Why I need to beef up my Spanish

Last weekend I was volunteering at the hospital and a guy came to the front desk trying to explain something to me. I gathered that his recently pregnant wife was out in the car, that she needed help getting up to the NICU where her baby was, and that his two friends would bring the breast milk in a bit. I got mom in a wheelchair and took her up to the premie section. She only spoke Mixteco (I hope I spelled that right) so dad was speaking for her.

First, the embarrassment of the ward clerk... I have mom and dad there with me, I show her the cards that they have brought with them which have the baby's name on them. I explain the situation, that they want to see their baby and that someone's on the way with some breast milk (dad's holding a pump). And she panics.

She brought out this translater phone thing, and spent 20 minutes trying to get it to work. Mom and dad look exhausted, and are getting irritable. They just want to see their baby.

Then, this brilliant nurse comes in, says forget the translator, let's have them scrub in and come on back... but then she turns to them, mimes washing her hands and said "washo your handso!"

I was mortified on her behalf.