“¿Hola Sara, Como estas?â€? Juan came over to her table to pull out her chair.

Sara, having at least nailed down the basics of the Spanish language, responded, “¿Bien, y tu?â€?

“Bien, gracias,â€? Juan responded with a smile. After helping her with her seat, he left to go bring her a menu. She wanted to get to know him so badly but that was the extent of their conversation. Too embarrassed to pull the dictionary out of her purse, she did not know how else to strike a conversation besides the usual “Hello, how are you?â€?

Juan soon came back with the menu and handed it to Sara. She always ordered the same thing, Cuban coffee and a coconut pastry, since it was all she could translate on the menu. Today, she thought she would be adventurous. She then decided to order a colada, which was under the coffee section, and two croquetas.

Juan came back to take her order. She tried to pronounce it like an authentic Latin girl, but failed miserably. “Un co-la-da, and dos cro-quay-tas, por farvor-ay.â€?