Speaking in Dutch*: "If anybody's missing a sandwich and a banana, I have them in my bag."

"Oooh, me!" - Molly

Various Times People Have Spoken to Me in Languages Other than English

- A teenage boy carrying a bag of laundry asks me something, and I say, "I'm sorry, I speak English." He says, "You don't speak Dutch?" incredulously, shakes his head, and walks away.

- I am eating a sandwich in a fancy deli, and a Frenchwoman asks for the location of a hotel. I remember enough to say "Je ne parles pas le Francais," which might not be right, and then say, "I speak English." She looks sad, says "Oh, no Francais?" and goes to the deli counter to find her hotel.

- Waiting in line at the supermarket Albert Hein, I put the grocery separator thing (What is that thing called, p.s.?) on the conveyor belt, and the German woman behind me says, "Bitte," while the cashier asks in Dutch if I want my receipt. I say, "No, dank u wel," and leave wondering if I have successfully masqueraded as a grocery-going Dutch person.

- At the Coolhaven Station, three boys around the age of 9 or 10 come up to me, yelling, "frau, frau, frau." They ask for directions somewhere, I think, and the woman next to me helps them out.

Speaking in Dutch*

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

"If anybody's missing a sandwich and a banana, I have them in my bag." - Karl

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