Last week I was in New York, city that is, right in midtown within walking distance from Times Square. Talk about overwhelming. I have to say that I was feeling a bit like a country bumpkin as I hustled across the street from my hotel first thing in the morning to get a coffee to start the day.

I figured Starbucks was a sure bet since there seems to literally be one on every street corner (kind of like Dunkin Donuts (or DD as it’s now called)) back in Boston, and there wouldn’t be any surprises. First off, I was a bit surprised to see the size of the line given that there are so many other identical hot spots all around. But I wasn’t in a big rush, so no big deal.

When my turn came I smiled and said hi to the barista. And that was the mistake.

Image representative of my experience. Actual faces and baristas ficticious.

The girl looked at me like I as crazy, like why would I waste time saying something like that when I could have used that same breath to say my order. So I said my coffee order. She immediately responded with the amount I owed, but I had to say that I wasn’t done yet; I wanted something to eat as well. I don’t think she was happy with my speed.

So, in the end the coffee was delicious and the food wasn’t bad, but I definitely learned my lesson about taking the time to smile and say hi the next day when I went back. Maybe it’s not like this all over, but in the center of the big apple for sure.

When I was telling my friends and coworkers about this everyone just laughed and said “you’ve become so spanish”. I guess I get it now when people say I’ve become “españolizada” or “spanishized” as I like to call it.