Courtney’s Haven

Hit Immigrants (if they are that)!

Someone today told me that I have so many great stories, and that’s one reason they like listening to me babble on about situations and circumstances. And I’m quite loquacious!

Well, here it goes:

So, a couple weeks ago (3, I believe) I got in my first wreck albeit very minor one. It had been raining all day, and the roads were still very slick. I was in the Hillcroft area on my way to meet a friend for dinner at Olive Garden. The light (about 100 ft) in front of me turned red, so just like a good driver, I took my foot off the accelerator and placed in on the brakes at a good, slow pace.

And then! all of a sudden! MY CAR HYDROPLANED. “Uh oh,” I thought to myself. And then, I barely (haha, barely) crashed into someone in the next lane. We were both pretty much stopped due to the red light, but it was a wreck.

We did the proper thing and found a well-lit area for security reasons, and we pulled in to exchange insurance information.

I explained what happened, “My car hydroplaned because of the road surface and the fact that the tread on my tires are almost nonexistent.” He looked at me. He didn’t say anything. I was expecting him to say something, but he didn’t…he just pointed at his car and the damage that I supposedly caused. (His car had duct tape all over it by the way.)

He wasn’t saying anything, and I was getting scared that he could pull out a gun or a knife to take my life right there. (You really never know.) So, out of instinct I asked, “Ingles”, which he responded with a strong, definite head shake.

This was all making sense now. HE DIDN’T SPEAK ANY ENGLISH!

I tried to explain what had happened using words that I knew like, “aqua” in which I did a demonstration of the tires sliding and “no bueno” for how my car reacted.

It was a failed effort. He did his own reenactment in which he made a glass out of his hands and proceeded to drink out of it, pretty much accusing me of drinking and driving.

But, I knew I had to exchange information somehow.

I pulled out my insurance card, and showed him. And then I asked, “Can I see yours? Um, et tu?” He got this really weird look on his face, so then I said, “Insurance,” and I pointed to the word. Still confused.

I looked around in his car and pulled out a vehicle registration paper. I showed him my card again, and he looked around again. A couple minutes of searching later, he responds with , “casa”. I just start laughing. I mean, what am I supposed to do now?

(I know now, I should have called the cops, but having no experience with being in a wreck I was 1) overwhelmed 2) frustrated that I could not speak Spanish, so I didn’t even think to call the cops at that time.)

I told him, “That’s illegal…(and then thinking of my spanish)…mala!” So, I didn’t know what else to do.

He didn’t call the cops or file a report, so apparently, he let me go without any ticket or incident.

So, let’s this be a lesson.

If you’re going to get in a wreck, hit one who can’t speak the local language!

[Disclaimer: I do not discriminate against race nor do I want this article to become political. Immigrants or even citizens who can not speak the local language are people too, and this is definitely intended to remain neutral. Love them or hate them at your own will. I’m just happy I got out of a ticket!]

Posted by Courtney at March 15, 2007 10:07 PM