Forced to be the "Chips & Salsa Guy"

Here is a picture of a part of the local market.

The second week we were here I, Erica decided to go shopping at the market by myself. We had worked on our numbers and I was able to catch on to the prices with a little concentration. So I headed out to buy spice jars. Once I found them I asked the lady how much they cost and she told me the price, now this takes concentration when you are first learning especially when they name three numbers. I was still trying to understand what she said and apparently I was just standing there staring at her because a minute passed and she lowered the price approximately $1.00, the funny thing is I was going to buy them for the orginal price, I just needed to know how much to give her. I guess this is one way to bargin huh.

So this experience reminded me of an analogy our ESL teacher shared with us about language learning. Language learning is like a good Mexican restraurant. You have the chip guy who drops the chips and salsa at the table and runs, this guy knows very little language. Then you have the drink guy who knows how to take drink orders, he has a little more language. Finally you have the server who is able to communicate with you. Now we were warned when we arrived we would be dishwashers, however we have been forced to become the chip guy. Hopefully soon we will move up to the drink guy. We can't wait.