Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall

So I saw a posting on Facebook awhile back to effect that someone who speaks in a broken manner should be praised because it means they speak two languages. Not sure about this, I’ve been trying for years to speak a second language and am just now able to put together a few semi-decent sentences in Spanish. Whenever I try to speak to someone who is fluent, I just get eye-rolls. Anyways, the other day my neighbor and friend ask me over for coffee because she said she had something she wanted to show me. I love going to her house – she’s from Columbia and always makes the best treats to serve with coffee. So off I go at the appointed time. There on her coffee table is one of those smart speakers with the voice assistant. Uhm, I didn’t know those things spoke Spanish, interesting. Then, she explained that after trying to learn English by taking classes, using an app and working at the local grocery store, she still didn’t speak clearly enough for many people to understand her. Hey, she’s only been in this country a few years – what’s the rush? Understanding is a two-way street after all. Fine, whatever. My poor misunderstood friend had gotten the speaker to force herself to speak clearly since it only understood English. Then she turned to the speaker and tried to say something about playing music from the Monkeys. However, it wasn’t very clear and the speaker started blaring out some Asian hip hop song about dancing monkeys. Yikes, I was doing everything I could to not laugh or even look at my friend. No way was I going to do anything that might be taken as an attempt to discourage her from learning English. But after a few seconds, she jumped up and started dancing with the music, laughing hysterically. Okay, I had to smile at that point. “Funny, no?”, she asked. It was hilarious. When the song finally ended, she told me the speaker was a lot better at understanding her now then when she first got it. She gave it a few more commands to prove her point. Yup, either the assistant was getting the hang of Spanglish or my friend was truly learning to enunciate. And from my perspective it was the latter. Good for her at finding a creative and fun way to solve a problem. So what do you want to challenge yourself with this year? Think outside of the box and tackle something you’ve always wanted to. Hey, I’ve been inspired to do much better at learning a second language. I don't have to be perfect at it, just be much more understandable. And I don't have to earn a medal or anything but a few less eye-rolls would be nice...