Right next to the corner market is a tiny little video store. It is about the size of a very small single garage. A simple straight line of concrete filled with shelves.
After our evening shopping and walk Eddie talked me into going in and figuring out how to rent. We wandered in, the young woman and young man behind the counter smiled and oohed over Tamra. I walked up to the counter...and...and...my brain went blank. I could not think how to ask for anything, let alone how to rent. I could not even remember how to ask for how much the movies cost! It was like there was just empty space between my ears.
I hopefully tried English. No go. They stared at me like I was from another planet. Shook their heads. Damn. Alight.
I will admit right here, that if my children had not been looking at me with big hopeful puppy dog eyes, I would have most likely bailed at this point. Cut my losses and ran. Oh ya.
Finally I groped among my grocery's and dug out the little Mexican Spanish phrase book I was caring around.
I held it up in the air like a lucky talisman, I may even have waved it around a bit. The store attendants smiled encouragingly, and the other customers stopped to watch. I could feel my face slowly turning what could only be described as a very deep beet red color. I felt like I was on fire. And not in a good way.
At last I managed an ok "Cuanto cuesta esto?". AHHH!!! The kids behind the counter smiled! Si!! The other customers gave me big smiles and stopped staring as hard at me. Whew. The movies they said, cost 10 pesos each. Awesome, less than a dollar.
And I also came up with "como?" (how). I was really rockin' now. As easy as handing over my drivers license and 10 pesos, and we had rented a movie!!
This has made me want to sit down with my little phrase book and memorize that bad boy. Good Lord! And than pray that I don't freeze next time.
However, Eddie is very proud of me. :)
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