Yesterday morning I was running late. So, I decided to take the Light Rail to work instead of walking. At the Light Rail station, I met a foreigner, who was clearly lost and struggling with the directions printed on a piece of paper he was carrying. His English was very bad. But from his accent, I figured out that he was French. When he asked me for directions to his hotel (Days Inn at Tonnelle Ave), I decided to put my fluency in French to test. I first let him know that I could speak little bit of French. From that point onwards, we conversed entirely in French. Every time he asked me a question, I asked him to repeat it at a slower pace. I took out my Nexus One, gave him the directions, which train to take, where to get off et al, including what train to catch in case he was interested in visiting New York City.
The expression on his face was that of genuine joy. Definitely not the forced smiles that I have gotten used to when engaging in small talk with New Yorkers. He thanked me at least thrice (Merci Beaucoup! Thank You! Thank You!)! I guess he never expected an Indian to provide him directions in French, in Jersey City! The six months I spent at Alliance Francais weren't in vain after all!
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