Summertime in Arequipa

 A few pictures I took recently...

Don't mess with these guys...

Trying out Dad's earbuds...

spaghetti...

A little friend we sometimes run into at the park...

- Laura

Hola and Gracias

The other day I was at a farmacia (pharmacy) down the street picking up some pepto-bismol (the world traveler's best friend!) and after paying for the goods, the cashier smiled and said, "Thank you"--in English.  And that simple gesture of kindness and welcome was so meaningful.  I doubt that he really knew much English, but he recognized that I was an English speaker and used a simple phrase that he knew.  It made me so happy.  Not because I'm starving to hear an English word, but because in speaking it, he communicated to me that he was happy for me to be in his country and that he wanted to make me to feel welcome and at home here.

This exchange made me think about so many times in the US when I have interacted briefly with Spanish speakers and chosen not to use my few Spanish phrases out of fear that I might get a whole bunch more Spanish in response.  How silly is that?  Using a simple, "Hola" or "Gracias" could have really made a foreigner's day, and even if they did try to communicate further, there's no harm in explaining that that's all the Spanish you know.

As an amateur Spanish speaker here in Peru, I am forced to use Spanish that I'm not completely confident in on a daily basis, and I realize that that is likely the case (with English) for many foreigners in the US.  How snobbish and self-centered was I for being unwilling to take very small, very safe risks once in a while by trying out a bit of Spanish with speakers of that language in the US?

I think my time as a foreigner here might make me more drawn to foreigners in the US whenever I am there again.

- Laura