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If someone speaks to you in a foreign tongue a simple gesture of touching your lips and shaking your head back and forth
is universal for " no speak ". This action along with a smile will not be construed as offensive. The person will simply nod
and walk away.
All the time for me. My super still thinks I can speak Cantonese even though I only know how to read because of knowing enough Japanese and assumptions. I guess I can fake it well.
Unless your a complete homebody that is fearful of the public, this happens all the time in every city. Just go out there and explore and you'll see it's no biggie
Slightly off-topic but odd story. My daughter lives in Albany. She is white, blonde (well partially purple). She was at the laundromat a few months ago when a Chinese man walked in and randomly went up to her and asked her in Mandarin if she could please help him. She has degrees in Mandarin and Linguistics and lived in Beijing for a while. There is no way he could have known this, but she is the one he asked.
He had been at the adjacent drugstore and could not make the clerks understand what he wanted to buy, so she went back to the drugstore with him. She didn't understand at first what he wanted, either. He kept saying in Mandarin that "the road is running slow". He was gesturing toward his butt and it finally dawned on her that he was constipated. She helped him find what he needed, and he was happy and thanked her profusely.
But, it was just weird that he walked in to a laundromat and the first person he approached was someone who actually spoke his language.
I've had people in the city ask me things in Spanish. My Spanish is pretty limited, but sometimes with words and gestures, I've been able to send them off in the right direction...I hope.
Only thing someone has tried speaking to me is Spanish. Does not happen as often now but when I lived in the Heights all the time. I think that is common for most people in NY tho. I even used to have foreign tourists come up to me and try to speak Spanish when I worked retail many moons ago. I usually just went and got someone else who I knew spoke it and they were set. TBH, NY is such a world class city I think a lot of people just expect most people here to speak multiple languages. It’s not uncommon for citizens of major European cities to speak multiple languages.
oh that's funny. Are you tall? People ask me for directions a lot in general. When I see french or italian people struggling, I offer to help because I speak well enough to be helpful.
Yeah, 6'1 inch (formerly 6'2" but spinal discs aren't what they once were). I am forever asked for directions and if I see a couple fussing with a map, I will volunteer my services...but only in English.
Unless your a complete homebody that is fearful of the public, this happens all the time in every city. Just go out there and explore and you'll see it's no biggie
In NYC it's usually Spanish but I am Hispanic and speak it. The misses on the other hand is a Midwestern mixed with black and white and she gets it all the time at least here in NYC, she says this never happened back home. It does annoy her more so because she wishes she knew enough Spanish to answer people back. Some Dominican salon they actually got mad at her because they thought she was Dominican and didn't' want to speak Spanish to them. I sort of have tried to teach her, but c'mon trying to teach an adult a second language is pretty tough.
On a side note, we seem to blend in in most regions of the world we have visited. In India people thought I was Indian and would speak to me like if I was a native (didn't matter Hindi, Bangali even Tamil), they even thought I was Nepalese when I was in the northern region. Same in Morocco and of course in Spain, we seem to have that look that everyone wants to claim us. And than everywhere else people think I am Mexican, like when I visit the Caribbean or in Mexico, I do tend to get really dark when I tan so .
Yeah, 6'1 inch (formerly 6'2" but spinal discs aren't what they once were). I am forever asked for directions and if I see a couple fussing with a map, I will volunteer my services...but only in English.
I used to be 5'7". I think I was down to 5'5" last time I was measured .
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I used to be 5'7". I think I was down to 5'5" last time I was measured 
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