The Uber Chronicles — Episode 2 — A Brief Spanish Lesson
“I am from Koo-bah.”
“Quba (Cuba), you mean?” I said quickly.
“No, Koo-bah.” She gave a tired smile, wondering if getting language lessons in her mother tongue came as part of the driving an Uber.
“That’s how we say it in Spanish.” She explained.
I quickly pulled out my Google Translator app, clicked on the pronunciation, and sure enough, it is Koo-bah. This lady from Koo-bah (Cuba) must know that her country is called Koo-bah.
https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/Cuba?langFrom=en
She heard that and laughed. “You didn’t believe me.”
And not for the first time, I had played Mr-Know-it-all and had a little egg in my face.
Not giving up, I asked. “How do you say the United States of America?”
“Los Estados Unidos de America”
Wow, that sounded exotic.
“And India?” The question came naturally, as I am Indian.
“India”
“India?” I was a little disappointed. “India is just called India in Spanish.”
“Yes.”
The ride ended. Getting out, I said “Gracias” with a wink acknowledging the brief Spanish lesson.
“de nada.” She replied, slowly driving off.
Now that I could understand. It means “You’re Welcome.”
