Spanglish

I met a pleasant Hispanic lady a few minutes ago, whom her daughter explained spoke very little English.

"No problem," I smiled. "I can speak enough Spanglish to get by."

I turned to her mother and introduced myself. "Hola, mi nombre es Kelly. Vamos a llevar al hospital."

She seemed surpised and pleased that the big goofy-looking gringo could speak to her in her native tongue, but wasn't really all that talkative.

Which is a good thing, too, because I'd have soon run out of phrases that don't translate to "two beers, please," "take me to the U.S. Embassy," or "how much for an hour, and can your friend join us?"