One day at work, a customer came up to me with her phone and asked me a question using google translate. I looked at her phone and realized that she spoke Spanish. Using the limited Spanish at the time, I tried my best and answered her question in Spanish. I thought what I had just said was embarrassing but she smiled and was so excited to meet somebody who was trying to speak Spanish. She asked me a couple more questions and I answered the best that I could. My grammar was not correct and the words I chose were not the best fit, but she was very happy with my answers.
What I learned from this experience was to not be afraid to try to speak a language regardless of how little we know. After the interaction, I was a little impressed with how much I was able to communicate. When reflecting on my conversation afterwards, I also identified and learned a couple important phrases that would have helped me communicate more effectively.
Don’t be afraid to speak, you might make somebody’s day.
Happy learning.