I was walking down the street the other afternoon when I passed a group of scruffy-looking Santiagans. They were moving about towards the bus station when a disheveled-looking woman took a dive in front of me. But I rejected years of Cub Scout training and continued walking along, looking ahead as if nothing had happened. Why, you may ask?
I was told to. Because, who knows, her 10 year old kid could run up behind me while I was helping her up and steal my wallet, or something along those lines. Get it?
Such is the case when you're an American abroad. While I don't dress flashy or do much to attract attention (ok, I should probably get a haircut and the aviators may verge on ostentatious--but I bought them for $5 at Walgreens, really!) I still feel like Tupac sometimes, because all eyes are on me. Sure, I'd imagine it would be worse to be a blonde female or something crazy like that, but no matter what, if there's something about you that screams gringo, it gets picked up quickly.
And it's not just pickpockets or people trying to get your money; sometimes it's with the best intentions. The worst part was when I approached the airport counter, having recited the proper Spanish vocabulary 100 times in my head, only to be greeted by, "Hello, sir, how are you doing today?" I know they want to make us tourists feel comfortable, but damn!
At least my host family tells me they are impressed with my Spanish. And being that they've hosted several other students in years past, I'll gladly take the compliment. Hopefully that will translate over to my classes (all in Spanish). Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to don my red, white and blue jumpsuit and ignore the street vendors trying to hawk their wares at me.
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