Burgers or Chicken

I was coming out of Price Chopper a short while ago, having needed to pick up some Italian bread to go with the spaghetti I am making for supper for my kids and me, when a gray Ford Focus station wagon, stops right smack in front of where I was crossing.  I heard the older male and female occupants say "Excuse me, madam", in their thickly French-accented English.  So, I bent down slightly to see what it is they wanted and the old man said the word "restaurant".  Thinking a second, I questioned, "What kind?"  The old lady said, "Oh, maybe fried chicken".  Simultaneously, her husband said "Amburger...or chicken...buk, buk, buk" with a huge grin on his face.  I laughed out loud and so did he and his wife.  So I gave them the suggestion (for burgers)as the Ground Round and wished them a nice day.  I was considering their ability to understand the directions, so I figured the Ground Round would be best, since they only needed to go straight through the traffic light to find it a short distance away.  The old man said, "Thank you.  Buk, buk, buk" and we all laughed and parted.

It was clear their English was not so strong, but they were trying and had wonderfully cheerful dispositions.  And, as any such encounter with native speakers of other languages who are making the effort to speak to me in mine, I couldn't help but think that it takes a certain level of courage to come to a country whose official language is not their own and try to intermingle with our bit of culture that is Plattsburgh's.  Then my thought turned to consider how much those in our culture who might have given them a dirty look for stopping in the crosswalk to ask questions are missing out if they bear intolerance for people who are different from them.

It wasn't a long or deep exchange, but it was pleasant, cheerful and humorous and it made me smile and laugh, something we could all stand to do more of.