Truly Bilingual

Still moving through the wilds of office construction, I happened upon a man on a small scaffolding applying paint to the top of the doorway leading to the open area that also housed the bathrooms.

I paused in my dilemma just long enough for the man to graciously step down and move the little contraption aside.

"Thank you," I replied to his gesture with a smile.

Exiting, he had already climbed back on the little two-step support walk and was once again, heavily focused on his overhead task.  I slowed as I approached the blocked doorway trying to assess if there was any way to keep the man from having to climb down again to accommodate my passage.

He caught sight of me and turned in my direction.

"Uno mas tiempo, por favor."  I called out to the Hispanic construction worker.

His eyebrows raised up as he stepped down on to the floor.  "Habla espanol?"

"Un poquito, pero no hablame mas rapido, por favor."  I responded, trying my best to roll my R's.

"How come you know espanich?"  He asked.

"I grew up in Texas."

"Ohhh..."  His grin broadened.  "So, you speaka de...um...Texican?"  He waved his hands at me as I began to laugh.  "Ees okay.  I speaka de Spanglish."