Poncho, Poncho, Poncho

A few weeks ago I went to Wal-Mart in search of a poncho but I couldn't find one.   I asked an employee where I could find a poncho.  The employee looked at me and told me (in Spanish) that she did not speak English. As the employee started to walk away, I said, "Oh, pues, hablo un poquito espanol."  I then proceded to tell her that I was looking for a (Estoy buscando por un) . . . hmmm.  That's where my sentence ended because I was thinking, "How do you say poncho in Spanish?"  Determined to find a poncho, I explained that I didn't know the Spanish word for what I was looking for, but I started describing to her the "cosa" (thing) that I needed.  I compared the "cosa" to a trashbag and stated that you wear it when you are outside during the rain, only I couldn't remember the word for rain and had to make rain hand motions with my fingers.  Upon seeing my hand motions, the employees eyes lit up and she said, "oh, un poncho!"  That's when I learned that the word poncho is the same in English and Spanish.  I kindly listened to the employee's directions to the ponchos and then asked her if she knew how to say poncho in English.  She didn't, which made me feel a little bit better.