In my prime, I could hear two conversations at the same time. I could be speaking to someone in English and hear a separate conversation in Portuguese. This is exactly what happened one day while I was riding a bus in Lisbon, Portugal. I had a friend of mine with me, who happens to also be American, and while we were talking about the matters of the day, two older ladies started speaking in Portuguese one with another. Perhaps they felt we didn't speak Portuguese so they were comfortable talking to each other in their native tongue while we spoke to each other in ours; however, what they had to say was not very kind to us. They spoke down about us the entire bus ride. When they finally got off the bus, I told them, "Espero que voces tenham um bom dia!" Their faces were in shock!
image: unsplash/public domain
Not only had I told them, "I hope that you (will/may) have a good day" in their native tongue, I also had conjugated a sentence with perfect grammar, which most Americans would not have likely been able to do. At this time, I had lived in Portugal for over 1.5 years, so my accent was perfect, too...or close enough that when I would speak to people over the intercoms at the apartment systems, they would be shocked to see an American at their door when I arrived rather than a Portuguese man...
Another time I overheard an interesting conversation was when I went to Slab City in California near Palm Desert.
source: unsplash-public domain
As I was sitting in the open-air library (search on the internet for Slab City and you'll be amazed at what you find!), looking at the puzzles they had available. It was interesting not just because of what I heard but because of ambiance, if you will...The one-legged librarian talked to a man with a 3-legged dog about someone in the "City" offering a "needle cleaning" service. Apparently there was someone who was going around collecting used needles, cleaning/resharpening them, and reselling them to the residents to do drugs. That was pretty shocking to me, but if you knew the area, you'd understand this was a day-to-day thing. I happened to be at the library and in the city for my first time ever to see the sites first hand...it's crazy...just look it up...
What's the craziest conversation you've ever overheard? Write it and post your link in the comments below or mention me in your post so I can come take a look at it. Follow me for more fun posts!
