As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not the best random conversationalist. Even when I’m with people I know, I won’t have anything interesting to say or I won’t know how to phrase what I’m thinking about. My confusion is usually because I’m so busy thinking about a dozen other things while trying to talk. So, when I DO have a “successful” conversation, i.e. my point is made clearly or I don’t feel awkward and/or make other people feel awkward, I feel rightfully proud of my self.
I have had several successful conversations recently, if I only knew what the secret was I wouldn’t be writing a blog about the few times it has happened.
The first was pretty much on accident. Justin and I were leaving the commissary right as it closed so there was a line at the taxi stand. The first thing I notice (after the line) is the cutest, tiniest, white dog I have ever seen in person. (I also happen to be obsessed with tiny white dogs currently. I would have one already but I’m not ready to have a dog in an apartment). Anyway, so I see this cute dog and am gravitationally pulled towards it. I am even reaching out to take the dog from it’s owners before I even realize that I’ll have to at least say ‘hello’ and ‘can I pet your dog’. The owners seem to be used to the effect their dog has on people because the guy holding the dog just hands it to me (it’s like 2 whole pounds. adorable). Now I have the dog snuggled in my arms and I feel obliged to talk to these people so they know I’m not going to run away with their dog, which I might have considered doing anyway. It’s a young solider who is waiting outside with his friend while he waits for his girlfriend to finish shopping. I probably talked to these two guys for like half an hour, while their tiny adorable dog falls asleep in my arms. I was coherent, pleasant, and not awkward.
The girlfriend finally came out of the store and she had a very young little brother, he was probably 4 years old. He saw I was holding their dog and assumed that he knew me. So I had a small child talking to me about... I’m not even sure what, but I’m going to count this as a win too. Until the little boy asked me about my Dad. They were waiting for their Dad to come pick them up, and he wanted to know if I was waiting for my Dad to come pick me up to. I explained that, no, I wasn’t waiting for my Dad, but that my husband and I were waiting for a taxi. I point Justin out to him (who is being so good and waiting in line while I sit down with a cute dog). The little boy then thinks that Justin is my Dad and I only try one more time to impress the word ‘husband’ on him before I give up. The taxi line wasn't moving, so Justin and I finally decide to just walk home and I have to give the dog back and we leave.
The second random successful conversation I had with people was even more unexpected. I was on my way to base to run some errands when I saw that the beauty shop I have to pass had some cute lotions back in stock that I had wanted. So I stopped in to buy them and was waiting to pay for them when I heard people speaking Spanish! There were two women and a younger girl in front of me who were speaking Spanish with each other. I was so excited. I decided to go ahead and try to speak my crappy Spanish to them. I asked the lady who was closer to me, 'donde tu eras?' which should be ‘where are you from?’ She said Columbia (which thankfully sounds like it’s English name) and which point, I was out of Spanish to speak. She asked me where I was from, I said California. She asked me something like, how long have you been here, but like I said I was all out of my speaking Spanish, and she could tell so she (graciously) switched to English for me.
The women were here because the other lady, whom I hadn't spoken to, and her daughter were here with her husband who was in the military. They had just moved to Korea and wanted to get my phone number so they could have coffee with me and get some advice about living here. I’m not sure how to explain it, maybe because I grew up listening to Spanish, but it was infinitely more refreshing to hear Them talk than to hear people speaking Korean. We are all standing outside talking when the girl, who was probably 11 years old, asked me if my Dad was in the Army too. I told them no, my husband was and I was here with him. They all said how young I looked, etc, we parted ways happily.
So, I have to wonder, do I really look *that* young? I hear adults (when I say adults I mean people my parents age, or older. I know technically my generation are adults too, but it's a habit), anyway I hear adults say how young I look ALL. THE. TIME. But I don't mind really, as long as I'm not being carded for an R rated movie (which you have to be 17 years old to see) it's kind of nice to be called young in a flattering way. But if children think I look young and could possibly be in their age range, how young do I Really look? So that's my weird story about kids asking about my "Dad" and having "successful" conversations.
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