Disappointment is a Universal Emotion.

She asked me in Spanish if I speak Spanish; in English I said "I'm sorry?" meaning I was asking her to repeat herself, because I had not understood that she was speaking Spanish, and so could not understand her, because I was trying to understand her in English. When I understood that she was speaking Spanish, I understood her in Spanish, and then told her in Spanish that I do not speak Spanish, and in Spanish said "I'm sorry," meaning I was sorry that I did not speak Spanish. She seemed disappointed, and hung up on me. I was disappointed, too, in myself, and wondered if I should have told her in Spanish that I speak a little Spanish.

She called back soon after, to ask again in Spanish whether I speak Spanish. This time, I told her in Spanish that I was sorry, and that I only speak a little Spanish, meaning I was sorry that I only speak a little Spanish. She began to try to talk to me, and I began to try to listen. I could understand perhaps every third word of what she said in Spanish, but could not remember any of the right words to respond in Spanish. I tried to respond in English. She told me, in English, to wait. She put her very small son on the phone, who asked me in English if I speak English. I paused to consider the question. He then asked me in English if I speak Spanish. I told him in English that I was sorry, and that I did not speak Spanish, as I had told his mother before, in Spanish. He hung up on me too. I could not tell if he seemed disappointed.