A Small Disaster! | Social skydiving | Forum

I live in an area of the US where there are quite a few Spanish speaking people, however sometimes it is easier to recognize these people right away, while other times, it's tough to tell.  I had to laugh a little at Benny's Facebook post about how easy it is to find Spanish speakers in the US, as last night I hit a bump in my journey to speak Spanish.

I went to dinner with my brother at a pizza restaurant, which would typically be run by Italian families around here.  While we were eating, I was discussing my attempts to both improve my Spanish and learn Italian all at once.  He was impressed with my level of Spanish and told me the only Spanish he was able to pick up was in the forms of swears and slang from the kitchen workers in the restaurant where he worked. 

While we were eating, we overheard our waitress talking with the kitchen staff and despite speaking perfectly clear English to us at our table, she was speaking fluently in Spanish with her coworkers.  I mustered up the courage, and the next time she visited our table, I stuttered out, "Hablas español?" (You speak Spanish?)  I was hoping this would give me the chance to further impress my brother while having a chance at speaking a bit with a native, however, while she responded "Si" (yes) she continued speaking in English after that.  I was a little disappointed, but made one more attempt as we left the restaurant by offering "Tengas un buen noche!" (Have a good night) but slipped up myself by actually saying "Tengas un buen notte" (night in ITALIAN!)  She understood and politely said "thank you," but I felt like crawling under the table after that.  Upon returning home, my fear subsided and I could have given a speech in Spanish had I wanted to, but when faced with a real opportunity to speak, I froze.  Had she been more receptive, I wonder how it would have gone?  Anyone else face similar problems?