Tuesday, April 8
Things You Learn While Sitting in the Starbucks Next to the Embassy of Uruguay
The next time you're in D.C., don't make your first stop be the Washington Monument or the White House. Take a trip to the Starbucks next to the Embajada de Uruguay (Embassy of Uruguay) over on 18th and I.
I started studying Spanish when I was five, but there are certain things you can only learn while immersed in the culture, as my old Spanish teacher, Señora Horton, would say. And seeing how any pending trips to Spanish-speaking nations are still currently pending, I figured the Starbucks next to a Spanish-speaking embassy would be second-best.
(The scene: two men have just gotten their cappuccinos and are sitting down at the last vacant table in Starbucks.)
Señor 1 (Getting up, dressed in his fashionable slim suit with cuff links and fancy tie): ¿Quieres azúcar?
Señor 2 (dressed equally fashionable): Uhh... sacarina, por favor.
Señor 1: ¿Sacarina amarilla?
Señor 2: Sí.
Me (dressed in old H&M shirt with pants from Express and, what's that, did I spill on myself?): (Thinking: Hmm... "yellow saccahrine?" Splenda!)
BLACKOUT
So, when you find yourself at the Starbucks next to the Embassy of Uruguay, or the next time Paula Deen makes her Magical Peanut Butter Cookies with "sugar replacement", or the next time you really are in a Spanish-speaking country (go to a real cafe there, though), don't ask for Splenda, ask for sacarina amarilla!*
*Also keep in mind that everyone will probably already know what Splenda is if you say that instead of sacarina amarilla, in which case this mini Spanish lesson is pointless.
I started studying Spanish when I was five, but there are certain things you can only learn while immersed in the culture, as my old Spanish teacher, Señora Horton, would say. And seeing how any pending trips to Spanish-speaking nations are still currently pending, I figured the Starbucks next to a Spanish-speaking embassy would be second-best.
(The scene: two men have just gotten their cappuccinos and are sitting down at the last vacant table in Starbucks.)
Señor 1 (Getting up, dressed in his fashionable slim suit with cuff links and fancy tie): ¿Quieres azúcar?
Señor 2 (dressed equally fashionable): Uhh... sacarina, por favor.
Señor 1: ¿Sacarina amarilla?
Señor 2: Sí.
Me (dressed in old H&M shirt with pants from Express and, what's that, did I spill on myself?): (Thinking: Hmm... "yellow saccahrine?" Splenda!)
BLACKOUT
So, when you find yourself at the Starbucks next to the Embassy of Uruguay, or the next time Paula Deen makes her Magical Peanut Butter Cookies with "sugar replacement", or the next time you really are in a Spanish-speaking country (go to a real cafe there, though), don't ask for Splenda, ask for sacarina amarilla!*
*Also keep in mind that everyone will probably already know what Splenda is if you say that instead of sacarina amarilla, in which case this mini Spanish lesson is pointless.
Labels: Paula Deen, Uncategorized
posted by jacob @ 9:25 AM
4 Comments:
This made me laugh out loud. Also, in my neighborhood it qualifies as useful information.
I'm glad someone recognizes the importance of sacarina amarilla.
I've never seen Splenda in any of the spanish-speaking countries I've been, so perhaps they indulge while in the states.
*snort* hilarious!
xoxo
-m.a.
I find this comment rather offensive. I've been and lived in latin countries for years now and they do have Splenda and other sugar substitutes as well. Just 'cause a couple of people call it that at a coffee shop it doesn't mean the rest of the people do...
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