Juanito

I went down to the palace tonight to have dinner. It's become a pretty regular routine for me. I work late and then get my meal "para llevar" (to go for you gringos out there) and sit down there soaking up one of my favorite sites in Europe.

It's Friday, so it was crowded and I had to wander around for a few minutes before I could find a spot to sit down. I got a good one. Front row just to the right of center. I'm enjoying my falafel salad with the fried cauliflower when this little girl sticks her head around the corner of the stone i'm leaning against. Her head pops out from the left side. Then the right. Then the left again. She has this beautiful white dress on and shiny shoes.

She asks me my name in Spanish and I'm excited to be able to not only understand her question, but offer a response. "Me llamo Rob". She tells me it's a pretty name. I'm flattered. Like the true local I've become, I toss out a couple of Spanish nuggets for her "y tú?" She says it's Juanito. I want to tell her it's a nice name too, but I can't remember the right expression, so I just smile.

She goes on to tell me she loves Madrid, asks me if I like her hair, and that the couple she is with isn't her parents. It's her aunt and uncle. She also says a couple things I don't understand and I either nod or ask her to clarify, but I'm pretty pleased with myself that we have carried on this long.

So I ask her "cuantos años?" and she says "seis". Juanito is 6 years old. She then says something else in spanish that I don't understand, so I say "yo soy de los estados unidos, y my español es muy malo". She then says, "I'm from Washington DC. I speak english too. Are we speaking English now?"

I guess we are.

Juanito is a bilingual 6 year old who lives in Washington DC. She's been here 20 days and goes home next week. Evidently she goes to spanish school so she can learn the language. I've been here 2 months, taken 6 years of spanish in middle school and started my rosetta stone course online. When the pressure is on, I can't remember how to tell her she has a pretty name.

She eventually tells me I'm handsome with my hat on, thanks me for talking to her and says goodbye. They're going to dinner now. So I finish my falafel and take the long way back to my flat.

I love my life. Another great night.