Difficult Language situation - Essay Example

My friends had gone on to shop in other areas of the store so I was alone. It was a very crowded, busy time at the bakery so the line was long. When I got close to the front of the line, I tried to read the names of the different types of sweet cakes. I did not recognize any of the names. They looked like they were actually written in another language than English. I do not remember many of the names but one was canole and the other gnocchi. I realized that I could not say any of the names of sweet cakes.

I tried to listen to how the other shoppers in line said the names and how they ordered, but so many people were talking at one time, I could not hear clearly. I started to get nervous when the person in line in front of me stepped up to make her order. She walked to the glass case and pointed to the sweet cakes and said, “Give me a dozen.” The baker picked up a handful of sweets and placed them in a small white box. I knew that I did not want a dozen of anything. I decided that I would just point to the sweet cake I wanted and would say, “Two.

” When it was my turn I stuck with my plan. But the baker didn’t get my sweet cake. She said, “Which one?” She could not see what I was pointing at. I pointed again and said, “Down here.” She waited a moment and then grabbed two sweets. They were not the ones I was pointing at but I did not say anything. I took my sweet cakes and ate them. They were not the ones that I wanted but they were very good. This whole encounter with the baker was frustrating and made me nervous.

I wanted to be able to say the names of the sweet cakes but I could not. I felt inferior after the encounter. I realized that I could not just imitate what other people said. I had to really understand what I was saying. I do not want to feel embarrassed because of my language anymore so I am improving. Another encounter I had was with a cab driver that was from