This past Saturday was a lazy day, and I decided I was going to ride my bike to the little coffee shop down the street and get a latte. I knew that Momo's opened at 10:00, so I left my apartment a little after 10. When I got to Momo's the guy working started talking to me in Chinese. I of course had no idea what he was trying to say to me...poor guy. I showed him what I wanted - an almond latte. He held up two fingers and kept talking in Chinese, so I thought he was asking if I wanted one shot of espresso or two. I wanted two, of course, so I said "er." He shook his head and continued talking to me in Chinese, to which I replied, "Ting bu dong" (I don't understand). So he spoke slower. Not helpful. I shook my head and said, "Ting bu dong"...again. So he said, "Wait 20 minutes." Um, excuse me? You speak English? Oy! I'm not sure why I had to wait 20 minutes since they had already been open for 20 minutes, but there are lots of things I don't understand here. So I grabbed a Korean magazine and sat down to patiently wait. In the meantime he kindly put on some Adele for me to listen to...
...20 minutes later...
The barista motioned me up to the counter to get my coffee. My tumbler was filled to the brim with a beautiful latte, and when I put the lid on the mug all of the foamy goodness shot through the lid and onto the counter, the floor, and me. The barista (I need to ask his name next time...) rushed around the counter to help me. I felt so bad. I typically don't spill things in public...just at Laura and Bethany's house. He helped me clean up the mess, and I kept wishing I knew how to say, "I'm so embarrassed..." or "Whoops..." or "My bad..." in Chinese. Instead I stood by awkwardly and smiled. Smiling is all I have to offer most of the time here... I paid and said "xiexie" (thank you) and "zaijian" (goodbye). I hopped back on my little bike (which, by the way, I still L.O.V.E.) and started peddling back to my apartment with almond latte in hand, wishing I had more words and a bigger tumbler. As I looked to my right, I saw the barista running after me. I stopped and thought, "Oh gosh...after all that I HOPE I paid him!" He started speaking to me in Chinese, which I understood just as well as I had 20 minutes prior, and pointing to my tumbler. I held it up and said, "Ting bu dong." As I held it up, he cautiously took it from my hand and darted back to the coffee shop. So I followed, of course. I mean, he had my favorite Tervis tumbler AND what was left of my almond latte! Back in Momo's, he pointed to what I had ordered and said "meiyou" (doesn't have). I'm guessing he forgot the flavoring? At any rate, he poured it out (after all that work and miscommunication!) and remade it. After he remade it, he put the lid on ever-so-gently...no more foam fountain cleanups for that guy! He kept apologizing, so I was able to use one of my handful of useful Chinese phrases, "mei wenti" (no problem). FINALLY, I got home with my almond latte...and it was amazing. Things always taste better when you have to work for them, ya know?
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