spanish.