Just some fun overseas anecdotes

The first one comes to you from our school office. On Tuesday night, while Carolyn was teaching, I was hanging out in the office. My usual routine is to escape to the park to have two hours of reading or people watching but that night I stayed in. Our technician and I started talking and at one point in the conversation he asked how long I was going to stay. When I told him our program was only through May, he told me I should stay for a longer time. When I asked how long that would be he suggested one or two more years…in an indirect culture, Carolyn and I decided that could definitely be a marriage proposal!

Next story also takes place in our office. Another one of our staff members is very friendly but a little awkward. The other day I was wearing new earrings with just a simple getup. Anyway, as Carolyn and I were leaving, he made a comment saying, “Erica, you are so beautiful….tonight.” “Just tonight?” was my response but it was definitely a hilarious and awkward moment. A few days later I wore a dress and in front of the rest of the staff members, the same guys calls out, “Erica, you are even more beautiful today.” Oh wow!

Finally, tonight ended with Carolyn and I being totally celebrities. We have been here now for two months and we just assume that everyone has seen us but it didn’t seem that way at dinner. Every morning we walk to school, Carolyn and I pass this restaurant that is never open but the staff is always prepping the food…apparently for dinner! Well as we were walking around trying to find a place to eat, we saw it across the street and decided, “Why not that place?” So we went and sat down, only to be surrounded seconds later by the staff. Everything at that restaurant seemed to stop and all the focus turned towards us. We thought that once we had begun to eat, everything would go back to normal….but no. I don’t know why they find it so interesting to watch us eat but throughout the meal, we continued to be the spectacle. However odd it may be though, I think I am going to miss that kind of attention when we go back to the states.