One thing I really like about this place is that it's really easy to fit in. After 6 years in Japan with people pointing at me like I was an animal in the zoo and saying "look, a foreigner!", it's really nice to blend in with the locals. All I had to do was buy a scarf and learn how they wear it, and if I don't open my mouth, no one would ever know that I'm not a local.
Of course, this has its disadvantages, mostly for the people who have asked me for directions.
There was the guy on the crowded train who asked me if the door were going to open on the side we were standing on. I told him yes, because I really thought it did, but it turned out I was wrong, and he had to push his way through the crowd to get off at his stop. Woops!
Then there was the guy who works at the front desk who asked me if I knew a kiosk (a kiosk is a convenience store) where he could buy a pancho. I thought he was looking for a poncho, and might have directed him to the store that sells gaucho clothing.
And then there was the guy who saw me coming back from the chino the other day with my groceries. He asked me if there was a supermarket nearby, and I told him there was a chino about two blocks down the street. What I forgot was that the little supermarket a half a block away was also open. Woops again!
So, it's nice to fit in, but I really should begin telling people I don't know when they ask me for help. I think I'm doing more harm than good.
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