Haha, that happens to me all the time, only I'm actually ethnically Russian (and look rather stereotypical, heels, makeup, etc.), so sometimes they'll just pick me out of a crowd in the Eastern European market or something and start chatting away without me saying anything first. I'll tell them that I hardly speak any Russian, and I think sometimes they don't believe me or think I must speak more than I realize.
I admit, I would probably be one of those people that, if they saw somebody of a certain ethnicity, I would automatically assume that they spoke the language that went along with it.
But, at the same time, I know how difficult it can be to learn a second language. And how easy it is to forget it if you are not using it every day.
Hey, I got an "A" grade in my GCSE French, but within a few years of finishing school I could barely remember any of it.
I'm not at all surprised that she ran after you to give your sunglasses back. If you ever go to Russia (or a Russian neighbourhood), don't be surprised if random strangers not only notice if you get lost, but offer to walk you where you need to go. I've read that a lot of people find that strange or even scary, but... it's just so hard to resist... It's like radar that won't stop beeping until you're sure the lost person can get where they need to go.
Awww, I wouldn't find that scary. I would think it was very nice of them.
You know, Russians get a bad press with their stereotype. Although some can be ignorant, you get people like that of any nationality.
The restaurant where we normally eat on holidays is owned by a Cypriot man and his (good bit younger) Russian wife. And they are two of the loveliest people you could ever meet. Like, there have been a couple of times over the years that one of us has gone there when feeling unwell, and she has offered advice and/or medication. And they are always coming down for a chat if business is quiet.
Meanwhile, a week ago today on the last day of my holidays, a Cypriot man threw me out of his shop because I was spending too much time looking.
Just to explain, I am one of those people that checks the shops at the start of the holidays, sees something I like, spends the rest of the holiday comparing prices, and then buys it at the end of the holidays... usually at the first place I saw it! So, that was what I was doing here, except it was taking me a long time to find one of the items I wanted to buy (well, it is hard to find one banknote when you know it is in one of two albums that contain what must be over 1,000 banknotes each).
I was very upset. To the extent that it effectively spoiled the whole holiday for me.
But, the thing that really galled me was that a few minutes after it happened, I discovered the reason he threw me out: it was so that he could go down the street and have a coffee with his mates.
Well, I hope that coffee was worth it, because it cost him around €70 in lost trade that day. And a whole pile of future trade as well because, despite having a wonderful selection of things which I would have loved to buy over time, I will never be stepping foot into that shop again!
CaroLiza_fan