This is what happens to me for being so fair-skinned and looking like I’m from who knows where. I’ve been asked if I’m Lebanese, Jewish, Portuguese, etc. Latina? Not that often.

I stop at the McDonald’s drive-thru any given day of last week and see they have “Buy one McCafé, get one free” promotion going on. So I ask the girl to give me a latte and a mocha. I make sure I got it right about the free coffee, she says it’s OK and I proceed to the 1st window. I pay for the goods without questioning the price, and when I go to the pick-up window they are all going cuckoo because apparently they charged me for two coffees and they are NOT going to tell me. They are all talking in Spanish, assuming that I won’t understand. Well, dudes, I do!

Next thing you know I’m asking the manager “Are you going to charge me for the second coffee? Wasn’t I supposed to get it for free?” – He starts babbling, obviously surprised that I speak Spanish, and the rest of the staff look at each other like they’re in front of a Marian apparition or something. So I tell them it’s a shame they think they can fool customers like that. The coffee issue was taken care of, but next time I hear a Spanish accent on that speaker, I will speak Spanish, too. Don’t they hear my own freaking accent?