I love my dry goods grocer. He has been unfailingly kind to Sarah and me and extremely patient when I'm trying to remember what I need for the house or kitchen and trying to tell him in Tamazight. This story made me love him even more:
I was getting near the end of my long list of groceries for making a meal for guests. If it's just Sarah and me I don't get too fancy. But for guests, we roll out the culinary red carpet. So I was getting to the end of the list, and he suggested that maybe I wanted a couple baguettes too. I said something like, no thanks, those are not the bread of my people. And I could tell from his face that something finally clicked for him. He blurted out, you're from America, not France. You speak Arabic and Tamazight, but not French. You don't eat the French food. It's like, you're a foreigner, but you're not French!!! Exactly.
I was getting near the end of my long list of groceries for making a meal for guests. If it's just Sarah and me I don't get too fancy. But for guests, we roll out the culinary red carpet. So I was getting to the end of the list, and he suggested that maybe I wanted a couple baguettes too. I said something like, no thanks, those are not the bread of my people. And I could tell from his face that something finally clicked for him. He blurted out, you're from America, not France. You speak Arabic and Tamazight, but not French. You don't eat the French food. It's like, you're a foreigner, but you're not French!!! Exactly.
such an interesting life you live
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