After a morning walk in Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, I went to a coffee shop with a friend and wanted to order two lattes for us. I also wanted to use my Japanese, testing what I’ve learned in the past six months and seeing if the barista would understand me or not.
The conversation was something like this:
me: 「カフェラテを一つお願いします。」(kafe rate wo hitotsu onegaishimasu – “One cafe latte, please.”)
barista: 「はい、かしこまりました」(hai, kashikomarimashita – “Yes, certainly.”)
But then, the barista only made one latte instead of two. I was so confused (I showed her my confused face!) and asked her if she made a mistake.
barista: 「あ、すみません。一つだと思っていました。二つですね？」(a, sumimasen. hitotsu da to omotteimashita. futatsu desu ne? – “Ah, I’m sorry. I thought it was one. Two, right?”)
I just realized that I mistakenly said 「一つ」(hitotsu – “one”) instead of 「二つ」(futatsu – “two”). That’s why she made only one latte! So I ordered another one and proceeded to payment.
It feel amazing when the person you speak understand what you’ve said, and don’t switch to english right away. it feels like you already part of the community, even though that language is not your first language.
And that what I felt that day. And yes, I made a mistake, but I’m so proud of what I just accomplished!
