Call this part II of my earlier post today...
Today was almost a little check-in for me as to how much I've changed in the past few months.
Back home, when I would venture out to T&T market (a big Asian supermarket in Canada) to buy a wide variety of items, it felt a little like culture shock to me. Few people in the store spoke English, I was often the only white person in the store (and sometimes the tallest too), it felt like I was in another country rather than just another part of the city. Fun! But sometimes a little off-putting, too.
Today, in a tiny little asian specialty shop where the merchant spoke in his native language (I could not tell which it was for sure, so I don't want to be ignorant and guess/assume) and Portuguese with a strong and definitely-different-than-mine accent, I felt right at home, much different than when I am doing exactly the same thing at home...
Evolution?
I do sometimes feel that way. I don't walk around feeling stressed about talking to Chileans, but when I talk to a fellow foreigner there is a sense of "this person won't comment on my accent!"
Posted by: Emily | June 13, 2008 at 01:39 PM