This morning I went to McDonald's for a dollar sausage burrito and a fifty cent senior coffee. Gabriella waited on me. She is from Mexico. I have known her for several years as a waitress in another restaurant. English is her second language; she speaks it very well.
"I want a sausage burrito and a senior coffee."
Gabriella said, "That will be $3.50."
"No, it should be about a buck and a half plus tax."
She asked me what I wanted again--and I told her. "A sausage burrito."
She came up with the same amount.
We went back and forth--and kiddingly, I said, "Gabby, we are't communicating."
"It's your language," she said with a bit of frustration and a smile.