I know how that feels

Today we had a bunch of Latinos come into the Pier and sign up for our services. What was different about this group though, was that their English was really limited and my Spanish even more.

As I was signing them up, with us both struggling to understand each other, I suddenly understood again how it is to walk into a somewhat official office with the desire to get a service, even though you know your language skill is not up to par.

I have been in those situations enough during my travels all over the world and it gets annoying fast. Do you realise that sometimes you feel stupid because you don't speak the language? Obviously you're not stupid, you just don't know the language. But the feeling is there and it's not nice.

Even though I can understand English now fluently and don't usually struggle with the language itself, I am still concerned when I walk into official looking buildings. Thinking back to when I was in Germany, having to get official documents and the likes, I remember feeling a little less nervous. (And I was struggling with the language there too).

I hope the families today were not too frustrated and I hope that I never made them feel stupid. It made me want to learn Spanish again... One day I will get the hang of that language...